Kohleria from seed.

Kohleria 'Ruby'

Kohlerias from seed --- revolutionary!

 

 

            Millions of annuals are grown from seed produced by large international seed companies.  Seed is the propagation method of choice because it’s the cheapest.

 

            Then what happened when some hybrid seed got expensive?  This allowed vegetative cuttings to be produces by the millions.  Off-shore farms can ship unrooted cuttings into commercial horticulture at a reasonable cost.  This allowed for selection of the best clones to be maintained vegetatively.

 

            What if Kohleria, an unknown flowering houseplant, could be produced by seed like annuals?

 

            The very few Kohlerias maintained by Gesneriad hobbyists and specialty retail mail order greenhouses are select named varieties.  Vegetative reproduction is time consuming and costly.

 

            Let’s get good seed lines, grow thousands of a new flowering houseplant and make people happy.

 

            By crossing the best Kohleria hybrids together, the seedlings can make very good crops.  They will be variable, but that’s a good thing --- More variety.

 

            Can Kohlerias grown from seed bring them out of the woods into garden centers for all to see?

 

            It is worth a try.  The named selections will be the standard, but seed crops will introduce a hidden gem to indoor gardeners.

 

What is a RARE plant worth?

 

Begonia amphioxis grown by Vicky

What is a Rare plant worth?

 

            Supply and demand still works.

 

            A rare houseplant, by definition, has low supply.  The price can be high if you can find one.

 

            We constantly look for the next ‘hot’ plant.  It’s where the money is.

 

            A new plant I’ve found is Begonia amphioxus.  It’s small with bright spots on pointy angel wing leaves.  It can survive drought, therefore an easy houseplant.  What is it worth?

 

            If I sell it for $5.00 wholesale, it will be $10 - $15 retail.  Is that a fair price?

 

            Because there are so few available, some indoor gardener will want it enough to pay that price.

 

            If I had 10,000, what would the price be?

 

            It’s still a great plant at any price.

We need a good common name.

Begonia - Common Name?

 

We need a good common name.

 

            By now we know that Begonia amphioxus is a good houseplant.

 

            It just has a bad name.

 

            We need to get serious about naming the Begonia something that is pronounceable and catches your attention.  It has angel wing leaves that are pointy on both ends.

 

            So far, we have:

 

            Spotted Lizard

            Red Dot

            Butterfly

            Spotted Angel

            Red Dot Angel

            Shiny Spots

            Spotted Double Point

            Pointy Angel Wing

            Rings of Fire

            Poison Dart Frog

            Cinnamon Red Hots.

            Confetti

            Speckled Lizard Tongue

  Blood Dot

  Scarlet Feather

  Blood Drop

 

            Whoever uses a good common name first and sells the most plants, wins the game.           

 

Why is no one copying us?

 Copy us?

 

Why is no one copying us?

 

            Gary’s Specialty Plants has a business model that has been highly successful.

           

            We grow houseplant foliage and succulents in small pots (2.5”) and small hanging baskets (10 cm, 15 cm).

 

            We sell to independent garden centers and internet retail mail order sellers.  By delivering on our own trucks, we provide a great service of retail-ready plants, with a blue plant tag.

 

            Our custom blue tag with common name, botanical name, plant description with care, has become a recognizable trademark throughout the east coast.

 

            Our Florida competition must pack and ship with all the problems of breakage and unpacking labor.

 

            “Nobody does what we to with plants. They could, but they don’t”

 

            Is this still true?

 

            My friend, Sam, has been telling for years that there is someone out there who is watching what we are doing and will decide to copy us.

 

            My other friend, Bob, tells me he knows of a greenhouse grower who is doing it.  Will it matter?  Of course, every plant that they sell will take away from our sales.

 

            But it’s a big market.  There is room for everybody.

How to beat the recession?

Sunrise or sunset - All is good

 

How to beat the recession?

 

            If you don’t have a plan, recessions are mean.  They can put you out of business.

 

            Or you can decide to not participate in the recession.

 

            Every financial advisor tells you to save cash and reduce debt to ride it out.

 

            Our plan is simple.  If every customer buys half as much next year, we need to have twice as many customers before that happens.

 

            If they buy 75% as much, then we only need 25% more customers.

 

            If you like doomsday, where they only buy 25% as much, then you are in deep trouble.

 

            But free market capitalism allows for infinite possibilities.  If you have a high-quality product, there are 365 Million people out there who are buyers.  Stop complaining.