What Problem are you Solving?

Tolumnia Orchids

 

                                    What problem are you solving?

 

Business theory tells you that successful enterprises only exist if they solve a problem.

 

Commercial horticulture produces flowers that gardeners want to buy.  What is the problem that is being solved?  Homeowners want colorful plants to add to their landscape.  Home decorators want colorful houseplants to soften the room.  Weddings overflow with cut flower arrangements.  Traditional funerals have flower arrangements in memory of a good life.

 

We are in the business of growing unique houseplants in small pots.  The trend is graduating from green foliage to small flowering houseplants.

 

Small and flowering is a very difficult category.  Leading the list are Mini Violets or mini-Cyclamen or dwarf Crown of Thorns.

 

Orchids are now common at grocery stores.  Phalaenopsis are spectacular with long lasting flowers at affordable prices.  A worldwide supply line evolved to bring Orchids out of the exotic hobby/collector world and into the home market.  For twenty dollars or less than a large pizza, you can get a Phalaenopsis Orchid for everyday enjoyment.  Treat yourself, please buy one often.

Hiding in plain sight is a very miniature Orchid called Tolumnia.  This durable plant grows and flowers in 2”-3” pots.  I had a few 50 years ago and was fascinated by their wiry flower spikes that open with colorful, cute little flowers.

 

They are hidden in the Orchid hobby world due to limited supply.  But I’ve found a quantity to import and offer for sale to our Independent Garden Centers.

 

The problem is:  I need a small flowering houseplant.

 

The answer is:  Tolumnia.  It is a long-lasting flowering houseplant which happens to be an Orchid.

Anticipation for Orchid Flowering ...

Tolumnia in Spike on Windowsill

 

          Orchids are very exotic.  They are big and flashy or small and cute.

           Orchids take a long time to grow and flower. 

             Tolumnia were formerly a part of the more common genus, Oncidium, and now have their own Genus.

              This one on my windowsill has a spike moving toward opening colorful flowers.

                This wonder of nature requires a lot of waiting.

                Anticipation. 

             

Hope and Joy

Hope in America

             There is Hope and Joy in America!

 

A cheery Flower is all you need

Sinningia 'Prudence Risley' on the Windowsill

 

            We sell thousands of plants every week of the year.

 

            I often wonder where they all go ?

 

            Luckily, for us and our garden center customers, the final buyer likes plants.

 

            Sometimes, they just want a cheery flower with color to make their day.

The Problem with Sports is...

Begonia 'Painted Lizard' is a Winner

 

The problem with sports is that half of the teams lose at every contest.  A 50% failure rate is not good so each team must convince themselves that they are better and will win, despite the odds.

 

            Sports are perfect metaphors for describing business and life. 

 

            The Summer Olympics prove that the best athletes in the world still lose to the top three medal winners.

 

            The phenomenon of  ‘Winner takes all’ is especially cruel.  Second place gets to try harder next time.

 

            The theory of the ‘long tail’ of sales has given the non-blockbusters hope.  In movies, records and books, the top best seller gets the profit, but the remaining lower ranking digital creations may get a few sales.

 

            But physical products like plants are limited to the 2-3 best varieties due to limited greenhouse space. 

 

            New and different plants create excitement in garden centers, but only the winners show up next year.

 

            So, what is the conclusion based on sports metaphors.

 

            Keep introducing new plants.  If they prove to be different enough, you win.

Crown of Thorns 'White Lightning' - Still very rare!

                                            Crown of Thorns - 'White Lightning'
 

                Why is Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia) ‘White Lightning’ so rare?

 

            ‘White Lightning’ is an exceptionally good plant.  Highly variegated green and white, with red flowers, it likes sun and tolerates being dry.

 

            It’s the perfect houseplant for a south or west window, which seems too bright for shady foliage houseplants.

 

            But why so rare and expensive?

 

            A Florida succulent/ cactus wholesale grower has a lock on the tissue culture supply.  It grows slowly, taking months to get to a nice 4” pot size.

 

            Like many rare plants, it takes someone to champion the plant.

 

            I’ve been watching Crown of Thorns for 50 years and know ‘White Lightning’ is worth the effort.

 

            We sell them through our 100 Independent Garden Centers and internet sellers.

Find them here:      http://www.garysspecialtyplants.com/locations.html

            Call your Garden Center to see if they have any in stock.  Ask them to get one for you.  They live for years and are a decorative houseplant.  It can be grown outside in summer, if you like.

Begonia amphioxus grows on Windowsills!

Begonia amphioxus on my windowsill

Begonia amphioxus grows on windowsills!

 

This rare Begonia species is tougher than first thought.

 

            If you find this cute Begonia for sale on the internet, the seller may warn you that it must be grown in terrarium – high humidity conditions.

 

            This is wrong.  It does not.

 

I’ve proven conclusively that it will grow on your windowsill without any additional humidity.

 

Once considered very rare, now it is a commercial plant with limited production.

 

This story is to stamp out the myth that Begonia amphioxus is a needy, soft species what can only live in a terrarium, which few indoor gardeners want to deal with.

 

We have propagated and sold thousands of ‘Spotted Lizards’ into Independent Garden Centers on the East coast.  It holds up just fine.

 

How did the myth get started?  An unrooted cutting requires higher humidity while rooting.  Then they are weaned off mist and hardened off for sale.  Many internet sellers do not acclimate young plants, so warn you to immediately move them into terrariums.

 

Great advice, if you’re building a terrarium.

 

But for the rest of us, find acclimated plants that are ready for your windowsill.  They will thrive there.

 

Customers who sell our Begonia amphioxus by retail mail order are:

 

Hirt’s Gardens (hirts.com)

My Garden Channel (mygardenchannel.com)

 

Retail garden centers are found on our locator map:

 

garysspecialtyplants.com/locations.html

 

 

How to go from figuratively to literally?

Begonia 'Painted Lizard' -- Million Dollar Plant

How to go from Figurately to Literally?        

 

I talk about the Million Dollar Plants that are in the future.  This interests me and is fun to speculate.

 

Of course, nobody knows the potential of a new plant.  Who knew that the Chinese Money Plant --- Pilea Peperomiodes, would zoom up.  The species had been around for years, and nobody noticed.  A Canadian grower sensed a demand was showing up in Europe, took a chance and grew thousands for the North American market.  He guessed right and caught the demand going up.

 

We are still growing Chinese Money Plants and sell hundreds every week.  It has been a Million Dollar Plant, if you add up all who have benefited from it.

 

I want Begonia ‘Painted Lizard’ to be my Million Dollar Plant.  How can that possibly happen?

 

A new hybrid (malachosticta X amphioxus), there are less than 50 plants in the World.  If we could sell them for $6.00, we would need 166,666 pots per year.  If we could get 4 cuttings per stock plant, we need 41,666 stock plants to cut from.  If we could get two crops per year, we would only need 20,333 stock plants.  See the supply problem?

 

Going the other direction, who will buy the 166,666 pots @ $6.00?  That could be easy, given the current high demand for houseplants, especially a new one.

 

Can you literally make a million dollars with a new plant?

 

Yes, but there is a lot of work and luck in between. 

 

Will this Miniature Achimenes keep flowering?

Achimenes 'Petite Fadette, Buds, Feb 25, 2024

         The common question at garden centers is:  Will this keep flowering?

        Commercial flowering plants are grown to their peak capability of flowering so the homeowner can have a pretty decorative plant to take home.

        Most flowering plants sold in flower have buds that should continue to open in the house.  Some home gardeners give up too soon.

        The Achimenes 'Petite Fadette' growing at my West window has lost its original four red flowers.

        This is my test to see if the three buds at the top will open.

        I'll report what happens.

Begonia in Terrarium or Not?

Begonia with vigor.

          This Begonia is an unnamed hybrid of the cross of (B. malachosticta X B. amphioxus).

            Any reference to it on the internet says that it must be grown in a terrarium.   They said that about amphioxus also, but I proved that not to be necessary. Hundreds have been sold and they do just fine out on your windowsill.

            I'm betting that this newly released clone will be an exceptional plant that will survive in any good household environment.

            No known name is available, so I will call it 'Painted Lizard'.

            No terrarium required.

 

Roosters are Nearby

Roosters on Guard

           Sometimes you need a Sunny Rooster to watch over you.

And then what happened?

'Beyond' - Jan 13, 2024

 

'Beyond' - Jan 23, 2024

     This is not a trick.

     The pictures are 10 days apart.  How is xA. 'Beyond ' holding up at the windowsill?

Achimenantha 'Beyond' must be seen

Achimenantha  'Beyond'

             We knew Achimenantha 'Beyond' was a very good Achimenes X Smithiantha hybrid created by Serge Saliba, premier hybridizer from Romania.

              We had seen the big pretty pink flowers last year, but how to grow it for sale?

                A few pots happened to get in the mix with our Miniature Achimenes project under LED lights with 16 hours day length.  We learned that the plants grow and flower extremely short.  Can this be a good thing?  Maybe an inch taller?

            We have limited stock, having started with one rhizome.  The scaling method will give us more.

            A Little Spot of Color - There is great potential here.

The Million Dollar Begonia

 

     You heard it here first --- This Begonia hybrid, (malachosticta X amphioxus),  will be a successful commercial houseplant.

    Since none have been sold yet, this is a wild prediction.  Check back in 3-4 years to see what happens.

    The one parent --- amphioxus, has proven to be good houseplant.  It has shiny pointed leaves with pink spots.  We call it 'Spotted Lizard' --- It's pointed on both ends.

    I'm trying to collect any hybrid with amphioxus in it.  This is the best one so far.  It grows quickly, branches, and has bigger leaves than amphioxus.  Until a hybrid name shows up, we will call it 'Painted Lizard'.

    I have evaluated a lot of new plants over the years and I am betting on this one.

    There will be 1-2 years of stock build up and testing.  We will sell it in the third and fourth year.

    Hide and watch.

    

    

Less than Perfect Vietnamese Violet in Flower

Vietnamese Violet in Flower



I always want to show plants in show quality conditions, but that is not real life.

This Vietnamese Violet (Primulina tamiana) is not worrying about what it should look like, it just knows that it's supposed to keep flowering.