A damp spring
has cooled gardeners' purchases at area nurseries so far
this year. Sales are expected to grow this weekend.
Instead of buying annuals and perennials in time for Mother's
Day, customers are expected to use the Memorial Day weekend
to buy and plant impatiens, geraniums and other colorful
blooms.
Shoppers may want to hit the garden centers early or late
in the day to avoid big crowds.
"We're anticipating a very busy weekend," said
Lynn Hall, an employee at The Growing Place Nursery, which
has locations in Naperville and Aurora.
"We'll be testing our parking lot," added Bill
Koch, owner of Hawthorn Gardens in Hawthorn Woods.
He hopes the 58 spaces in the lot can handle the crowds.
Truckloads of flowers are arriving at greenhouses throughout
the suburbs this week. A warm forecast with temperatures
pushing 80 degrees, combined with the holiday weekend have
some smaller greenhouse owners fearing they could run out
of flowers before Monday.
The sluggish season so far has suppliers filling orders
fast. Growers need to make up ground after a stagnant few
weeks.
"Suppliers are bustling. One of my Michigan growers
offered to make a delivery on Sunday, which is not usually
done," Koch said.
Garden centers are also finding that shoppers who did make
purchases earlier this spring need to replace some of what
they already planted because of this spring's frequent winds
and cold evening temperatures.
As a result, many retailers have gone to great lengths to
preserve their infant plants.
"Every night we pull in our cold-sensitive plants.
We're also covering impatiens, because we want the blooms
to be perfect," Hall said.
Workers at The Growing Place load hundreds of flowers onto
carts every night and roll them into the greenhouse to protect
them from cool temperatures.
"It's labor-intensive," Hall said.
They also warn customers to keep coleuses, sweet potato
vines and similar plants warm until the nighttime temperatures
remain in the 50s.
Garden retailers say they're optimistic the late arrival
of warm temperatures won't have a negative overall effect
on sales. "Our spring selling season is about 10 weeks.
It was just pushed back a little bit this year," said
Koch, a resident of Prospect Heights.
"We're not alarmed yet," he added.
It will be nice when customers don't have to come flower
shopping wearing their earmuffs and winter coats, Koch said
with a laugh.
Some shoppers have opted to window-shop for plants until
temperatures rise, said Christa Bormann, manager at Heinz
Brothers Greenhouse Garden Center in St. Charles. |
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