HOUSEPLANTS
Houseplant Trendsetter Aylett Nurseries The Greatest Awards winning houseplant team at Aylett Nurseries have always been passionate about houseplants, keeping a full houseplant ‘house’ throughout the past 10 years. “Houseplant sales have grown in the past few years and now account for 6% of our total turnover. We are still passionate about housplants,” said Julie Aylett. “The sales mix has changed with foliage plants outselling flowering plants.” Having said that when you have the space to put on displays of flowering houseplants of the quality of Ayletts it’s no surprise that those sales are increasing for them too. Whilst the Aylett houseplant area has the look and feel of a traditional garden nursery greenhouse, that doesn’t stop them stocking and selling new houseplants. Plants grown on lava rock is the latest new addition from the continent. Within five days of then going on sale half had already sold through!
Houseplant Trendsetter Whitehall Lacock
At Whitehall Lacock, where houseplant sales are 50% up, Peter Self says: “It’s all about green architecture. Every time we order some bigger plants they just sell though. “Sales had been flat up until a couple of years ago and slowly the momentum has built. The Instagram generation is leading the way.” Calatheas have been particularly good sellers for the Whitehall team, who are also amazed at the number of macramé pot hangers and cover pots they are selling.
6 June 2019
Houseplant Trendsetter Stewarts Christchurch
Compared to the houseplant areas at Perrywood and Aylett Nurseries the houseplant area at Stewarts Christchurch is relatively tiny, but because they pack so much in they create a tropical forest effect which entices people to stop and buy on their way into the centre and on their way to the tills. In April, houseplant sales across the three Stewarts garden centres were up by 23%, and that was on top of good increases last year. As well as a good range of pot covers, Stewarts also had available a good range of small tables and plant stands, a much needed extra purchase when you want to add more plants and you’ve run out of windowsill and shelf space to put them on.
www.gardentradenews.co.uk
Houseplant Trendsetter Perrywood
At Perrywood, houseplant sales are booming. With an Instagram account unique to houseplants, perrywoodhouseplants, driving people to the centre from as far afield as central London, the team watch trends from other centres, N1 in particular, and make sure they have as many new plants available as possible. Their unique houseplant room sets, this year with clever planting right into the props, gives existing customers plenty of inspiration to buy more houseplants. The importance of Instagram for their houseplant sales is explained by Zoe Willis: “We get so many questions through Instagram daily and then when we’ve had a delivery in and we put up a post everyone wants to know, can I come and get them and how much are they? “Instagram is an amazing platform to meet people, find out about different plants and get advice. I get so excited about it.”