NURTURE
PLANT SHORTAGES PERSIST MARC ELLIOT EXPLAINS WHERE WE ARE IN 2022
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t has been almost a year since the plant shortage crisis of 2021. No doubt the status of the shortages in 2022 is the most important question right now for the industry. The short answer is that the shortages are persisting, and the industry will have to adapt. Since the nature and expanse of the plant shortages is not identical to 2021, it makes procurement and landscaping operations more challenging.
Here’s your quick primer on what’s different this year, key shortage trends that will impact your business and some helpful guidelines to cope. You can read a more in-depth analysis in the 2022 Plant Shortage Report released by GoMaterials. The report is based of off proprietary data from thousands of plant orders and estimates across the U.S. What’s Making the Plant Shortages Persist in 2022? The root cause of the shortages stems as far back as the 2018 recession, when many nursery businesses downsized their operations or were
forced to close doors. It’s estimated this reduced nursery production by as much as 50 percent. Fast-forward to 2022, rising inflation and higher input costs have further restrained the capacity of wholesale nursery businesses. Fertilizer costs, for example, have increased by almost 100 percent, in addition to higher fuel and labor costs. In addition, supply chain blocks triggered by the pandemic are nowhere close to subsiding. Resins are still in short supply, impacting nursery pot supplies. We also have a fullblown truck driver shortage at hand, making out-of-state sourcing more challenging. On the other hand, new housing starts and federal funding have fired up the demand for landscaping and thus for landscaping plants and trees. Difference Between the 2021 & 2022 Shortages A first difference is the breadth of plant categories impacted by the shortages. For example, in 2021, ornamental grasses accounted for 36 percent of all shortages in the plant variety. In 2022, the shortages are more evenly spread with both perennials and ornamental grasses at 19 percent and shrubs at 25 percent. Another key difference is the pricing trends across categories and sizes for the plants in short supply. For instance, prices for smaller pot sizes such as one- to three-gallon pots of Foxtail Fern and Pink Muhly grass have cooled off a little, pointing to a slight recovery. At the
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Pro Landscaper USA South July/August 2022
south.prolandscaperusa.com
