The popularity of blooming perennials has been trending upward among gardeners over the last few years. Simply put, color sells in spring. Those two statements are likely to remain true for retailers, landscapers, and home gardeners alike. Perennials reward the gardener with the renewal and beauty of spring each year when they return, without additional effort. Blooming perennials bring joy not only through their emergence from the ground but also with a colorful display of flowers. From the grower’s perspective, perennials sell at a higher price point and deliver stronger profit margins.
New breeding and improved selections have greatly expanded the range of perennials that offer blooming color during the early May sales window surrounding Mother’s Day. These advances have eliminated some of the traditional complications of common spring-blooming perennials, such as the need for a cold period (vernalization) or a 14-hour day length to bulk up the plant. Many new varieties flower earlier, producing blooms in May instead of June. This gives growers a wider range of first-year-blooming perennials to target the prime spring sales period than ever before.
This article highlights several varieties that can be started after January 1 from unrooted cuttings (URCs) or rooted liners and grown alongside annual spring color crops. If your market remains strong through the end of May, there are many more selections that fit this production window. In addition, some varieties benefit from cool finishing temperatures and can be moved outside early, freeing up valuable greenhouse space.
Breeders now provide detailed culture guidelines and production schedules for these varieties, making planning and timing easier than ever. Is it time to refresh your product lineup? Could new forms of spring color lead to additional sales and increased margins? Consider the potential of adding some early-flowering perennials to your spring program. Discuss it with your Griffin Green Goods representative, and as always, the GGSPro Team is here to help. Here are some top picks for May blooms in many areas of the country:
