8 Dec 2010

Replantable Christmas trees are festive success story.

Rebecca Smithers.
http://m.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/dec/08/replantable-christmas-trees-festive-success-story?cat=money&type=article

Potted and replantable Christmas trees have proved to be a 'surprise hit' say retailers

Potted and replantable Christmas trees have surprised retailers with their popularity with consumers this year.

Shoppers are showing their green credentials this year by creating a record demand for ecologically sound, replantable Christmas trees. The trees, which have roots and can be grown in the garden or in tubs ready for following Christmases, present a viable alternative to the annual hassle of getting rid of a Christmas tree.

Tesco says demand for the "green" trees – available in its stores in three sizes – have been the "surprise hit" this year. Its most popular so far is a miniature version that is about 50cm high, comes fitted with lights and costs £10. The other varieties are 2-3ft and 3ft plus high.

Tesco horticulture buyer Shama Mehan said: : "The miniature tree with lights has become a surprise hit with shoppers and we've already sold tens of thousands of them. We initially trialled them last year and they were snapped up very quickly but this year their popularity has exceeded all our expectations and we have had to order more – and we're still only in the first week of December."

The miniature trees are a variety called Picea, which originally come from Scandinavia but were grown in Holland. Its 3ft high trees are a variety called Nordman Fir while the 2-3ft ones are a variety called Blue Spruce. Both come in one-foot-high pots.

Tesco said the huge demand echoes a major trend in the last year for plants with sales now growing twice the rate as for flowers. Every Christmas over six million real Christmas trees are sold in the UK, but many of which are grown in European countries: resulting in environmental costs created by the transport required to import them to the UK.

B&Q is also reporting strong sales of its potted Christmas trees, which range in size from 40cm to 140cm. This year it has also introduced the smaller Grow Your Own tree for £6.98, saying it marked the start of a new trend for families to buy more than one type of tree.

Annette Hill, assistant buyer in horticulture at B&Q said: "There appears to be a growing trend for households displaying more than one tree, giving parents and kids a chance to stamp their mark. We're also seeing more people than ever buying Grow Your Own trees, especially families with young children, who want to start a tradition so the kids can see their tree grow over the years. When Christmas is over they can put the tree outside in the garden and bring them back inside the following year."

To ensure the survival of a pot-grown tree indoors, you need to give it plenty of water about twice a week and make sure it is not placed too near a fire or radiator. Decorate with only small lights to reduce the heat exposure.

You'll be saving yourself money over the years as they grow. But just be aware that they can grow as much as two feet in a year and once they get much bigger than 5ft they can become difficult to handle. The British Christmas Tree Growers' Association has some handy tips.

Also remember to reintroduce it to the cold outside gradually after Christmas so it does not get a nasty shock. If you are keeping it in a pot outside, rather than in the soil, repot it in a bigger tub each spring so its roots have space to grow.

Homebase also sells live trees, starting at 1.5ft in height and available in Norway Spruce, Fraser Fir, and Nordman Fir. Prices range from £7.99 for the 1.5ft Norway Spruce to £69.99 for a 5.5ft Norway Spruce.

Roger Hay, secretary of the British Christmas Tree Growers' Association, said: "This Christmas, with the decline in availability of trees from the continent, we're hoping more people than ever will support our British growers with a homegrown tree. British Christmas trees are one of the most environmentally friendly crops there are. Opting for a real, UK-grown tree will ensure you're making the most sustainable choice possible and trees bought at Homebase have a tiny carbon footprint, sourced as they are from British growers."

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1 Dec 2010

A New Cherry Orchard for Cherry Orchard

Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Gerry Breen, will plant the first cherry tree in what will become a new cherry orchard, at the community garden, Cherry Orchard, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 on Monday 29th November at 10.30am.

As 2010 is the international year of biodiversity, Dublin City Council is pleased to be supporting this conservation project. The main aims of the project are to create a functioning cherry orchard in the area that will enrich the existing gardens and be a beautiful amenity for the local schools and community. The second aim is to protect the two native Irish cherries, prunus padus and prunus avium, which are in decline in the wild. The orchard will maintain population stocks and provide food for the birds, butterflies and wildlife. “The cherry tree I’m planting today is very special, given the name and history of the area. The community garden project is already a huge success and I am confident the cherry orchard will grow and thrive with the care and attention the local community will give it” said the Lord Mayor.

  • The launch of this initiative will take place on the site where a new scheme of community allotments are currently being developed to have ready for spring 2011
  • The community allotment scheme is the second phase of a larger community gardening initiative undertaken by Cherry Orchard Regeneration Project with the support of a number of bodies including Dublin City Council, Ballyfermot | Chapelizod Partnership, CDVEC and most importantly; the local residents and community.  The site for the allotments is directly adjacent to the new community garden in Cherry Orchard
  • The new allotment site is a perfect location to host the first official Cherry Orchard to be planted in the area in recent memory as part of a broader environmental initiative in the community of Cherry Orchard
  • The community garden project has been a huge success in its first year; the first vegetables were sown in June and since that time it has gone from strength to strength
  • The success of the initiative to date is entirely due to the overwhelming input, commitment and dedication from the local community.  The majority of the hard labour developing the garden was completed by the local Men’s Club called MAGIC.  The club was set-up by the Regeneration Project in response to the high number of men out of work in the area in summer 2009.  The members of the club have given their time voluntarily to help with the establishment of this initiative along with working with the Regeneration Project on a number of other very worthwhile projects in the area.  The garden was nurtured, managed and maintained all year long by a very enthusiastic and dedicated group of local residents with a strong thirst to learn more about gardening, meet new people, get involved and give something back to the community they live in.  These two groups have worked hand-in-hand and have subsequently formed a community gardening committee to oversee the future development and management of the garden.  They have set a very sturdy foundation upon which to commence the second phase of the gardening initiative which is the development of community allotments
  • The idea for the project came from Bloom and RHS garden designer Fiann Ó Nualláin who has been working with Dublin City Council on several “plant your place name” projects. In the bluebell region of Dublin 12 Fiann and local schoolchildren have begun transforming verges and green spaces into a repository for the endangered native bluebell (hycanthoidies non scripta)

Regards
Joseph Blair
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28 Nov 2010

Dual Promotion of Keelings Flowers & Chocolates at Applegreen Making it Easier for the Guys to Choose

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25 Nov 2010

Flora Florists Dublin Ready for Christmas

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11 Nov 2010

Breaking News! Development Plan for Horticulture In Ireland to be Released within days

Director of Horticulture at Teagasc Jim O’Mahony is making ready the plan for the public domain and all interested industry sectors. Stay tuned to HortiTrends for this and other latest news updates!
11 Nov 2010

Breaking News! Development Plan for Horticulture In Ireland to be Released within days

Director of Horticulture at Teagasc Jim O’Mahony is making ready for the public domain and all interested industry sectors. Stay tuned to HortiTrends for this and other latest news updates!

Joseph Blair
www.HortiTrends.com
HorticultureTrends


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11 Nov 2010

HortiTrends to Give Industry Talk to ITB Horticulture Entrepreneurship Programme 2010

Joseph Blair of www.HortiTrends.com and Director of Horticulture Network Ireland will be speaking to students and entrepreneurs in the Institute of Technology's Horticulture Department tomorrow. He will be discussing a range of issues that are effecting existing businesses and new entrants into the horticulture sector in Ireland and Europe. He will be also showing students the benefits of joining the HortiTrends Business2Business Horticulture Directory and Sourcebook that will help them to Grow their Trade in Horticulture in Ireland now and into the future. 
It is a free online directory that unlike paper catalogue directories will not be gathering dust on any shelf and are not out of date as soon as they are published. He will be also be revealing some trick of the trade and the benefits of a Social Media for Business campaign that will make the Directory outshine any new or existing entrants to the market. he will also talk about getting Free Money! from the likes of Bord Bia through the MAP programme among others. Check back over the weekend for an update on the talk and also how your company too can benefit by getting its business profile on Hortitrends now! Stay tuned for an important link up with and online consumer gardening website. Sign up to day at www.HortTrends.com

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11 Nov 2010

The Marketing Secret for 2011

The Marketing Secret for 2011

John Stanley

Marketing has gone through a revolution over the last few years and month

. It seems like every month a new idea hits the market place. Gone are the days when it was as simple as writing a newspaper advert and the job was done. The retailer of today has to consider the social media, conventional promotions, word of mouth marketing, loyalty schemes and a host of other ideas to develop their business.

All these new ways of developing and growing your business have been proven to work by retailers and small business, but the real challenge is implementationin your own business.

The down turn and uncertainty in the market place due to the financial meltdown in 2008 has resulted in most small businesses considering  downsizing and either shedding staff or not recruiting more staff.

In 2010 many economies around the world are still “soft” with governments bringing in stricter governing regulations and as a result retailers are still nervous about growth in the economy. This really came home to me when I had a conversation with my local travel agent. We were having a conversation about marketing and she mentioned that the challenge was not developing new ideas, but having the time to implement those ideas. She was confident that if she had the time she could develop her business and spread the message about how good her service was helping her customers.

She is aware of the marketing secret for 2011...it is TIME .Those businesses that can find time to develop their marketing strategy are those that will prosper in 2011.

I was recently working with a client and his reaction was very similar. His comment was “I am too busy to do marketing, I need all my time to just keep the business afloat, when the business is going well I will give myself more time to do the marketing”.

The extra pressure that retailers and small business are feeling at present is resulting in less people doing more work and as a result they are not having time to develop their business. This strategy will work in the short term, but in the long term it will result in a reduction in customers as other businesses gear up to develop their marketing strategies and attract customers away from your business.

TIME SAVERS

The key to developing your business in the next few months is going back to the basics of management and looking at how you can use time more effectively to allow you and your team to develop marketing strategies for the business in 2011.

My top 7 Tips are as follows

1 Write down your goals as far as marketing is concerned. What do you want to achieve and by when. I think the key is to write them down rather than just think about them and to put a date to the time you will have achieved these goals.

2 When travelling give yourself a target to achieve. I am a typical “Road Warrior” and use the time at airports and on flights to achieve work goals, you may not be an air traveller, but travel time can still be a valuable time to catch up and research what marketing you need to develop.

Do not procrastinate. Set a deadline, write it down and do it. Tell work colleagues and family members what you are doing so they can help you develop your goals.

4 Balance your time between traditional marketing and social media marketing. It is easy to get engrossed in one at the expense of the other. You will need both techniques in your tool kit for 2011.

5 Is there something that you can delegate to allow you to invest more time in the things that will make a difference in your business? For some of us it may be worth delegating the marketing, for others it may mean delegating other areas of work.

6 Measure the success of marketing. Measure how you are achieving more customers and the increase in the average sale per customer. This will give you the motivation and confidence to develop your marketing skills

7 Reward yourself when you have achieved your goals in marketing.

I am confident that 2011 will result in more unique marketing ideas being presented to all of us and it will be easy to feel swamped by all these ideas. My advice is to keep it as simple as you can, set some goals and make sure you achieve them.

John Stanley (CSP) is one of the top 10% of speakers in the world today, an acclaimed retail consultant and WA Entrepreneur of the Year 2009.  The author of several marketing, customer service and retail books including the best seller “Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know”, his company is WA Small Business Champion 2009 – Educational Services and WA Small Business of the Year 2010 for Export Services.  John was voted one of the “Power 100” in 2010 by the UK Horticultural Press.  Visit his websitewww.johnstanley.com.au or email linda@johnstanley.com.au to see how he can help you grow your business. 

 

  

 

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