Congratulations to Hazeu Orchids of the Netherlands for winning the 2022 Greenovation Award at the Trade Fair Aalsmeer earlier this month. Not only is their hexagonal pot innovative and sustainable, it also saves energy and expenditures. That’s good news all around!

Being hexagonal and made from 100% recycled plastics, growing in this six-sided pot in a corresponding tray allows them to grow 20% more plants on a bench, and also allows for 20% more plants in the same shipping area. That equals a 20% reduction in energy consumption and a 15% lower CO2 footprint, as well. Or, as Chiel Hazeu puts it, “Using [the pot] allows us to produce 20% more with the same energy consumption.” Good for your bottom line and for the planet. In fact, the award jury said this of the innovative orchid pot: “The nursery pot has a practical application for other growers … Perhaps this pot will become the new standard in the sector.”

In fact, let Chiel explain it all to you himself. Just click HERE or on the photo below.

Have I mentioned that the opening session speaker for the Tropical Plant International Expo will be trend analyst Christine Boland? Appearing as the headlining speaker for the third time, Christine this time will be talking about “Guiding the Future to the Next Level.”

Noting that this is shaping up to become a decisive decade, Christine will explain how the spirit of a time—such as the time we are in now—is constructed, what drives people and how you can make use of the opportunities that present themselves using this knowledge.

You will not want to miss further topics Christine will delve into during her session, which will take place at 9 a.m. Wednesday, January 18 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. Those topics include the three Principles of Progress that Christine says will resonate with consumers in the coming months—and those are Defining Your True North, Adding Meaningfulness and Creating Value from Your Values. She’ll also explain what a connectioneur is and how to become one. Count me in!

I just heard from FNGLA’s Linda Adams that not only is Christine giving the keynote this year, she’s also doing an additional session, which will go deeper into design detail information. This TPIE Workshop session is called “Deeper Dive: Design Language Forecast for 2023- 24” and will take place Wednesday, January 18, 3:00—4:30 p.m. This afternoon session is $75 in advance and $90 day of, if seats are still available. Learn more about this workshop and register for it HERE.

I absolutely love TPIE and it’s not just for the warm weather. Join me in Tampa in January. Registration is now open! Head over to www.tpie.org to sign up and find more information.

Guest contributor Jos De Boer’s piece about the trickle-down effects of order cancellations is still eliciting comments from readers. Gary Hennen of Oglesby Plants International wrote in response and provided a really interesting perspective. Here’s what Gary had to say:

“As a tissue culture producer and young plant grower, I thank you for bringing the consequences of order cancellations to the floor. Those of us who work with both internal and global suppliers of tissue cultured plants understand that months if not years of planning and commitment are required for each plant we offer. An order from a customer triggers a cascade of events months in advance of the delivery time. No matter how timely an order cancellation is, many of the costs involved in preparing an order cannot be recovered. One observation about the current plant business is there does not appear to be upward or downward trends anymore. There is on and off. We have embraced the digital ‘1’ or ‘0.’”

I so appreciate that analogy, Gary! In fact, I sense that binary nature in a lot of business and life matters nowadays. Let’s hope we can figure out a solution that works for growers and retailers alike.

Last week Bossman Beytes forwarded to me an email from Aimee Rohrbach, co-owner of Musselman Wholesale Foliage in Pennsylvania. Aimee had mentioned to him running some sales figures for their five fall seasons, and it turned out that, while they didn’t hit the numbers they sold in 2020 and 2021, they more than doubled their foliage units in 2022 over 2018.

Hearing that amazing news, I reached out to Aimee myself—and I was treated to even more sales figures. She ran sales numbers for the entire year, not just their fall seasons. Here’s what she came up with:

Keep in mind that Pennsylvania businesses were shut down for a solid month in spring of 2020, so Musselman’s sold very little during that period.

Aimee said that foliage/dish gardens were about 70% of their 2021 annual sales. Year to date for 2022, they sit at 67.3% of their annual sales. Prior to 2020, foliage/dish gardens had made up about 50% of their annual sales volume for many years.

Here’s something else Aimee said (Diane Blazek, are you listening?): “I also checked the sales figures on Peperomia – the National Garden Bureau’s 2022 Houseplant of the Year. In 2018, we sold only 3,470 peperomias. This year we have sold 20,500 pots of the species to date, so I think the marketing did work!”

If anyone else has noticed increased sales of peperomias or have tropicals and foliage sales numbers you’d like to share, please drop me a note about it at ewells@ballpublishing.com.