How often do you do flowering rotations and what are your favorite varieties?

For the last 10 years or so we have been doing only bromeliads, kalanchoes, orchids and (of course) poinsettias.

We change the "flowers" automatically every 6 weeks.

This has been pretty profitable and very headache free. Maintenance on these plants couldn’t be easier ( I don’t think we’ve ever had a complaint regarding the flowers).

Anyway, we are starting to get bored with this limited approach. I want to add more options but don’t want any additional headaches either.

How does everybody else do it?

JK

Once upon a time, we had an account that was flush with cash and demanded rotations pretty much every 2 weeks...it was indoor azaleas in January, followed by daisy mums, more azaleas in February, then tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, Easter Lilies, hydrangeas, more azaleas, then mums again, then Bromeliads through the summer, mums again in the fall, then poinsettias and so on.

Occasionally they would let us do something "different"...anthuriums, kalanchoes, cyclamen, etc., but the lobby was so dark and either cold or broiling, that only the Bromeliads and azaleas (with oasis disk subirrigation) managed to make it through their scheduled rotations in good shape (6 weeks for Bromeliads and 3-4 weeks for the azaleas). Tulips, hyanciths and daffodils stretched and flopped; mums’ foliage yellowed and flowers shattered; hydrangeas wilted and died even when watered twice a week; Easter Lilies toppled over from the stretching, top-heavy stems’ own weight; and poinsettias turned a sickly shade of pinkish-blue and defoliated before mid-December (only after we sold the client on two rotations...first at Thanksgiving and then on December 15th...did the holiday display look presentable from start to finish).

I think four to six rotations of Bromeliads per year gives you pretty good creative freedom...Guzmanias come in dozens of colors now, there are several striking Vriesia cultivars, Aechmeas in several varieties, plus many attractive Neoregelias for low edging effect. Plus, they will surely outlive an 8-9 week rotation schedule in very nice shape...no complaints!

Some newer varieties of 6" blooming pot plants that are appearing in the market show promise as well...

I love Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum cv.)...the white is fabulous, and they also come in yellows and oranges (Hana Bay Floral is one good source)...the leaves are sort of hyacinth-like, upright so they fit well in mass plantings in smallish containers, don’t yellow in low to moderate light, are not huge drinkers, tolerate cool to warm temps, and flowers open nicely over a long period without much noticeable discoloration in the spent blooms. I’m also looking at using Curcuma alismatifolia cultivars (Tulip Ginger), which is a tropical that has blooms reminiscent of botanical tulips in shape and comes in various shades of pink, lavender, red and white. Bloom life is upwards of 30-40 days on these, according to hort researchers’ reports. One problem is availability (try Hana Bay again, but there are some growers in Texas that do these, too)...and they are tough to produce as potted plants, requiring multiple chemical treatments (fungicides, growth regulators, etc.) and careful timing to produce a crop that blooms at a desired time. I’ve also seen Lachenalia, another South African bulb crop, which look like spikes of elongated, yellow bells (sort of like some kalanchoe species) with upright, spiky bulb-type foliage. Kind of dainty but exotic at the same time.

This is an area in which growers can really get us excited by introducing new forms and color combinations to the market. Interiorscapers are the pioneers in the use of "something new and different"...feed us!

Clem

Thanks for the input Clem,

It’s important to me to get this down to a "system".

I want to be able to order and install the rotational flowers on a regular basis.

Also, I would like to try to keep things to our regular once per week maintenance.

Of course sub irrigation is a possibility but the the extra cost and hassle of having to repot all those plants makes this option less than attractive.

Right now 6 weeks is a little too long for kalanchoes and a little too short for bromeliads. (some customers are begiining to wonder when they see us replacing perfectly good bromeliads).

I’m thinking about changing the kalanchoes to a 4 week schedule and the bromeliads to an 8 week schedule so at least my delivery dates will match up. If I do that, that should open up a few more possibilites as far as varieties of 4 week plants are concerned.

However this would cost me 3 bromeliad rotations per year, that’s a lot of sales. I don’t think that the lower annual cost for a bromeliad program will result in more customers deciding to go this route.

JK

PS I googled hana bay floral and didn’t come up with anything. Do you have a link?

PSS Aphelandra works pretty good as a rotational flower too. Long lasting and relatively low maintenance. If the bloom dies prematurely it still has intersting foliage.

John: sorry about that, it’s "Hana Bay Flowers"...www.hanabayflowers.com.

The Ornithogalum would be in the same price range as Bromeliads, as would the Curcumas, I believe. So you could substitute them and still keep your revenue stream about the same.

As for subirrigation, you can do a very simple version that requires no extra labor at all. We used to fit out each plant’s liner with an Oasis disk, but more recently went the Aquafur route. The Aquafur disks are a little on the soft side and will get mushy after being wet for awhile...if the manufacturer would adjust the structure a bit to make them more rigid, they would be a perfect solution to your problem of how to water once a week without stressing the plants.

Clem

Aren’t Bromeliads supposed to last 3 months?

Rolande: very often they last even longer than that...it’s just that some clients like more frequent changeouts than others. If they’re willing to absorb the higher cost and "throw away" part of their outlay in favor of "fresh", that’s their prerogative, and far be it from me to discourage them from stimulating our economy.

Frequently the clients keep the old Bromeliads around the office after they’re rotated out, or they take them home, or raffle them off for the office party kitty, or whatever.

Clem

Hi Rolande,

Yes, you can get 3 months out of some bromeliads.

6 weeks was a nice round number that I "figured out" many years ago. It is, admittedly, a little premature for most bromeliads (unless they are in extremely bright or dark locations).

I find that the type of customer who is going to buy bromeliads isn’t "that" concerned about budget. They like the idea of a different variety every six weeks. When you compare bromeliads to cut flowers it’s still a bargain!

With the 6 week rotation we get 9 rotations per year, you would only get 4 with a 12 week rotation. Thats double the sales!

However, I am trying to explore other ideas to give my customers more variety and better value.

JK