August 2019 - 33

PRODUCTION
In addition to the cost savings,
I'd like to add that the plant quality
(fullness) using spring planted
bareroot sedum will be considerably
higher than what can be obtained
when 72-cell liners. More fullness,
no pinching, faster crop times and
a significant cost savings, now
doubling the cost of the input
doesn't seem so bad does it?
HEMEROCALLIS 'STELLA
DE ORO'
In this last example, I'd like to
emphasize another important
factor growers should take into
consideration when purchasing
perennial starting materials. To
reduce the production times,
improve plant appearance/quality
and to maximize profitability,
utilize starting materials that are
appropriate for the size containers
they are going into.
Both of these images to the left
show hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro'
in the same-sized trade 1-gallon
containers. The top image is planted
using #2 grade bareroot plants. The
bottom image was planted with #1
grade bareroot starting materials.
I think it's obvious, but which crop
is going to finish faster and have a
better appearance for the consumer?
That means the other crop is going
to be on the ground significantly
longer, cost more to produce and will
likely not be as full. Just looking at
the image on the left, I wonder how
many additional weeks it would take
to produce a high-quality plant? And,
with the increased production time, is
using smaller, less expensive starting
materials even profitable to produce?
SIZE DOES MATTER
I think you can see from these
examples that size does matter. I'm
not asking you to change your entire
program by shifting everything to
larger inputs. In many cases, it's
not necessary to do so. At the very
least, I hope I inspired you to take a
look at some of your perennials and
given you a few ideas on how you
can possibly increase plant quality,
decrease production times and
increase the profitability.
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There are several factors
that will influence the price of
starting materials and overhead
costs; therefore, your input
and production costs and
potential savings will vary from
the examples I've shown here.
I encourage each growing
operation to conduct their own
calculations using their actual
costs, crop spacings and grow
times. Crunch the numbers and
choose the starting materials that
make the most " cents. "
Paul Pilon is a horticultural consultant,
owner of Perennial Solutions Consulting
(www.perennialsolutions.com), and
author of Perennial Solutions: A
Grower's Guide to Perennial Production.
He can be reached at 616.366.8588 or
paul@perennialsolutions.com.
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August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2019
