August 2021 - 41

GARDEN PHARMACY
Tell customers, " We fertilize daily, and
for your plants to continue to look like
this, you should also fertilize regularly. "
You're fertilizing the plants in your
garden center when you water, and
it's important to let your customers
AND staff know that. We've seen a
rush of new customers in the past
18 months, and it's our duty to help
those customers learn how to be
successful with the plants. Avoiding the
conversation about fertilizer because
it might make a certain plant seem
more difficult to grow doesn't solve a
problem - it just creates one down the
road for the customer.
Why not create a success plan for
your top 20 best sellers? Something
they can download off your website or
you can hand out in store. It doesn't
have to be perfect, but something to
guide someone at purchase. Include the
proper fertilizer, how often to typically
water, and what pests they might
encounter. A baby can't leave a hospital
without a car seat; maybe plants
shouldn't leave a garden center without
a care sheet.
What's the Diagnosis?
Your garden center staff is your
customers' diagnostic team. You have
solutions to an array of plant problems
sitting on your shelves, but in order
to prescribe the right treatment plan
your team needs to know where to
start. This comes down to a quick
education of your staff - we're talking
a 20-minute presentation with a
laminated handout.
Things go wrong in four ways:
Watering, nutrients (too much/too
little), pests, and diseases.
Thankfully for the most part it's
pretty easy to tell the difference
between those areas.
* Watering issues can be determined
by leaves, soil, and asking how
much someone waters.
* Nutrient deficiencies and toxicities
usually show up in straight line
issues on leaves.
* Does it look like something is
eating it or moving on it? Likely a
pest issue.
* Diseases might be the hardest to
diagnose just because you don't
Meet Your
Editorial Team
LEADS THE WAY
The America in Bloom national awards program brings out the best in
hometowns and empowers communities to excel. Lead the way and
experience the benefits by registering today.
 
 
 
  
 
 
          
          
          
       
      
   
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
have the means to confirm in fact
if a disease is present, but showing
examples of blight, mosaic virus
and downy mildew will help your
staff know.
From there, it's empowering your
staff to use the technology at their
hands. Once they know a customer has a
" nutrient deficiency in their geraniums "
it's a 5-second Google image search
to find the exact match to the same
deficiency, and prescribing the right
fertilizer to remedy the situation.
Becoming your local garden
pharmacist doesn't have to be hard.
Fueling your staff with just a little
bit of knowledge goes a long way in
helping them solve your customers'
problems. Thankfully, your team
doesn't need to have a 6+ year degree
or a residency to prescribe the right
nutrients and pest solutions.
Mason Day is head of community and
support at JR Peters Inc. Contact him at
mday@jrpeters.com.
Learn more about them at

HERITAGE PRESERVATION
PLANT BENEFITS
www.AmericaInBloom.org
Circle 124
LGRMAG.COM | 41

http://www.AmericaInBloom.org http://www.LGRMAG.COM

August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2021