Consumer Guide To Poinsettias
As any retailer or grower will tell you, marketing is as much — or more — an art as it is a science. Certainly growers can keep track of which poinsettia cultivars and colors are sold each year and use that information to help plan for the next year. This assumes, of course, that they know when a cultivar or color ran out. Even with all of that work, however, variations in sales of specific colors and cultivars from year to year can drive a crop scheduler insane. Marketing surveys can make the forecasting a little easier, and we have the results from three universities and one retailer to help you: Purdue University, University of Florida, North Carolina State University and Homewood Nursery and Garden Center.
Collecting The Information
Each site conducts its survey slightly differently, so before we can give you our results, we need to give you the particulars of how the information was collected.
Purdue University. Purdue’s poinsettia evaluations were conducted in cooperation with White River Gardens, Indianapolis, Ind. Plants were displayed in a conservatory and arranged in three different groups. In the first group, all of the 109 cultivars in the trial were labeled by name and breeder. Visitors were asked to pick their 1st, 2nd and 3rd favorite cultivar from this group. The second grouping contained the most important 16 red cultivars, identified only by number. Visitors were asked to select their 1st, 2nd and 3rd favorite red cultivar (which ones they would purchase). The third group contained 10 novelty cultivars also only identified by number. Visitors were asked to select their 1st, 2nd and 3rd favorite novelty cultivars (which ones they would purchase). Depending on the group of plants, results were based on 1,204-2,013 responses.
University Of Florida. At the University of Florida evaluations were conducted in the production greenhouses. Selected cultivars were arranged in groups of 10, and participants were asked to select the three cultivars they would purchase. Other cultivars were arranged in groups of four and participants were asked which single plant they would purchase. The plants in all groups were identified only by number. Results were based on 265-280 responses.
Homewood Nursery. At Homewood Nursery and Garden Center, Raleigh, N.C., the public voted for their five favorite poinsettias out of a group of 45, each identified by a number. Customers were asked to select their five favorites without ranking them. The survey was conducted from Nov. 19 to Dec. 10, and 598 people cast votes.
North Carolina State University. NC State University held an open house indoors at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum under artificial lights. All 104 cultivars were presented, with two plants of each cultivar on display. Of the 180 attendees at the Consumer Open House, 127 filled out surveys. It was no easy task for the participants because they had so many cultivars from which to choose. To make the job easier, cultivars were organized into six groups: red, pink, white, jingle bells, marble and novelties. Consumers were asked to select their three favorite cultivars within each group. They were also asked to select their three overall favorite cultivars and their three overall least-favorite cultivars from all of the cultivars on display.
Download Consumer Guide To Poinsettias
