Cowan Communication Arts recently interviewed Founder and President, Michael Artino, for the production of an overview video program for Art Form Nurseries. The following is an extended Q & A transcript from the video interview.
Q: Please describe your business.
A: We are a wholesale grower of perennials and herbs. The herbs are grown in 3 inch pots and sold in the spring and throughout the season we sell perennials in primarily one gallon pots. Our grasses are in 3 gallon pots and larger plants are in larger containers. But 90 percent of perennials are in 1's.Q: Please describe your growing operations.
A: The overall facility is 30 acres and heated greenhouse space is 1.65 acres.
We're a medium sized grower. The nursery is divided into two parts and one part is just production, which is growing and finishing plants. And the other half is used as a sales yard so all our plants are brought to the sales yard, all our orders are pulled from the sales yard, which allows us to just be working with finished material when we have to pull orders in a short amount of time we don't have to drive all over the nursery, and things are graded before they are brought to the sales yard, so it's easier and quicker for the order pullers to take whatever they need.Q: How did you get started?
A: We started out as a landscape contractor in 1975. We were having a hard time finding larger perennials in containers. What was offered back then in the 70's were quarts and when you would plant them in the landscape they just don't show up. So we decided to grow our own (gallons) because you couldn't find them and eventually we had a surplus and started contacting local garden centers to see if they would be interested in any and the business just grew from there.Q: How did this lead to being solely in the nursery business?
A: It's a part of the industry that I preferred over contracting, so we just kept expanding that part of the business (nursery). 1987 was the last year we did any landscape contracting. We've been putting all our efforts into the nursery since that time.Q: How many varieties of plants do you grow?
A: When we first started out we were growing 35 to 85 different varieties and as time went on perennials became more and more popular. When we first started they (perennials) weren't in demand much as as they are now. Today there are so many varieties that it's hard to have them all, but we try to stay on top of that and if new varieties are proven good plants and good performers in the garden we will add them to our list.Today we're probably up to anywhere between 400 and 500 varieties of plants. We probably have 30 to 50 different varieties of Hosta. We have quite a few varieties of Day Lillie. Ornamental grasses have become real popular, so there's quite a few of those. And then you just have your perennials.
Q: Do you utilize greenhouse space for growing?
A: We started from just growing things in our landscape holding area which we didn't have much of anything except outdoor irrigation to adding greenhouses which was probably in the early 80's. The early 80's we started adding quonset huts like 30 foot quonset huts with heat. Through the years would add a few more and then in the early 90's we started building gutter connected houses and which we are in right now.Q: What do you like about your latest addition?
A: Our newest addition is an open roof greenhouse which is the best thing I've grown in. Features that I like are that the roof actually opens and we can have any combination of opening. It is controlled by a computer system and all we do is set the temperature we want to heat at, to cool at, humidity control, and the roof will open and close and take care of all of that. When the roof is open all the way we are getting real good air circulation in here, which is ideal for plants. And we're getting sun that you can't get through poly film.The facility will be used for keeping plants cold, which helps keep them compact and acclimates them to being outside in a customer sales yard or whatever. So we'll use that for a lot of finished material like finished herbs and we'll keep them in here just to keep them cool so that in early spring like in April they can tolerate the colder weather.
Throughout the season the uses of this house will change. The real advantage is the growing in spring… in summer it is wide open… the advantage is it is easy to cool and right now the middle of fall we can finish plants off. Plants don't like to be very wet so we can close the roof if it rains and control the moisture. But we are still getting all the benefits of growing outdoors.
Q: Do you propagate plants?
A: We propagate quite a few of our plants. I would say most plants that can be propagated by seed or cuttings. We're using quite a bit of that. One of the few things we won't propagate are plants that are propagated by division and we'll usually buy those from a field grower. That's something that just has to be grown in the ground for a few years, dug up, divided and then we'll purchase that kind of thing.Another thing we're buying in is un-rooted cuttings and there's a high quality to this product. Most are virus free. They are raised in a special environment, so we are getting clean stock.
So we go through the propagation stage and then we go through the first transplant which is usually in a flat of 36 to 12. And then from there that plant is put into a gallon container.
Q: Is there anything unique about your process?
A: We go through probably an extra step than most growers will. Most growers will go from propagation right into the gallon. We add different (extra) step and in that process we are cutting tops back and promoting branching and a stronger root system. It helps because we spend less time in the pot and we have a stronger root system so we don't have root rot.Being grown outside… if we have a long period of rain and you have a small plant in a larger pot of soil you will probably lose that plant to root rot.
Q: How many people are working at Art Form Nurseries?
A: Peak season we are up to 40 employees. After mid July that number will taper off a little and what we have are people that are usually working in their own departments. An order pulling crew, drivers that deliver the plants, the people that help load the trucks, prepare the plants for shipping, the manufacturing crew that keeps up with all the different maintenance tasks with plants, we have the propagation crew and a transplanting crew that puts the greenhouse plants into pots and moves those outside.Q: What are some of the reasons that your customers choose Art Form Nurseries?
A: Our biggest concentration is on the quality of the product. We make sure that it's rooted, it has a good top, and it has customer appeal. I'd say 80 to 85 percent of our customers are retail garden centers and they need a plant that will almost sell as an impulse item and we make sure that they are nice, full, rooted plants.They are grown outside, so that they have sturdy foliage. They are used to the wind blowing through them which encourages stronger branching and a more compact plant. With the full sun we are getting more flower development if it's bloom time. We go through and clean the plants before we ship them, take off any yellow leaves. It's a groomed plant when our customers get it.
Q: Do you have customers that have been coming to Art Form for a long time?
A: Most of our customers are repeat and have been with us for years. We give good customer service too. There's about a one to two day lead time from when we get the order to when we deliver the plants and it seems that is real popular with our customers. They prefer that… so customer service is another real strong point.Q: How do you add new plants to you growing list?
A: We prefer to be customer driven and please the customer. They (our wholesale customers) are out there dealing with the public (their retail customers) and they are getting requests from the public. The public is learning about things through publications or all the programs on gardening that there are on TV now, so we are constantly getting feedback from our customers.Theresa, our sales manager, is talking to our customers at least once a week, finding out what they need, putting an order together with them. Also finding out if there is anything they need that we are not growing so we can add that and if we hear of a request often then we will definitely add that to the list.
We all keep on top of that and if we think that it's an admirable plant and a good performer we'll add it to the list.
Q: How long does it take to add a new plant to your list?
It usually takes a season, a full season. You can consider that a year.Q: Do you have a grading process for your plants?
A: The grading process is just not having plants that aren't saleable in our sales yard. so in quite a few nurseries plants are located in such a wide area which means that there's a lot of drive time in the order pulling crew. We spend more time this way (dedicated production area and dedicated sales yard) but we are able to grade the plants and get a better grade for the customer.Q: Can wholesale customers come in and select their own material?
A: Any customers that walk in and want to select their own material it makes it easier for them also. It does take place, but we are able to service the customer better if they are able to call in the orders before they pick up. We can have the order ready, because it takes at least a half hour to an hour to pull some orders.We prefer that customers call in an order a day ahead of time and we are able to pull it, clean it and have it ready and when they show up we just load the truck.
Q: What is the average order size your customers call in?
A: It varies with the season. In the spring orders are usually about 400 to 1000 pots one gallon #1 containers. Herb orders vary according to the size of the operation. So springtime, April, May and June are our largest shipping times. But there's quite a few garden centers that will stock perennials in July, August, September. They are still getting color, we are still shipping plants with color on them and even if customers aren't looking for perennials when they see something that's in bloom it usually appeals to them.Q: Do you get feedback from your customers?
A: We've had stories of… quite a few customers have remarked that we were just unloading the truck and the customers were attracted to the plants that were coming in bloom, often times they say, “well I ordered so many, but I sold them right off the truck.” So yea, summer season there are some retailers that don't stock plants, the one's that have been doing it (stocking plants) are very happy with the results. They are extending the season, which boosts their profits.Q: What is your delivery area?
A: We deliver North Eastern Ohio the East and West side of Cleveland and the suburbs. We do Akron and the Canton area. And Medina, Brunswick, Strongsville, there's another strong area that we do. We probably go as far west as Toledo. And we do the City of Columbus. We don't do anything between Cleveland and Columbus, but we deliver to the Columbus-Delaware area.Q: What do recommend to your customers to improve sales to the public?
A: I think the best thing they can do is in their displays, to build mass displays. I know we are limited in space, but the more size of a display the more impact on the customer and if things are in bloom if you can put 50 plants in that display instead of 10 you are going to create a more appealing display and attract more people to those plants.As far as education goes, there's info on the tags, there's classes that retailers can provide, but I think most customers now, the retail customers, are attracted to the color. They are buying plants for flowers, if they are not in bloom they are not sure what the flower is. The picture tag does give them a description and a photo, but it seems like most customers want to see it before they buy, so to have things in bloom seems to be the best way to go.
Q: What role do your customers play in your business?
A: We appreciate all of our customers and the business that they've given us. You know we are primarily working for them. Everybody thinks that I'm the boss around here, but I consider the customers the boss, and we're trying to keep them happy. We do appreciate them buying from us, either big orders or small orders. We are happy to deal with all customers.Q: Are there special ways you reach out to your customers during the season?
During the season we send out a weekly availability and we'll have plants we select that are in their peak and that usually means they're flowering or just big and beautiful, maybe they are foliage plants like a heuchera or a hosta, but we feel that these plants have a very strong customer appeal and they will be the easiest thing for people to sell or we feel they will sell themselves, so we do have a hot picks of the week. Anybody that would like that, we would be glad to put them on the fax list and send it out weekly.We have quite a few people who tell us "well just send us 200 plants of the best looking things you have." And they'll get the best material that we have. Many customers know what varieties they'd like to have and we send them, but many customers leave it up to us and what we send them is just in the peak of bloom time.
Q: Do you think gardening is increasing in popularity?
A: Gardening may be the most popular hobby in the United States. And there are so many reports out there that gardening… you know just working in your yard… that the physical activity provides tremendous benefits.You know the largest part of our population is the baby boomer generation and they have more time now and they are using these plants and there is quite a bit of interest in new developments in our industry.
Q: Are there ways that garden centers could improve customer relations?
A: One thing that I think garden centers would benefit from and I don't know if they are doing it much, is offering classes to people to help them to put different combinations of plants together and know the different effects of sun and shade on plants, know how important bloom time is and just eliminate the mystery on how you do this because it's not really hard. It's just that there are so many different variables and different plants and putting them together and you just need to know like if I just want to start where can I start.But there are quite a few people, a tremendous amount of people that are in the advance stages of gardening and using these plants and I would imagine that the internet is probably a big part of the education process. Different web sites do a very good job of promoting plants.
Q: What are some of the advantages in gardening with perennials?
A: I think perennials are so popular, because they are so easy to move. I have planted plants that I didn't realize were going to get as tall as they were or perhaps in a young site you would want to put a little more in so it will fill in quickly, but when it does fill in or say the heights weren't what you thought they would be then they are still easy to move. You just have to be in the right season which is any of the cooler seasons.Late September, October, November an easy time to transplant perennials, even divide them or I would say mid May, or earlier, April even March and it's very easy to do and it gives you that flexibility that you're not putting in that oak tree or the dogwood or magnolia that is hard to get there in the first place and digging it up and moving it is not something you would normally think of doing. With a perennial it's like anyone can do it and that's one of the advantages, and it's very appealing to realize you are not stuck with the garden you put in. It allows you your creativity, you can add annuals with perennials or you can just reorganize your perennials, maybe introduce a new color scheme. Maybe take your perennials and divide them and use them in another part of the yard.
Q: Is there a bit of the “Keeping up with the Jone’s” with gardening customers?
A: I know when professionals in this business get together and they see new plants they say "What is that?"… And I know that homeowners do the same thing, You know people that enjoy plants and appreciate plants will ask, "What is that? Where did you get it?" so yeah that definitely goes with it too.Q: How did you get started working with plants?
A: I was interested in plants at a young age. When I was in high school I used to do yard maintenance for customers and had a small business going. I went to Ohio State and studied landscape horticulture, got a degree from there and when I got out I started a landscape contracting business. So the green industry has always appealed to me.Q: How has your education and experience helped in this business?
A: I was good that you had the basis of plant growth and plant physiology that would help you to solve problems, but it was also a tremendous trial and error process, not being in the nursery business before, not growing them in containers. I think we've all grown them in the ground but once you put them in a pot all of the sudden it's a seven day a week job to make sure they don't dry out and that everything is taken care of and it took a lot more time than I thought. It's not easy and even now after being in the business over 30 years, it's still a challenge, it's still a challenge, you are always getting different weather conditions that really can throw you for a loop and sometimes you get perfect weather, but that's rare. You're usually getting, it's either too cold or too wet or something on that line.You have to learn to adapt… it's… every day is a learning process… every day is.
Q: Has your landscaping experience played a role in how you operate the nursery?
A: My experience in working with the public and installing landscapes has been a tremendous advantage in starting this business, making my decisions in plants that I'm going to grow and sizes I'm going to grow in and the marketing that we do, in knowing what a customer goes trough after it receives a plant is really what our service, our customer service has been structured around. I know we picked up many plants when we were landscaping that weren't rooted in the pot, they might have been too small… I would rather have a nursery tell me that these aren't quite ready yet, which is one of our criteria for pulling plants in an order is that they are finished, they are rooted in, that was a big thing when I was dealing with nurseries that I remember and I wanted to make sure that no one would ever say that these plants weren't ready to go. So we go through the plants a couple of times. It's a couple of grading processes to insure that.It's helpful to put colors together and to know that when you design with perennials you can extend your bloom time. All your trees and shrubs bloom in the spring very few of them bloom past or even into June. We learn that the ideal way to extend bloom time is with perennials. When you sit down with a person that wants you to design a garden for them, their main request, I would say 99 percent of the time, is, "I want a garden that always has something in bloom." The only way to attain that is with perennials. To fill in for times that your trees and shrubs aren't blooming.