In the March issue of Garden Center magazine, we touched base with some hort professionals for tips that might help retailers sell even more vegetables this spring.

Our research yielded some great advice -- along with this warning, from Proven Winners' Marshall Dirks:

If it’s a grower/retailer – retailing in the same growing space – they should not cross-merchadise. Calibrachoa and petunias are very sensitive to TSWV (tomato spotted wilt virus), CMV (Calibrachoa mosaic virus) and TMV (tomato mosaic virus). We heard at OFA customers complaining about virus on their Proven Winners for the first time. 

I listened to them, and then said, “you know, I heard a huge trend in gardening occurred this past spring ... growers were selling more veggies...”  They would respond, “yep, we certainly did”.  I would reply, “and as a matter of fact, they were even growing these veggies in the same place they were growing their hanging baskets and 4-inch material...”  to which they replied, “oh yeah, we cut back on some of our 4-inch product and grew veggies instead with our [hanging basket] overhead...”  

This then allowed me to enlighten them on the virus issue with veggies – the viruses do not harm the veggies, but they harm their floriculture crops...

For consumers – it’s not a problem since the products are outside. That being said, I planted Snow Princess with my tomatoes in an Earthbox – it was awesome from mid-May until late Oct.

The moral of the story: Even the best laid plants of mice and men can go awry sometimes.