PHOTO COURTESY PLANTS NOUVEAU

Years ago , when wholesale nurseries made catalogs and websites , they thought they were talking to people like them , in other words , people who know a lot about plants . Today , anyone can access an online catalog or website to get information about plants . Why is that a big deal ? I ’ m here to tell you .

Only 20 percent of Americans know a lot about plants . Which means 80 percent know little or nothing . Anyone born after 1963 and before 2000 ( a . k . a . Gen X and Millennials ) was most likely not taught to garden by their parents , because both parents worked . This was the first generation with two working parents and prepared foods because people had no time for anything extra — especially cooking and gardening .

We need to be able to sell plants to these folks if we want them to garden . How can we entice them to buy something with copy that few consumers will understand ?

Following is an example of website copy written for quite possibly the most famous horticultural introduction in the world . Is this enticing consumers ?

FOR THE 20 PERCENT Rose ‘ Radrazz ’ Knockout PP # 11836 CBPR # 0993 My comments in parenthesis

The original member of the Knock Out family . This shrub rose set a new standard in disease resistance with little to no maintenance required . ( disease resistance ?) The bloom cycle ( what the ?) produces rich cherry red / hot pink blooms that will continue until the first hard frost ( and a first hard frost is ?). Black spot resistant , drought tolerant and self-cleaning ( wait , it cleans ? cleans what ?), this rose suits every garden and every lifestyle . ( finally … something we can understand )

Here ’ s my criticism – and trust me , we are ALL guilty of this . First , it has way too much lingo .

• We need to be talking directly to people who don ’ t garden , but might want to , not to ourselves .

• Second , say what you mean . Brag about the plant , if it warrants bragging , and please describe everything to the lowest denominator . We need to be talking to everyone , not the 20 percent who understand .

Disclaimer : I worked for Star Roses and Plants when Knock Out ® was introduced and the copy I wrote back then and the copy they use now is great , but still full of jargon . I pointed this out to Steve Hutton , president of Star Roses and Plants when I asked his permission to use Knock Out as the example . He told me to tell you he cringed and then promptly fainted .

FOR THE 80 PERCENT

Marketers and writers make this mistake every day . Why aren ’ t we telling people how amazing the plants are , and what they can do for the person who buys them ? Why not make this rose sound like the easiest plant in the world to grow , because seriously , it could be . Why not say this ?

If you have never gardened before , this is the plant for you !

Plant it , water it really well every two days for the first month , then once a week for the rest of the first summer , after that , watch it grow ! This is one of the easiest plants to grow and it will give you months and months of beautiful pinkish-red flowers . In fall , the leaves will turn deep purple and then fall off after a few frosts . Next spring , when the forsythia bloom ( if you don ’ t know what a forsythia is , Google it and you will find out ), take some sharp pruners and cut the plant ’ s branches back between 12- to 18-inches tall . Follow this diagram to make sure

you remove any stems that are crossing . ( Insert rose pruning diagram here .)

That ’ s all you have to do and this plant will come back year after year and flower from early summer until fall . It ’ s THAT easy !

MASS COMMUNICATION Okay , so maybe I went a little too far , but I ’ m trying to prove a point . Ask yourself , was it really too far or is this what people need to be successful ? We send newly adopted pets home with a litany of instructions , but we send most plants home with a 1- by 3-inch plastic tag that says next to nothing .

If we write copy for the 100 percent instead of the 20 percent , we can sell more plants to people who know a lot . We can also start selling plants to people who know little to nothing . We can get people excited about gardening again , and teach them how to be successful , so they buy even more plants . And hopefully , we are teaching today ’ s consumers so they can teach someone else .

If we write this way , people will want to buy the plant , and they will have success . Isn ’ t that the point ?

GWA member Angela Treadwell-Palmer is founder and co-owner of Plants Nouveau .

PHOTO COURTESY ANGELA TREADWELL-PALMER

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