Commercial Projects are my beat here at Christensen’s Plant Center. I spend each day advising and developing relationships with project managers, landscape architects and estimators on upcoming projects. The last two seasons have been extremely disruptive for commercial work. Many projects were delayed, abandoned, or just in limbo. Work dried up to a trickle, but, as the economy opened up, so did the project pipeline.

You can get your company into the pipeline in two different ways. Many commercial projects come through the bid letting sites, such as Dodge, BidNet (MITN), and MDOT. These are great sites to start your journey. Some are free, others charge, but each can be a beneficial resource when you’re looking.

Many projects are awarded based on relationships and connections. Project and construction managers are extremely loyal and protective of their teams. Commercial jobs can be demanding. Weather, change orders, and delays are all routine. Your team’s ability to respond and perform will earn you that loyalty. When you build these relationships, you will never lack for opportunities. I know project teams that have worked together for years.

What type of projects work for your company? Many times, project failure is just a mismatch of landscape contractor and the type of work involved. Large projects lasting many years have longer payment cycles that may not work for you and your suppliers. New construction, weather delays, inspections and approvals are all considerations and potential headaches. After you have been successful, and figured out “your type”, that should be your focus for the future.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge project is huge with thousands of plantings to be installed - how many companies can handle that scope of project, or even want to? This was never more apparent to me than this spring when I delivered some wetland plants to one of our contractors on Lake St. Clair. He was in a wetsuit, on a very nasty day, working in the water! He had his entire team in wetsuits. Now that’s a company that has found their niche and never will lack for project work. They can probably pick and choose what they want to work on. What a competitive advantage for them!

Focus your efforts on finding your projects. Build relationships with construction and project managers that specialize in your type of projects and sell your passion! Develop your team to earn more profitable projects and work on your type of projects. Don’t waste your time chasing the ones that won’t work. All projects are not created equal, so focus and discipline is required.

If I can ever assist you in developing your Project Team, let me know. The next few seasons will be like drinking out of a fire hose. The projects are going to come at us so fast and furious, we will look back at last year as the good old days. The supply chain shortages will sort out over the next few years, but last year is a taste of what’s coming. The disruption while challenging, also creates opportunities for you and your team. Start developing your Project Pipeline today. Build relationships that will keep your Pipeline full. Focus on your projects, and turn that fire hose into a drinking fountain!

In my favorite Westerns, “Howdy, partner” was a common greeting. Having partners and friends was the key to survival in the Wild West. Today, partnerships can be a wonderful way to do business. The collaboration brings out the strengths in each organization, and deficiencies can be offset with shared experience and knowledge. Partnerships require honest, open communication to be most successful. It’s hard to be an expert in every aspect of today’s projects. Knowing what is going on in the marketplace and being prepared has never been more crucial. When you partner with your supplier, your team now has the knowledge and expertise of hundreds of growers, manufacturers and distributors. When your projects come in, share with your partner all your concerns and opportunities so you can work together for better outcomes that build your partnership.

Welcome to 2021 - the most challenging year in your career. The economic shutdown and Covid-19 has nearly destroyed the nursery and horticulture supply chain as we know it. We might as well be building it from scratch. It started with the evergreen shortage, quickly spread into commodities, containers - all the products we use every day and then - not to be left out - our hardscape suppliers have also been doing everything they can to keep up. The industry that took decades to build was brought to it’s knees in a little over a year. The creativity from our buyers and the flexibility of our vendors has been nothing short of amazing.

In addition, the transportation challenge has many aspects. The industry lost many drivers, and the demand in other industries is off the charts. The long and short of it is, transportation costs are through the roof, and our ability to move product has been greatly impacted. Another challenge I know you are familiar with is labor. The saying “Good people are hard to find” has been replaced with “Anyone has been hard to find”. When you can get a signing bonus at McDonald’s, you know the labor market is jazzed up.

We have faced many of these challenges in the past, maybe not all at the same time, but we have survived. But here’s the thing. You have never had so many opportunities to make money. The phones won’t stop ringing, the projects keep getting signed and the demand is not letting up anytime soon! So, buckle up, “Partner”, each week brings a new creative solution to our ever changing season.

This year will continue to test our mettle, but we can come out of this better, more adaptable, and willing to meet any challenge. We are learning and changing to meet the needs of the day. When you partner with Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Centers rest assured, we are working hard every day to be the best supplier and partner we can be. So, stop in today and say, “Howdy, partner” and let’s meet this challenge together. Partnership, collaboration and our shared experience will lead to our success. Enjoy the summer season and remember we are all in this together.

I’m fairly active on LinkedIn with my Design/Build network of landscape contractors, landscape architects and developers. I’m always asking, "Hey, are you on LinkedIn so I can learn about your company?" A lot of the larger companies with marketing departments are there, but many of my landscape contractors say, “I don’t have the time” or “I tried it, and it didn’t work.” There are a few tricks to it, but it can be a very effective tool in your marketing toolbox if used correctly.

First, your current customers want to see you on there. Everyone likes to roll with a winner, and by putting your company out there is a great way to separate from your competition. New potential customers, ready to buy, are on there and are socially engaged enough to be looking for you on the platform. If you get referred by someone, social media will be the first place they will go to get a feel for your service. The point is: find your audience, present your company and raise brand awareness to all the new opportunities and customers that want to hear your story.

If there is one word that comes to mind with social media it’s consistency. Be consistent with your timing, your format, logo, colors, all of that, even your tone. When you develop a consistent look, it allows you to tell your story. Everyone wants to know your story. Stories have beginnings, middles and endings. So do landscape projects. Spring clean-ups with before and after pictures tell a customer what to expect if they hire your company, way more than a quote, card and brochure could ever do. A hardscape installation, patio, wall or outdoor kitchen has a story. The story is best told with pictures and the transformation that allows your customers to dream about their landscape project, and they begin to see you as the landscaper that can make it a reality.

So start slow, find your voice, and be consistent with your logo, banners and company colors. Your customers and potential customers will begin to engage with you, ask questions, and make comments that will ultimately lead to new business. Social media needs to be a priority. The consistency will come when the social media post becomes the priority. Mark it on the calendar, make it a priority, and get it done. If you can’t do it consistently, then delegate it to someone who will. Develop your style, your look, your message and you will be successful. Be authentic, no templates - talk about your people, new equipment, milestones you are reaching, almost anything, if it’s authentic about your company and tells a story you will be followed and appreciated.

Many of the companies I follow have an editorial calendar that they will lay out like a marketing calendar for the season. Try to get your whole team involved. Most employees have the ability to take pictures, and with some before and after commentary that can lead to a strong post with many views and comments. Some companies highlight individual personalities, some highlight after-hour or weekend company gatherings, safety - the possibilities are there for everyone to get to know you and your people.

Be consistent so whatever platform you select your style and posts will be recognizable. Be authentic and have fun with your posts - it won’t be a chore, and your following will look forward to your next post. When done correctly, social media will attract repeat customers and potential customers to your sales funnel and make the rest of the sales process more efficient. Have fun, tell your story and create brand awareness for your company.

The first time I saw a plant reversion, I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. A customer had called and said there was a TREE growing out of her Dwarf Alberta Spruce. I had never seen this before, so I had to get my Dad involved. He said it was a classic! One of the buds one year cast off the dwarfing gene and the regular white spruce began to grow instead. I have to admit it was pretty cool looking - the white spruce growing straight and tall - but the customer wasn’t thrilled. The reversion is always more vigorous and would eventually take over the plant if not addressed.

Many of the most interesting and unique plants in the trade come from a spontaneous mutation, like a witch's broom or a variegated sprout. The mutation is discovered, a cutting is taken, and the variety eventually propagated and introduced. Some of these mutations aren’t that stable, and you will see parts of or entire plants reverting to the original form. I would like to point out that this is different than when the rootstock takes over a grafted plant, in that case you can see the growth is coming from below the graft.

Reversion can be brought on by many factors, but environmental stress seems to be a common cause. If you are observant when you are out on landscapes, you can see reversions all the time. That spruce example happens now and again, and loss of variegation is another one that’s fairly easy to find.

So getting back to my “Classic” scenario, my Dad suggested to our customer that we should prune it out immediately, as it was only going to get worse. There was a good chance the plant would survive and eventually fill in around the removed portion. If we didn’t, the reversion would dominate, and the resulting tree was never going to be an attractive specimen. I’m a tree hugger and my Dad’s even worse so of course we recommended trying to save the tree. In the end, we replaced the plant - because of its location and visibility the recovery time was unacceptable.

Each case is a judgement call. If you catch it while the reverted growth is fairly small, a simple pruning may be sufficient to eliminate it. Perennials such as hosta can be dug up, split, and replanted.

So be on the lookout for reversions. They are kind of cool, sometimes a little weird but definitely more common than you think. Take some pictures, share with us what you are finding and I will pull together a follow up discussion on this topic. Remember: Prune out all you can to “nip it in the bud” - if it’s too late replace it - and get a picture for our discussion.

Various parts of the country are known for their vibrant displays of fall foliage colors, none more so than the Midwest, and in particular, Michigan. It seems odd that we get such joy from the annual death of leaves from deciduous trees, shrubs, and even some perennials. Why do leaves change colors in the fall, and why can’t we guarantee that fall color to our customers?

I'm going to super-simplify the scientific part of this explanation so here goes:

• Chlorophyll produces carbohydrates (sugars) plants need for growth and is responsible for the green color in leaves and stems.
• Carotenoids express as yellow and orange and are generated during the growing season alongside the green.
• Anthocyanins are only produced in the fall after sugars are trapped in the leaves, and create reds and purples. More reds, and earlier reds, can come from plant stresses, low nutrition, and near-but-not freezing temperatures. Freezing stops the process of making red pigments.

During spring and summer chlorophyll masks the other pigments so you pretty much just see green, however shorter days, longer nights, and cooler temperatures trigger an abscission layer to form, cutting off the flow of sugars and replacement chlorophyll. As the green color fades, the underlying yellow and orange colors are revealed, and reds and purples develop. Eventually all the colors break down, leaving brown tannins.

What colors are produced, and in what amounts, and when in relation to other plants, is due to the genetics of a particular plant, growing conditions, and weather.

Similar environmental conditions as those causing red color in leaves also may cause fall colors to come sooner, or later, or to last longer some years than others. Drought during spring and early summer may signal the plant to form the abscission layer early, shutting down growth and causing color change sooner than usual.

So while moisture is good earlier in the season, too much late in the season means more clouds, less sun, and more muted colors. Too much rain in fall plus strong winds, may cause many leaves to fall prematurely. Cooler temperatures in late summer, and plenty of sunshine, often leads to brighter colors sooner. Cool is good, but too cold (freezing) can be bad, killing leaves early.

So ideal for fall color would be a moist growing season early, dry late summer and early fall, with sunny warm days and cool nights during the latter.

Choosing cultivars with known fall color-producing ability will certainly help, but as you can see there are other factors that come into play, and you really cannot guarantee fall color.