Marketing Pansies 
Several outlets, as you probably well know, are open to the commercial 
grower for the sale of Pansy plants. Early sown seedlings (July and August) 
usually find good sale as seedlings in the southern and extreme northern 
sections, where they are used as winter flowering subjects in the first case, 
and as stock for sale the following Spring in the latter. 
September and October seedlings find good sale during the late fall and 
winter months in many sections for spring flowering stock; while seeds 
may be sown indoors from December to March for plants that find sale 
through the spring months for flowering from mid-May throughout the 
early summer. 
These are usually sold by the thousand when they have from 6 to 12 
leaves, being packed lightly in damp moss and wrapped 50 plants to the 
bunch. Prices range from $3.50 to $5.00 and even $6.00 per thousand 
plants F. O. B. grower’s shipping point, and may be shipped to almost any 
section of the United States. 
Transplanted plants are usually in demand in late fall and throughout 
the winter and spring months, if you are prepared to supply them. South¬ 
ern districts want them earlier in the season than the north. These are 
usually wanted showing bud or in bloom and demand a wide range of prices. 
Seldom is a grower able to profitably grow this stock to sell at less than 
$7.00 per 1000, and in many cases during the spring season $20.00 per 
1000 is not unusual for good stock. These plants are usually packed in damp 
moss, being wrapped in bunches of 12, 10 and even individual plants. 
Foregoing figures are all based on wholesale trade prices and demands, and 
in no way affect the prices obtained at retail. 
In retail channels, most sales are made while plants are in flower; prefer¬ 
ably while plants have from one to five flowers on them. Many methods are 
used in selling to this trade, such as wrapping plants individually so that 
the purchaser may make up from a lot any color assortment desired, as well 
as placing 3, 6, and 12 plants in a basket made up to sell in markets. We 
prefer to use our Pansy sales beds as an attraction to bring people to our 
gardens and greenhouses so we may sell them many other bedding items 
which we find profitable. Sales beds of a few thousand plants from which 
the patron may select just what he wants is a most compelling attraction, 
and, with a little advertising, will break down much store and market com¬ 
petition. It also creates a friendly feeling which promotes the sale of other 
stock with little effort. Prices of plants in these cases usually range from 
2 5 cents a dozen to as much as $1.00 each. We’ll gladly discuss and offer 
suggestions on your marketing problems. 
FEATURE 
They Will Sell 
PANSIES 
Themselves 
Many growers of Pansy plants do not derive the full advertising benefit 
from the subject they wish to sell. Mere words will not describe Pansies to 
your prospective retail patrons. Neither will a few small baskets or flats 
attract the attention that a nice bed will. We have found it most profitable 
to set several thousand Pansy plants for advertising purposes only. 
If you have a prominent location where you can place these beds—fine! 
If not, send out a few invitation cards inviting the public to visit your gardens 
and feature your Pansy beds. You’ll be surprised at the response. In our 
own case, being located 278 miles from Portland in a rural county of less 
than 15,000 people, we regularly sell year after year, 20,000 to 2 5,000 
Pansy plants at retail right at our gardens. Many of our patrons visit us 
season after season from towns over 150 miles away. If you are interested 
in developing this type of sales we shall be glad to help in any possible way. 
IN CONCLUSION 
We trust that we have been able to offer you here some suggestions that 
will prove of some value to you in obtaining better results. No doubt, how¬ 
ever, there will be other problems arise from time to time, and if we can be 
of any help we shall be glad to co-operate with you through direct corre¬ 
spondence. 
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