New machinery has simplified the process, reducing the printing costs to a few cents per pot. Now containers are becoming canvases for promotional messages, logos and planting instructions.

Companies from different industry segments are taking advantage of these printed pots. Seed companies and propagators are promoting specific series and cultivars. Growers are pushing their own brands. Retailers are advertising their logos and speeding up checkout by printing bar codes directly on pots.

Pleasant View Gardens, a grower in Loudon, N.H., is promoting three lines of plants with printed containers -- Proven Winners and two of Pleasant View's own brands, Cut and Grow Herbs and Cottage Accents.

"We do what we can to help our customers sell more plants faster," said Carol Huntington, Pleasant View sales and marketing manager. "The pots tie these promotions together real well."

The programs are also promoted with banners and John Henry color tags with bright photos on the front and information on the back including lists of complementary plants. The Proven Winners and Cottage Accent plants are sold in 4 1/2-inch Dillen pots printed by the manufacturer. Cut and Grow Herbs are sold in 4-inch pots.

Eye poppers

"The pots attract the eye. They aren't just plain terra cotta, dark green or black. It makes people want to look at them, and if customers pick up a plant they will put it in their carts 80 percent of the time," Huntington said. "The pots are also pretty enough that they make the plant more suitable as a gift."

Pleasant View increased its prices slightly to account for the printed pots, but few customers balked. "I think two customers out of about 2,000 said the printing wasn't worth the additional costs, so that's one-tenth of 1 percent," Huntington said.

Proven Winners is considering offering similar pots to its customers in the future, said program administrator John Gaydos.

Herman Engelmann Greenhouses in Apopka, Fla., grows 60 varieties of ivy under the brand name Exotic Angels. Labels identify each variety, which are sold in Lerio pots printed with the image of an angel, said sales director Dana Wagner.

"Since we're selling 60 varieties, we want to promote collectability," Wagner said. "We want people to have success with our plants and notice the angel again the next time they're shopping."

Seed companies/propagators

Both Ball FloraPlant in West Chicago, Ill., and Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas, Calif., will offer printed pots to growers in 2000. Ball will promote its Fiesta double impatiens and Ecke will promote its Flower Fields line.

Printed pots for both companies are optional elements in their total promotional packages, which also include tags and banners.

"When you buy the cuttings, you get the tags, but the pots are optional," said Lisa Tanin, Ball marketing manager. "If growers want to grow the Fiestas in their own pots or even in baskets or gallons, that's OK."

Tanin and Laurie Scullin, director of marketing at Ecke, said their companies have seen interest in the pots from growers and retailers. Ball uses 4 1/2-inch containers from O.S. Plastics while Ecke uses 4 1/3-inch pots from the same manufacturer.

"We showcased the pots at the pack trials this year and they seemed popular," Scullin said. "We're not trying to get into the plastic pot business, but we're trying to make some new things available."

Grower concerns

Some growers worry about printed pot programs. For one, if pots aren't compatible with a grower's automated system, participation may be difficult or out of the question. And what happens if a grower buys pots that are printed specifically for one retailer and that retailer backs out of the deal?

Metrolina Greenhouses in Huntersville, N.C., has participated in these programs before and has found some solutions, said Art Van Wingerden. In the past, the company has provided pots with customers' logos, bar codes and other information.

If a customer requests a pot size that requires Metrolina to modify or bypass its automated systems, then Metrolina charges the retailer for the additional effort.

"We can always make things work, but we charge for it. If our prices go up, then theirs will too," Van Wingerden said. Also, Metrolina presells everything produced in pots printed with customer-specific information. "As soon as that plant is potted, it's sold. The retailer has to buy it whether the plant gets dumped or not. We don't like having to do that, but we have no choice," Van Wingerden said. Growers should always keep quality in mind, even if plants are sold in fancy containers, he said. No matter how nice the pot is, it still takes an attractive plant to sell the whole product.

For more: Pleasant View Gardens, 7316 Pleasant St., Loudon, NH 03301; (603) 435-8361; fax (603) 435-6849. Proven Winners: 426 W. Second St., Rochester, MI 48307-1904; (248) 652-1789; fax (248) 652-4137. Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses Inc.: P.O. Box 1147, Apopka, FL 32704-1147; (800) 722-6435; fax (407) 886-0094. Ball FloraPlant: P.O. Box 335, West Chicago, IL 60185-2698; (630) 231-3600; fax (630) 231-3507. Paul Ecke Ranch: P.O. Box 230488, Encinitas, CA 92023-0488; (800) 468-3253; fax (760) 944-4000. Metrolina Greenhouses Inc.: 16400 Huntersville-Concord Road, Huntersville, NC 28078; (800) 222-2905; fax (704) 875-6741.

. © 1999 Branch-Smith Publishing