Nursery business rebounds from cold winter

From the Shreveport Times:

The Louisiana nursery industry appears to have rebounded nicely from unusually cold weather early in the year.

LSU AgCenter horticulturist Allen Owings said retail and wholesale sales since March have been excellent, surpassing spring 2013 figures by 10 to 20 percent. Plant sales typically taper off after Mother's Day, but retailers hope to maintain strong business through Memorial Day or early June this year, he said.

“Usually it’s slowing down by now, but we’re still doing well,” said Pam Willis, who handles sales at Forest Hill Nursery Farm. “It’s been a really good year. We’re hoping it lasts a little bit longer.”

“We’ve been extremely busy,” said Debbie Head, owner of Poole Bros. Nursery in Forest Hill.

This time of year is usually busy, anyway — retailers make about 50 percent of their annual income between March and May, Owings said. This year’s busy season has been even busier because cold, wet weather in January damaged landscaping, necessitating more replacement plants.

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