Leaders of the packs

摘要

Claire Shaddick highlights trends in bedding, including increased use of brands and planted-up containers. The bedding plant market looks very different to that of 30 years ago when commercial production for retail was still in its infancy. Even inthe past 10 years, advances in breeding and innovations in the way bedding is sold and used have all left their mark. On the face of it, the market for pack bedding has stagnated since the mid-1990s, when national production hit an all-time high of 32 million trays and packs, according to government statistics. But while that may be true for the overall picture, some growers are stilt experiencing market growth. Those supplying multiple retailers in particular are fast expanding, the most prominent example being Roundstone Nurseries, of West Sussex, which has invested 7 million pound in new glass to service its increase in sales to B&Q. At the same time, traditional wholesale growers are coming under pressure, leaving the pack business concentrated infewer hands.