Expanding the Seasonal Potted Plant Floral Market in North America with Containerized Protea cynaroides L.

Abstract

The existing floriculture market for Christmas potted plants has been dominated by the Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) for an astounding 160 years. Most recent USDA statistics show that the Poinsettia/Christmas market accounts for 23% of all potted plants sales in the US or $144 Million annually. It is the number 1 selling potted plant with Easter lilies a distant second ($22 Million in sales). The average lifespan of a floriculture product (cultivar) is one to two years. Poinsettia is way over due for displacement, but a competing plant with similar Christmas tradition-based credentials has never surfaced. An abundance of money is spent by consumers on University of Minnesota: Horticulture 1 floral decorations for the Christmas holiday. That market is not saturated – consumers are limited in their buying by the lack of choice: the only option is a Poinsettia. The Christmas market is a niche with huge profit potential for an alternative or supplemental that offers novelty, beauty, and the symbolic Christmas connection. The commercial development and marketing of a dwarf variety of Protea cynaroides L. meets those criteria. This paper discusses the background information on P. cynaroides, a marketing rationale for that plant to compete with or alongside Poinsettias for Christmas plant sales, and a discussion of what steps can be taken to launch a successful production and marketing program to tap into and possibly capture the rich profit potential of the Christmas floral potted plant market to expand the overall US floriculture market beyond its present levels.