The Waiting Period

It’s hard.  It's hard to wait for plants to grow.

We want seeds to germinate now.  We want cuttings to root now.  We want fruit trees planted yesterday to bear fruit now.

Our industry spends countless hours and investment trying to short this propagation and growth process.  But, no matter how much research occurs, there will always be a waiting period.

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It’s hard.  It's hard to wait for people to catch the gardening bug. 

We want millennials to garden now.  We want the number of young people that come into our garden centers or horticulture programs to drastically increase now.  We want advertisements and sponsored social media posts from yesterday to bear fruit now.

Our industry spends countless hours and investment trying to shorten this propagation process.  But, no matter how much research occurs, there will always be a waiting period.

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The waiting period.  That's where the magic happens.  You can't always see what's happening beneath the surface, but that doesn't mean that nothing is happening.  It's where dormancy blossoms into life and roots take purchase in the soil, where wonder is imbibed and brown thumbs become green. 

The key is that we keep propagating and cultivating.  Every day do something that will help horticulture grow, plant-wise and people-wise.  Yes, it will take time for results to come from the pipeline, but that's ok. 

We are willing to wait.