Holiday calendar and mild weather put March turnover under pressure

In March this year, the flowers and plants turnover was just under 6% down on last year. The persistent mild weather meant lots of consumers moved into the garden to enjoy the weather and get it back in shape.

In addition, the fact that International Women's Day and Mothering Sunday in Britain were very close together in 2013, and that Easter also fell in March last year, gave the 2013 turnover a significant boost. These developments affected cut flowers the most this year, while for the garden plant sales the weather was a huge boost. Plants increased relatively more than flowers. The total volume ultimately fell by 1% for the month as a whole, resulting in an average price of €0.302; a drop of exactly €0.015.

Flower turnover lower
In March Tulips were at the top of the list with 16.6% less turnover than in 2013. The supply was relatively stable and the average price dropped to more than €0.13, which is approx. €0.025 less. Around Women's Day this flower benefited from high demand in Eastern Europe in particular, although there was less enthusiasm due to the relatively warm weather later in the month. Roses dropped significantly with more than 21% less turnover than last year with a €0.03 drop in price. Cymbidiums took the greatest hits, falling almost €0.54/branch with 18.4% less volume. Lisianthus were also much cheaper than in March 2013. At €0.366 the price dropped by €0.105/stem with 23.5% more stems. More or less the same applied to Freesias, with 13% more branches and a drop in average price of over €0.06. Lilies were the only product in the top 10 that had a higher average price. In March the flower turnover provided almost 17% in comparison to 2013 with 2.7% fewer stems and the average price of €0.183 was more than €0.03 lower.

Houseplants on the positive side of the coin
The Phalaenopsis supply grew by approx. 3% in comparison with last year. The total average price was almost €0.16/pot lower. Pot Hydrangeas suffered a loss, with the price dropping to €2.64 with almost 10% more units. The Pot Roses benefited from the extra demand following the Flower Days. With almost 8% more volume, the average price was €1.406/pot; almost €0.11 more than in 2013. The potted bulb plants also achieved higher average prices. Both Pot Hyacinths and Pot Narcissus had a better month with lower volume. Campanulas made notable progression: last year both the price and the supply dropped greatly due to the dark and cool spring. However, this year the warm sunny weather has given them a real boost with 62% more units resulting in on average €0.26 more per plant. March saw almost 4% more house plant revenues than last year with 0.8% fewer units. The average plant price was €1.577, which is an increase of over €0.07.

Garden plants back in top form
The pleasant spring weather brought hordes of consumers to garden centers. The Violets flew off the shelves and the next groups of summer annuals are already waiting impatiently. The supply quickly grew thanks to the ideal weather conditions. The month closed with a turnover increase of 50%, with 64.3% more units in comparison to 2013, which put the average price under some pressure, causing it to drop by approx. €0.075 cent to €0.797.