Calibrachoa ‘Caliloco Graffiti’ (Westrock) at Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants. | Brian Sparks
Earlier this year, as I was sifting through the photos I took during a trip to Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants in Michigan to see their plant trials, I came across the picture on this page. Among the sea of white petals on this calibrachoa (Calibrachoa ‘Caliloco Graffiti’ from Westhoff) lies one single maroon flower. It stood out immediately.
It got me thinking: What can I do to stand out and be different from everyone else in 2025? The first thing I thought of is to provide new voices and perspectives from across the industry through our Greenhouse Grower to Grower podcast. Since we “went live” in the fall of 2023, I’ve enjoyed being able to have in-depth conversations with many growers, some of whom operate millions of square feet, and others who might run a single-acre greenhouse and talk to their customers every day. They may be different in scale, but they are united in their vision of giving the consumer the best plant possible.
What will you do to help yourself, your team, or your company stand out in 2025? Here are just a few things to consider:
Become an early technology adopter. It’s easy to let someone else take the first crack at adding a new transplanter or other automation tool and work out the kinks themselves. But if you take that risk yourself, and it works out, you’re going to reap the benefits before anyone else does. Plus, if your trial-and-error approach yields a flaw, you can work with the product developer to address the problem early.
Every team has its share of “rock stars,” those employees who rise above the rest. Once you’ve identified them, show them off to your customers, or highlight them on social media. The people are the ones who run the business, so show your customers the people behind the company name. And don’t stop there. Talk to your top performers about their long-term career ambitions and look for ways to help them continue to grow.
Add a new plant category this year. Survey your customers and ask them to identify any plants they may be interested in but cannot get from you. Find a reliable supplier, and get it into your production cycle.
What is your biggest production challenge? In our annual surveys, we often hear similar concerns year after year: labor, weather, space management, insects, etc. Look for ways to take that challenge off your list next year. If it’s weather, look for drought-tolerant or cold-hardy plants. If it’s a problematic pest, dig into research on the best way to handle it.
One closing thought: perhaps the best way to stand out in 2025 is to avoid over-extending your capacity as a person and as a company. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, find out what you do best, and look for ways to do it even better!
