Find the Perfect Planter
In June of 2019, Canada announced it would ban single-use plastics as early as the year 2021. With this environmental initiative, Canada now joins a growing list of countries who are trying to make an impact by reducing single-use plastics. Such a monumental decision has spurred countless questions surrounding what is implied by a “single-use”…
Read MoreHere at The HC Companies, we manufacture hundreds of thousands of planting containers each and every year for greenhouses and nurseries across North America. As stewards of the industry, we’d like to make some recommendations for your customers at retail about protecting planting containers come the winter. What you may not know is we also…
Read More“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” ― Lewis Carroll, author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass While Lewis…
Read MoreIn today’s competitive marketplace, similar products are frequently offered by multiple organizations. This can make it challenging to set yourself apart from the competition as unique features often proliferate throughout the market over time. Putting product aside, what you need is a new differentiator. What is a marketing differentiator? It’s a marketing strategy whose goal…
Read MoreThe science community has made us all acutely aware that gardening provides countless physical and mental health benefits when practiced regularly. But gardening education seems to be what’s lacking in the process. In an article posted on WebMD, Charlie Nardozzi, horticulturist at the National Gardening Association in South Burlington, Vermont says, “When you’re engrossed in…
Read MoreHave you heard of something called “disruptive marketing”? That’s when a company decides to shake up their marketing strategy by changing customer perceptions. In this post, we’ll give garden centers and nurseries a few ideas of how they can accomplish this. It’s hard to believe that September is already upon us. With autumn 2019 arriving…
Read MoreOne of the benefits and popularity of fiber planting containers for both professional and do-it-yourself growers is their ability to biodegrade. Not surprising when taking into account the 2019 Retail and Sustainability Survey by CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services. They found that more than two-thirds of those surveyed…
Read MoreAbout a year ago, The HC Companies donated planting containers and flats to the Plant Growth Facility at Purdue University – Department of Horticulture and Landscape (HLA). While we here at The HC Companies always strive to help the industry whenever we can (both professional and educational), you rarely think about the impact your helping hand…
Read More“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill In searching for a corporate charity, The HC Companies wanted to partner with a local organization where we’d have the opportunity to see the impacts of our efforts. An organization that understands giving your time…
Read MoreThough you’d never suspect it, plants do in fact breathe through microscopic pores in their leaves called “stomata” which takes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen through a process known as photosynthesis. As many of us learned during middle school science, plants undergo a process called photosynthesis in which plants absorb carbon dioxide from the…
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