The supposed death of a two year-old in 1919 after eating a poinsettia leaf seems to be the genesis of a persistent urban legend that poinsettias are deadly for children and pets. While there may not be too many kids or dogs on your Interiorscape service routes, many in the plantscape industry still hear this question from clients dozens of times a season.

Ironically many of you may still answer “yes!” Nearly 66 percent of those participating in a 1995 Society of American Florists poll believed poinsettias toxic if eaten. A 1994 survey of 1,000 Americans by Bruskin/Goldring Research for the Society of American Florists showed that 42 percent of men and 57 percent of women polled also thought that.

The truth is that poinsettia leaves taste awful – but don’t kill.  The assumed cause of the toddler’s death was never confirmed according to the well-respected myth debunking site snopes.com. In fact, after extensive testing by the American Society of Florists and the Ohio State University, researchers confirmed that no part of the Poinsettia plant is toxic. While the leaves may cause minor skin irritation, and consuming any part of the plant could result in a stomachache, there is no documented evidence that ingesting any part of a Poinsettia would be life-threatening or has actually killed anyone.
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We here at NewPro Corp. received a tall cardboard box from Lechuza the other day and when we opened it up we couldn’t decide if the German company sent us their newest container or a work of art. I’m going to be diplomatic and say “both.”

Lechuza's "Diamante"

The 30-inch tall “Diamante” looks like a jewel – and I’m not just picking a flowery adjective. As you can tell by the photo, its surface design is reminiscent of a polished diamond. In fact the word “diamante” originated about 100 years ago in France and means “set with diamonds.”

Similar in size and shape to its “Rondo” cousin, the Diamante is 16 inches in diameter and features an interchangeable plant liner with a recessed frame handle and overflow function along with the familiar Lechuza sub-irrigation system. NewPro is currently evaluating if or when we will carry it – it depends heavily on customer requests and somewhat on industry buzz.

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Back in June, NewPro announced a photo contest featuring planter installations of items you purchased from NewPro. The winning photo would be used in NewPro marketing materials and our online sites. As a thank-you, we said the customer who submitted the winning photo would receive a credit to their NewPro account.

We received a lot of great photos with real artistic flair! Five customers sent in entries that stood out from the rest and made it difficult for us to choose just one, so our selection committee decided to award each finalist a prize. Congratulations to Kevin Kelly of Kelly Mac Interiorscapes, Brenda Walters of Guaranteed Green Dallas, Brian Alger of the Plant Lady Plus, and Susie Halstead of A New Leaf, Inc. — your photos may appear on the newprocontainers.com website with reference to you and your company.

One of the five finalists, Caprice Aerts of Artscape, submitted several photos that were outstanding. The image we selected as the actual contest winner (see below) features the Lechuza Quadro (14-inch).

The Contest Winner! Submitted by: Caprice Aerts, Artscape

Considering all of the great images that flowed into our inbox, we plan to organize another contest within the next month. We will be searching for environmental shots of the new Quadrangle rectangular planter, Vista or Gainey containers and our flat or River Rockafiller top dressing.
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Do you spend more time going after new customers or trying to keep those who currently enjoy your Interiorscape services? Here are six easy questions to ask that can allow you to deploy low-cost strategies that remind customers of your value.

1. How much is each customer worth?
A great way to inspire an increase in sales to existing customers is to see how much your biggest and/or best customers have contributed to your bottom line.

2. Of the services I offer – what’s most important to my customers?
The best way to find out is to get on the phone or schedule a meeting with a handful of your best customers and simply ask what is the most important service you offer on which they rely. Make sure to listen not just to WHAT you provide, but HOW you provide it.

3. Are my employees involved in communicating with customers?
Interiorscaping can be a very visible service if you and your employees engage with your client when you stop by for a service visit. Remind them of what you do and why you do it by just checking in and having a conversation.
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“Why can’t I ever get a handle on figuring out freight costs when it comes to containers?”

“Why am I getting charged a 30 lbs rate for an item that only weighs 10 lbs?”

“Why does it cost three times more to ship a 20-inch pot than it does a 16-inch pot?”

These are frustrating questions Interiorscapers find themselves asking when ordering decorative containers. It is not uncommon to miscalculate the freight from a wholesaler, include that miscalculation in a bid and discover the wholesaler charged you far more for freight than expected. Unlocking the freight conundrum is linked to one concept used by all major freight companies like FedEx and UPS: dimensional weight.

Understanding dimensional weight is important when trying to order containers since Interiorscapers must also determine their mark-up. By charging only by actual weight the lightweight, low density packages that contain plastic decorative containers becomes unprofitable for freight carriers to deliver. Why? A package containing a large but lightweight item takes up a lot of space in a delivery vehicle relative to its weight. So a vehicle filled with 20 large, lightweight packages means less profitability for a freight company than a truck filled with 100 boxes of smaller, heavier items.

Understanding the formula
 carriers use to determine dimensional weight is straightforward: length times width times height then divide that amount by 194. FedEx includes a calculator that can be viewed by clicking HERE. In NewPro’s case, FedEx uses this number for boxes that are 17in x 17in x 17in and larger to determine the cost of shipping an item. For boxes under this size, the shipper charges by actual, or gross, weight. (more…)