Why don’t our plants have instructions?

Think about everything that you buy in a store, its package always has some information about that product on it. New technology has detailed instructions of how to use the product and the features that it offers. Food packages have the calories, suggested uses and in some cases have an expiration date, and plants well they are just in plain pots. Why is it that we as an industry feel that we don’t need to give the customer any information on the pot? Is it because we think that everyone knows what to do with a plant? The sad realization is that many people don’t, epically members of Generation Y.  If we think about it generations ago almost everyone was a farmer or knew someone that was, today the amount of farmers has dwindled and in some cases members of Gen Y are 7 or 8 generations removed from relatives that were farmers.

            Not that long ago I had a conversation with a fellow student at Cornell University, who is a business major, I had to explain the difference between an annul and a perennial for over 20 minutes. Plants are not intuitive for many members of Gen Y and we are not helping them by leaving our pots blank. I think that by putting simple information on the pots, like how long the plant will live/bloom, what requirements the plant has for sun and water, and even how to plant it would be immensely helpful to members of Gen Y. While one could argue that is what tags are for I feel that they are often not very descriptive and can be very hard to read.

            While I know that having many different pots for different plants is not very practical in many cases, on the retail level we should at least staple information to the pot or give customers the information before they leave the store. We will not be relevant to Gen Y if we do not give them any knowledge about plants.