Taking to the Air

It's no secret that we don't locally grow everything we sell at BloomRite® Gardens. Most of the exotic plants we stock here are grown in far flung places, and must be sent to us. A good example of this is the Hawaiian foliage we carry: dracaenas such as Janet Craigs or Massageanas, and palm trees like Kentias, Fishtails, or Raphis. In the past we brought these plants across the Pacific by bringing them on sea-going freighters because of its low cost. Recently we made the decision to change this. Our Hawaiian product now arrives by air.

We felt the need to share this change with our customers for several reasons. Many reading now are probably familiar with the general rhythm and timing BloomRite® Gardens receives fresh inventory; foliage on Tuesday, flowering on Wednesday and Friday, etc. The problem with the Hawaiian foliage was that since it came by container on a ship, the turn around time between new batches of plants could be upwards of 6 weeks. We would have to wait until our inventory on all of our Hawaiian plants was low before we could justify another container. It was all or nothing.

By switching to airfreight the schedule and frequency we can bring in our Hawaiian foliage has radically changed. Now we can bring in what we need when we need it, instead of waiting until all of our Hawaiian foliage is out of stock. This means we can bring in specific plants for special orders in about a week, or rapidly restock something that sells through quickly. This makes us much more flexible in meeting the needs of our customers.

Another practical upshot to this change is that since the plants spend less time in transit they aren't as stressed by the trip. Usually after receiving these plants from Hawaii, our new inventory would need almost a week to fully recover from the trauma of being trapped in a dark container for days. For our customers this means better quality plants, and product that looks its best as soon as it's on the floor.

The best part about the switch is that while shipping by air is generally more expensive, our arrangement has not appreciably increased the cost of the plants, meaning the prices of these dracaenas and palms will not increase.

So if you've ever come to BloomRite® Gardens for our selection of Hawaiian trees, or thought about it but couldn't find what you wanted, let us know! Chances are good we can get what you need in a week! Likewise, you don't have to wait until a new container arrives to get our freshest inventory. Now you can stop by any week and have a great chance of finding brand new tropical trees.