Kernock Park Plants - Introduction

Kernock Park Plants | Information | Thoughts from the MD

My father reminds me with certain anecdotes that it was far more simple in his day! He says that he would only have to think about growing plants and product seemed to fly out the door! Maybe that is too simplistic a memory of the real situation and looking back in the old trade magazines and articles, the same things that we are talking about now were reported then. - Rising costs, maintaining margins, effect of the weather on sales, producing better quality and looking for new crops or at least new varieties. So it has always been the case that we feel these pressures, although when looking at the cost of oil in 1964 at 5p/gallon, I can't understand why he wasn't making a fortune sufficient for me to put my feet up!

Anyway, I am sure that in 5 or 10 years' time, I will probably be thinking that I used to have it easy, so we had best get prepared now! So, what are we doing about making sure Kernock Park Plants are at the forefront of the market? Well we continue to invest in our facilities at Kernock. In the past year we have built a new hub to house the Ellegaard plug cell machines. The old hub was past it's best to house such technical machinery and it gave us a chance to improve the production of the plugs whilst streamlining the production flow. This Autumn (2011) we will be increasing our growing area. Another 5000m2 of glasshouse will be constructed in order to allow for further expansion and flexibility within our growing system. The bookies may tell you that it will be several years before we have another harsh winter like we have experienced in the last two years, but we aren't taking the chances and have decided to augment the current biomass burner. This is all part of the strategy of re-investing in the business to keep us moving forward in terms of offering quality of product and service, whilst also trying to keep costs down.

Although we have had extreme winters as mentioned, I think we have to say that the past two seasons have generally been kind to us weather-wise and although it is never good right through from March to June we really cannot complain. I think it is more apparent with the cold winters that we need to let the consumer know what is expected of the plants we sell regarding hardiness. I know there has been talk of adopting "hardiness zones" here in the UK similar to the US system. Whichever way we go, we have to remember that there are many variables when considering "hardiness", so we have to be clear. It seems to me that some of the gardening public are continually seeking hardy plants to keep for many years and others are more accepting to treat at least some of their perennials like annuals and start afresh each season.

As you may know, we at Kernock have a habit of introducing a large amount of NEW varieties each season. This year is no exception with the addition of over 90 new products. We accept that certain products are no longer capturing the interest they once did, so we have over 60 lines to remove. Please see our website for more information of removed plant varieties and suggested alternatives.

What's NEW you might ask? - Well we have been testing and trialling hundreds of products and have a few series to add, such as the Aster Autumn Jewels - a lovely compact range of Michaelmas Daisy. We have some cracking new colours in the Superbells range of Calibrachoa, including 'Cherry Star', 'Cherry Punch' and a couple of double flowered varieties from our Proven Winner trials network. Look out for perennial Leucanthemum Banana Cream and White Mountain - superb summer flowering varieties. There are some additions to the Sedum range - the 'Cushion' range - very hardy and good colours. In liners we have a few new items to offer as well. - Some fantastic coloured Echinacea such as 'Guava Ice', some Cordylines and Phormium and a couple of Mandevilla from the 'Vogue' range to also add to the mix.

In the plant community we hope that the up-coming Olympics and Diamond Jubilee celebrations will bring extra requirement from our industry. There are certainly plenty of venues around the country and many towns and cities will be hosting the athletes from around the world. Already there is big interest in our InstaPlant® carpet bedding design system to produce celebration beds and we know some local authorities are seeking permission for us to create Olympic rings and 2012 Olympic logo.

Many thanks for your custom in the past season and we hope we will continue to help you GROW in 2012.

Bruce Harnett
Managing Director

Kernock Park Plants
Pillaton, Saltash
Cornwall
PL12 6RY

Phone: +44 (0)1579 350561
Fax: +44 (0)1579 351151

Email: sales@kernock.co.uk

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Popular Products

£19.00

A traditional tall hardy Verbena which sways in the breeze and seems to keep on flowering.

Heucherella 'Sweet Tea' (P)

£49.50

Leaves with huge cinnamon stars are surrounded by the loveliest intense orange tea coloured borders. The big, palmate cut leaves darken in the summer and lighten up again in the autumn. Its H. villosa origins give it a big bold habit and summer heat tolerance.

Cosmos astrosanguineus 'Chocolate'

£24.00

An upright, tuberous perennial with a chocolate scent and maroon flowers in late summer.

Heuchera 'Berry Smoothie' (P)

£49.50

A real "smoothie" colour all year round - rose pink, through raspberry to blackberry shades. Big, bold habit. A blend of heat loving H. villosa and cold tolerance of H. americana.

Lavender angustifolia 'Munstead'

£27.00

Floriferous dwarf lavender with fragrant blue flowers in summer over bright green foliage.

Popular Downloads

2012 Catalogue

To request a copy of our current catalogue "Growing Innovations 2012", please add this item to your shopping cart and complete the checkout process.

THIS ITEM IS FREE OF CHARGE

2012 Order Form

Click here to download a copy of our current 2012 order form or click here to forward order online.

Liner List

Please click here for our updated list of liners available from now and into 2011. All the information about numbers, discounts and order instructions are included.

Surplus List

If you would like to order plants from our surplus (availability) list, or would like to view the list offline, print off this PDF Document and fax it back to the number shown on the print out along with you company name and the tray quantities you require or .