Business tips – Page 6 – Sticks & Stones

The Christensen’s Mobile App is here

We are pleased to announce the release of this
time-saving tool that you are going to love.

It's been months in the making, but the day has arrived for the unveiling of our new smartphone app that is designed to make your life easier.

Watch Todd's video for all the highlights, then head to either the Google Play Store or iTunes to download your FREE copy.

Want to get YOURS?
It's free - and it's easy!

Scan this QR code to go to our app in iTunes

If you're an iPhone user, simply go to iTunes and search for "Christensen's Plant Center" - or click this link.

Scan this QR code to go to our app in Google Play

If you're an Android user, go to the Google Play Store and search for "Christensen's Plant Center" - or click this link.

Questions? Give us a call at (734) 454-1400

CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION

Five steps to quality

What goes into Christensen’s Plant Center having the freshest, most viable stock?

It began years ago when Lee Christensen (and probably before him his dad Pete) sought out material from the finest growers in North America. When Lee passed on the company to Tim Joy and Frank Huber, that sourcing experience of finding nice material at a good value was part of the deal. Over the years Christensen’s has cultivated relationships with a number of top-notch vendors, and our current Investment team of me, Kim Roth and David Dermyer as well as Frank Roth at Rushton Farms are focused on nurturing and expanding those relationships.

Secondly, the material is shipped by trucking companies we broker ourselves, then unloaded by our highly trained (and sometimes overworked) receiving staff. They can unload 8-12 trucks in a day and 1000’s of boxwood and yews in a week. All plants are placed in our facility under irrigation, both in the yard or the field. Maintaining that irrigation system is a top priority for our yard manager Chris Nielson (assisted by Rigo).

Third, the material is evaluated and approved as it gets unloaded or shortly after. If we see anything wrong, it gets rejected. If I wouldn’t buy it for myself, why would I sell it to you? Sub-par material is often put right back on the truck.

We make sure that plants are viable, rooted, and healthy. Plants that don’t pass this evaluation are removed from inventory immediately. Rarely, we receive trees in the spring that are rejected for quality but are not able to be shipped back to the vendor. We put the best of them in our “2%” area, and offer them to you at shockingly low prices.

We do want to be fair to our vendors, so if material arrives early in the year, we give the plants till early June to come out of dormancy. It’s amazing how some will take that long (like trying to wake up a teenager on a Saturday morning).

Finally, the other main force for refreshing our stock is you, our customer. Quick stock turns are key. If you’re busy planting, our staff is busy doing what Lee, Tim and Frank have trained and asked us to do. We are experts at finding quality material and are ready to provide what you need for your installs.

We know your success is our success, and we are glad we can help.

Why you should tarp that load!

We hear it every day - "I don't need to tarp my load - I'm only going a short distance!". Well, there are good reasons why you should tarp every load, no matter how brief your travel time is.

Firstly, it's the law in Michigan that all loads must be secured so that debris can not fly off into the path of following vehicles or onto the roadway.

Another reason is that travel speeds expose your purchases to drying winds that WILL affect the foliage, maybe not while you are doing the planting, but the next day or week. Your customer is going to be on the phone to you wondering why his expensive landscaping is turning brown and you might be facing at the least, a counseling session - or a possible profit-killing replacement.

Don't be that guy! We are here with the know-how and the materials you need to secure and tarp your loads so that you can be on your way safely.

Three ways we can save you time

Here are three great time-saving ideas from Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Center.

We will help in your plant selection by inspecting, and pre-tagging your material up to five days in advance of your visit. Don’t see it in stock? No problem! We can look at an estimated arrival day, and tag the material as it comes off the truck, holding it up to five days until you need it.

Hardscape staging. We will pre-pull your order and palletize it so you can get in and out quicker. We will even sell Brussels by the individual brick, also Copthorne, Town Hall, and Holland.

Deliveries. We will carefully select, pull, prep, and load your material, and send it directly to your job site or yard. $210.00 for plants, or plants, lighting and brick, all on the same truck! Brick deliveries are only $140.00 in our local area, with a three pallet minimum. Add $35.00 for our Moffett, and we’ll unload it for you. We deliver all over the State, (and other States too), but our local delivery area is HUGE! It encompasses Toledo, Adrian, Jackson, Fowlerville, Fenton, Clarkston, and St. Clair Shores.

In conclusion, you, the Contractor, often do not have enough time in the day to accomplish what is needed. We can help you save time so you can focus on what’s important. Let us partner with you to save you time!

Preventing weeds in landscape beds

Spring is here, now is the time for weed prevention, and Christensen’s has a few ways to prevent weeds and up-sell products to your customers for increased profit. Today I want to talk about Treflan and landscape fabric.

Treflan is a pre-emergent herbicide for annual grasses and broadleaf weeds. Treflan can be used in new landscape beds, around trees, groundcover, and in established landscape beds. Now is the time to apply - before you see weeds emerging. Treflan creates a chemical barrier to germinating weeds. If there are root fragments in the bed, Treflan can’t stop them from coming up, so bed prep is important for good results. Be sure to follow the directions on the bag for coverage and how to apply. Also note the part of the directions about how the product must be watered in. This is an easy step that is key to your success when using this product.

Another way is using landscape fabric. It stops approx. 95% of weed growth by creating a physical barrier to the weeds germinating. Fabric is useful under decorative stone in landscape beds. It also works very well as a filter fabric around drain tile and behind retaining walls. Christensen’s carries a wide range of fabric in sizes from 3’x 50’ to 10’ x 250’.

Please remember that both of these products only prevent weeds coming up from seed. Anything existing in landscape beds will not be stopped by Treflan or landscape fabric. Your only move is physically removing them or using a product like Killz All. But that’s another topic!

Applying Treflan is a good plan when installing mulch. It’s a value-added service resulting in great-looking beds and happy customers. And make sure that you check out Jermi’s mulch video from last week to get the best practices for installing mulch and making you more money.

Introduction to Christensen’s Plant Center

At Christensen's Plant Center we strive to bring you the products and services you need to help make your life just a little bit easier.

In the short video below you'll get an overview of what we bring to you - our valued customer.

Got questions? Please feel free to give us a call at (734) 454-1400.

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