Many Belgians want to spruce up their gardens soon. But they could well return from the garden center empty-handed. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a rush on planting material last year. Ornamental growers currently have little stocks. Landscapers, in turn, are already planning next year's projects.
“I have to disappoint one out of the three people. We simply don't have stock. And it's no use turning to tree nurseries; they don't have any available for the market either," says Pierre Demesmaeker, owner of the Inter-Arbo garden center in Belgium. He notices a scarcity of common trees and shrubs. These include standard fruits, linden and laurel trees, and privet shrubs.
According to a former tree grower, the shortage is because of the 2020's explosive consumer demand. That was after COVID-19 broke out in Belgium in March last year. "Because of the pandemic, a lot of people were at home. They started noticing imperfections in their gardens. People couldn't go on holiday either, so they had more money to spend. These two factors led to a gardening boom."
Brits were hoarding
According to Demesmaeker, there's another reason for the planting material scarcity. "Last year, the looming Brexit caused many Brits to hoard trees and plants. They wanted to get ahead of the import rush." The recent years' dry summers also play a role, he says. "That resulted in us losing many young trees to both consumers and professional tree growers. That translates into a decreased supply."
Other Flemish garden centers are also finding it very difficult to get ahold of planting material. "There's a huge shortage and almost nothing left to find," says Thierry Van Paemel, another plant center owner. According to him, this scarcity could continue for several years. After all, it takes four to five years to cultivate young, standard fruit trees.
Up to a year's wait for a new garden
Landscaping companies are benefiting from gardens' newfound popularity. They, too, have seen an explosive increase in demand. "We used to be able to process requests within a few months. Now, it's so busy that we're already planning appointments for the beginning of next year," says a Geerts Tuin- en grondwerken's representative. "There's also more demand for swimming pools. People are spending more time in their gardens and have some extra money available."
Belgian tree nurseries are very happy with this gardening hype. The sector has been struggling with low margins for years. Many companies went out of business during the 2018 financial crisis. It remains to be seen if the high demand will mean they'll plant more fruit trees. They seem to be saying, "Who knows, this coronavirus hype might disappear."
Source: Vilt