Local greenhouses, garden shops dodge tariff impacts by planting early

MICHIANA, Ind. -- You could say business is 'blooming' at local greenhouses and garden shops.

"This is our Black Friday, Christmas shopping all rolled into one week," says Jerome Vite, Part owner of Vite Greenhouses.

"It's like tax season, you know you get to that deadline, you know it's coming, and it's crunch time," Tony Corr says, Manager at Roseland Garden Center.

With both Mother's Day this weekend and planting season starting up, local shops are making sure their flowers are at their best, but what about their price tags in response to tariffs?

According to the Association of Floral Importers of America, the floral import industry makes up 80 percent of flowers in the U.S.

What you'll find at places like Roseland Garden Center and Vite Greenhouses, for the most part they're not importing their flowers, they're growing them.

Right now, these kinds of shops are dodging the impacts of Trump's 10 percent tariff on imported goods.

That's simply because they must start growing their product months in advance, in order for it to be at its peak right around now.

"Our growing mix, our pots, all of our containers, those are purchased in mid to late 2024," Vite says. "So, we won't feel the impacts of any tariffs until late this year when we have to start having to purchase supplies for next year."

"I think in a year from now we might be able to look and say 'Yeah, it affected us this way or that way', but right now, so far so good," says Corr.

That's what also helps to keep the prices down for customers.

"The fact that we grow almost everything here, kind of cut out the middleman so you're not dealing with a wholesaler like if you're going through a big box store," explains Vite.

So far, neither shop has noticed a dramatic decrease in demand.

"Maybe people are holding back a little bit, but for the most part, as long as I've done this for 20+ years, whether it's a good economy or bad economy, everybody comes for their flowers, they want their flowers," says Corr.

Or, if customers are pulling back a little bit, they might be cutting back on the extras that can wait for next summer.

"The way I've looked at it, they're definitely going to get their flowers, but you may not buy that tree you want to put in your yard, you may not redo your landscaping or something, but you're definitely going to get your flowers in," Corr explains.

Both Vite Greenhouses and Roseland Garden Center say the rush will last several more weeks until they can finally feel a sense of relief come sometime in June.