Major demand for indoor plants

Britain’s harshest and most prolonged winter for 30 years has led to booming sales of indoor plants.

With the first spring flowers delayed by a month because of the cold weather many avid gardeners have taken to growing plants indoors instead.

In the last month Tesco has seen a 110 per cent rise in sales of orchids compared with last year while demand for hyacinths has soared by 60 per cent.

Other popular indoor plants that have sold well in the last month have been azaleas, narcissus tete a tete and Jasmine.

Meanwhile at Dobbies – one of the UK’s biggest garden centre retailers which is part of the Tesco group – demand for specialist potted plants in glass containers has grown by 56 per cent in the last month.

Said Tesco senior horticulture buying manager Louisa Knowles: “The bitter winter and worst snowfall for three decades has put back the arrival of the first spring flowers by at least a month and left gardens looking sad and dull which by now should be full of colour.

“It’s a major contrast to recent years when British winters have been very mild and have led to snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils and bluebells appearing by now.

“As a result many Brits have decided to literally bring their gardens into their homes and in the last month we have seen record February demand for some of our range.”

Two weeks ago the National Trust’s annual flower count revealed that the arrival of spring flowers this year would be up to a month late.

Since 2006 the National Trust has carried out a flowers count in Devon and Cornwall, where the first spring blooms appear, in order to gauge how gardens are responding to changes in weather and climate.

Added Tesco’s Louis Knowles: “At least the good thing about these potted plants is that they require little horticultural skill – all you’ve got to do is water them on a regular basis and leave them in place where they will get good light.”