1. What states do you ship to?
Plants For Profits (Parks Brothers Farm, Inc.) currently services Spring Geranium and Fall Mum Fundraisers within 450 miles and Poinsettia Fundraisers within 600 miles from our farm at 6733 Parks Road, Van Buren, AR 72956 (click for directions and miles). This includes Arkansas, eastern Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, western Tennessee, and eastern Texas.
Due to the increasing costs of shipping we are limiting the distances we service.
2. How do you determine the recommended sales price per item?
We recommend that you try to make between 50-100 percent profit. This is a fundraiser and most of the people who purchase a mum or poinsettia from you are doing so to make a donation in exchange for a plant. Therefore they will pay more than the average market price. Most of our fundraisers have no trouble asking for 50-100% more than the purchase price.
These recommendations are based on what we have seen our fundraisers do in the past. There may be other factors that affect the price you set such as the local economy and competition from chain stores or other fundraisers.
3. How do the plants ship?
Plants need to be protected during shipping.
Spring Bulb Bowls and Geraniums are shipped on heavy duty rolling racks for transportation in our delivery trucks. The bulb bowls fit 60 per rack and there is a 2 rack (120 bowl) minimum order. The Geraniums fit 56 per rack and there is a 3 Rack (168 pots) minimum order. You will need a paved lot to unload the rolling racks.
Mums are also shipped on rolling racks. The mums are not sleeved but the rack is wrapped to minimize the chance of damage while loading and unloading the racks. We also use corn starch on the outside of the stretch wrap so that the stretch wrap does not stick to other racks when loading the racks on the truck. Stretch wrap will stick to itself and this keeps the wrap from sticking for easier loading and unloading. So if you see a white powder on your mums, it is not a disease or chemical but simply corn starch. The rolling racks require a paved lot to unload.
Fall Garden Mums are a popular choice for fundraisers. Mums are sold by the rack (32 pots per rack) with a 3 rack minimum order and are available for delivery early September to mid-October. Pre-book your order as soon as you can. Mums are usually sold out by early to mid-August.
The poinsettias are shipped in cases. They are sleeved to protect them while packing the cases. We use a half fiber, half plastic sleeve that allows the plants to breathe. The poinsettias are then placed in tough cardboard cases to ensure that they arrive healthy and ready to deliver.
For our Poinsettia Fundraiser, the plants are sold by the case (8 pots per case) with a 25 case minimum order and are available for delivery late November through mid-December. Pre-book your order as soon as you can. Poinsettias typically sell out by the first of November but sometimes we sell out early.
No extra charge. Parks Brothers Farm has taken the guesswork out of live plant fundraisers by making cost and profit simple to calculate. All shipping costs are included in the cost of the plant.
5. What is the price per plant?
Please fill out our Get Quote form for pricing. Pricing varies year to year and by shipping zones.
6. What is the minimum order?
The minimum for our regular delivery zone is 3 racks (168 pots) of our #12 Geraniums and 3 racks (96 pots) of the #12 Fall Mums.
Poinsettias for our regular delivery zone is 25 cases (200 pots).
Some minimums can be higher within or outside our area depending where you are located.
7. How does color preference work?
We do our best to supply Fundraiser Partners with specified colors. We recommend our Mum Fundraisers allow us to assort your order based on our color availability at the time of your order. For example, if you order the 3 rack minimum order, we can take that total of 96 pots and break the order down by color (assort it) based on the percentage of color assortment at that time. We can also take your order by specific color quantity if you know how many of each color you will need. Specific color orders will always be based on current availability.
We also recommend that the Poinsettia Fundraisers sell Red only. It is the most popular color by far and allows for simplicity in selling. We can and do sell other colors and sizes so be sure to speak to our Fundraiser Team if you are interested in that. Specific colors and sizes will be based on the current availability.
That said, we ask that you remember our products are live plants that are subject to various environmental conditions. These variables can sometimes affect the availability of certain colors or the entire crop. Also availability can change rapidly when we get an influx of orders which means that sometimes what was available yesterday may not be available today.
8. When are the order deadlines?
Parks Brothers Farm is happy to provide product for your fundraiser event as long as we have available plants. However, to ensure you receive the product you desire, we recommend pre-booking your order as early as possible.
We do not have any set deadlines for ordering. Some years we sell out early and in other years we do not. It is impossible to tell in advance what will happen each year.
We do recommend that you Contact Us to discuss the availability of the Fundraiser you are interested in. As always, we also recommend you start early and pre-book your order.
9. When will I receive my plants?
Our Transportation Director is one of the most important employees at the farm and is excellent at making fundraiser delivery date requests a reality! We invite you to ask us about a specific date to shoot for.
Sometimes, we have to move orders up or back because of limited truck availability. We always want to send a truck away from the farm with a full load. Please bear with us if we are unable to get your product to you on exactly the date you specify.
10. Why can’t you deliver to my house?
The streets in most residential neighborhoods are simply too narrow to travel with a tractor-trailer. The potential for accidents is raised when our drivers are forced to maneuver through smaller spaces.
Thank you in advance for selecting a location that works for our transport vehicles such as a church, school, office parking lot, or a business on a main roadway. This helps ensure your safety and the safety of our drivers.
11. How do I care for my plants once I’ve received them?
Hopefully, your plants will go to their new homes quickly after delivery!
Spring Geranium and Fall Mum care is very simple because in our region during these seasons, you generally don’t have to worry about freezing. Of course, you will need to water spring plants and fall mums daily in warm/hot weather and every day or two in cool weather. Over watering can be as bad as not watering enough. Spring Geraniums can benefit from occasional fertilizing in the summer. Follow the fertilizer label for directions.
Parks Brothers Farm has created a downloadable poinsettia care document for you to print and give to your local fundraiser sales. It’s a great idea to give a care document to your customers so they can enjoy their plants as long as possible. Our list of helpful documents is located in the sidebar.
Poinsettia care more involved but relatively easy. There are only a few steps to remember when caring for these plants. When unboxing your poinsettias, be sure to grasp the top of the sleeve to avoid damaging the plants. We recommend that your buyers pick up their poinsettias the day of delivery, but if that is not possible, the next day is ok too, just not ideal. If your poinsettias are not distributed the day of delivery, we recommend unboxing them and pulling the sleeves down around the pots to help preserve plant shape. You can also check the soil. If the soil is dry, you need to water them. If the soil is moist, they can be left alone for the time being. It’s very important to not overwater a poinsettia. If it is necessary to store the poinsettias in a facility overnight or longer (hopefully not!), make sure the temperature doesn’t go below 60 degrees. Did you know that Holiday Poinsettias are native to Mexico and don’t like the cold?
12. Why do you promote straight Red Poinsettia Fundraisers?
In a word, simplicity. Red Poinsettias are the most common holiday plant in North America and customers always want them. Offering only red poinsettias eliminates potential sales team errors and greatly simplifies distribution on delivery day. However, we are happy to provide any size and color combination you request. It’s your fundraiser and you know your customers better than we do!
13. How long will my plants last?
Spring Geraniums will last from spring to late fall. Geraniums need to be watered daily if in the sun during summer. They may not need daily watering in the spring or fall in cooler temperatures or if they are in the afternoon shade. Geraniums need at least 6 hours of full sun a day to do well. Geraniums will also need to be fertilized periodically. If they get pale green or discolored foliage, they will need a well balanced fertilizer with micro-nutrients applied at the recommended label rates.
The main way most people kill their plants are over-watering and over-fertilizing. As with anything, too much of a good thing can be bad. The best way to tell if they need water is to fell the top of the soil in the pot by inserting your finger in to knuckle depth. If it feel moist, you can wait another day to water. Once you get the hang of it you can judge how often you will need to water.
Fall Mums last 4-6 weeks and are a great plant to use to fill the gap between spring and winter! Fall Mums will generally need to be watered every day and will not need fertilized.
Holiday Poinsettias are not only for the Christmas season, they can last all year if properly cared for! Please visit our Poinsettia Fundraiser Forms page and download “A Holiday Guide to the Poinsettia” to find out how.
14. What factors affect our fundraiser’s success?
There are many variables than can affect the profitability of a fundraiser. Location, saturation of similar products in the marketplace, and price. Our most successful Fundraisers have a designated person in charge and a driven sales team with specific goals set for them. For example, if you want to earn $2,000 with your fundraiser you need to know how many units each member of your sales team has to sell to achieve that goal. Daily communication with the team leader is also essential.
15. Our fundraiser went great! Do you have a Year Around Fundraiser Program?
Absolutely! We currently offer these fundraisers:
Spring #12 Deco Red Calliope Geraniums
We are always working on new fundraisers and hope to be adding more in the future.
16. How do I order?
You can submit a Get Quote request or Contact Us here on the website or just give us a call at 479-474-1125. We will guide you through the process.
17. How long does it take to get a plant fundraiser going?
Once you’ve made the decision to start a live plant fundraiser, call us at 479-474-1125 and ask for the Sales Department. We can have your live plant fundraiser up and running the day you order!
18. Where would I find testimonials of actual customers?
Just click on the Testimonials button to see comments from organizations just like yours!
19. What are some of the other ways you support fundraisers?
Plants For Profits provides schools and non-profit organizations the opportunity and all the materials needed to have a successful fundraiser selling plants for profit.
Parks Brothers Farm invites you to select one of the available fundraiser programs at www.plantsforprofits.com and start making money today!