They need to shift to fruit and food producing stock. Ornamentals will continue to decline, but the market for plantings able to feed the family will only increase - given that you have sound, reliable stock. Forget the multigraft ‘Wonder Fruit’ trees that produce every kind of popular apple and bananas, cherries and pomegranates besides. Just like seeds, fruiting stock is going to see greater pressure from good suppliers.
My $0.02.
Not only that my nursery would have larger cabbages, broccoli, squash in one gallon pots to transplant. That’s how you entice the garden-phobic. Then they come back next year and buy starts and six-packs
A nursery must move from ornamental to edible these day
“Ornamentals will continue to decline...”
I have seen a decline in EXPENSIVE perennials, however anything that is ‘maintenance free’ still sells well, such as grasses, rudbeckia, russian sage, coneflower, hosta, etc.
Shrub and tree sales haven’t been off by much, BUT you’re right - the increases are in food crops such as fruit trees, bushes (raspberry, currant, blueberry, etc.) and potatoes and onions.
I plan on chatting up the advantages of a Firecracker Crabapple tree this season. It’s so gorgeous when it blooms, but then gives you nice, big crabapples for pickling, juicing for juice or jellies, or adding along with regular apples for a ‘spicer’ version of applesauce.
Mainly because I want one for MY orchard, LOL!