Consumer

Gardeners May Be Paying More For Plants This Year

Diesel Prices Force Garden Centers To Raise Prices

CROWN POINT, Ind. (CBS) ― As the gas crisis continues on, get ready to pay more to grow your garden.

Increasing diesel fuel prices are forcing some garden centers and nurseries to hike up their delivery fees, reports CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones.

Hubinger's Garden Center in Crown Point, Ind., is packed with spring color, but the cost of fuel is soaking into the business.

The owners prepared for the increasing price of diesel fuel by buying many trees and shrubs earlier in the year, before prices went up.

"The cost of gas goes up, you're, it's an inconvenience, but the cost of diesel fuel as it increases, it essentially drives the economy," said Brian Hart of Hubinger's.

The trucks that deliver dirt, mulch and other landscaping supplies to homes and businesses run on diesel. Rising fuel prices have forced the company to charge $5 to $15 extra for delivery.

Many customers don't want to pay that higher fee.

"We're getting more people like more of the do-it-yourselfers," Hart said. "Instead of getting the mulch delivered, they're coming out and actually picking it up themselves."

He says do-it-yourselfers are also buying more vegetable plants to grow at home and save money. Area grocery stores have raised prices on tomatoes and other vegetables to make up for higher shipping costs.

At Mathews Nursery in Gary, Ind., a family owned business since 1928, owners say they've had to charge customers up to 10 percent more to make up for higher fuel costs their suppliers are passing down.

"Growers need the fuel to heat their greenhouses in the wintertime the cost of that is up," Steve Wagner of Mathews said. "They charge a fuel surcharge to deliver."

The average price for a gallon of diesel fuel has jumped by almost 20 cents since last week in the Midwest. But nurseries say the colder weather is actually a greater challenge for them than gas prices right now. They're hoping for more consecutive sunny days to attract customers.

(CBS 2 and the Post-Tribune are news partners covering stories in the communities of northwest Indiana. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. (© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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