Abstract:
Methods are provided for growing a plant in a grower&#39;s container at a grower&#39;s location prior to shipment to wholesale or retail distribution points for sale of the plant, the grower&#39;s container having an aesthetically pleasing appearance without the use of a decorative cover when a grown plant contained therein is on display at wholesale or retail distribution points.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/944,771, filed Aug. 31, 2001, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/399,858, filed Sep. 21, 1999, and also a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/399,860, filed Sep. 21, 1999, both abandoned. 
     
    
     
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    1. Field of the Invention.  
           [0004]    The present invention relates generally to containers in which a plant is grown and methods for using same, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to containers used by a grower of a plant having a decorative pattern thereon and methods for using same.  
           [0005]    2. Brief Description of the Prior Art.  
           [0006]    Various types of containers have been used for many years by growers of botanical items. The containers serve the purpose of growing the botanical items, but upon shipment to retail florists or other distributors, the container is typically covered with a decorative cover or sleeve to hide the unattractive container, or the botanical item is transplanted into a more attractive container.  
           [0007]    Although the prior art methods of covering the container in which the botanical item is grown or transplanting the botanical item into a more attractive container have been widely accepted, new and improved methods for growing botanical items in a more attractive container are being sought. These methods would eliminate both time and the expense of the cover or second container. It is to such decorative grower&#39;s containers and methods for using same that the present invention is directed.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0008]    According to the present invention, a decorative container is provided for use by a grower of plants and flowers to hold a growing medium and grow the plants or flowers. Broadly, the decorative grower&#39;s container is provided with an outer peripheral surface and a floral grouping retaining space adapted to receive growing medium and a botanical item or propagule. To provide the decor to the decorative grower&#39;s container, a decorative pattern is applied to at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the grower&#39;s container. The decorative pattern may be applied to at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the grower&#39;s container either before the growing medium and botanical item or propagule are disposed in the floral grouping retaining space of the grower&#39;s container, after the growing medium and botanical item or propagule are disposed in the floral grouping retaining space of the grower&#39;s container, or after the botanical item or propagule has grown to a desired size for marketing but prior to shipment to wholesale or retail distribution points. At least a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the grower&#39;s container will be cleaned prior to the application of the decorative pattern or prior to marketing.  
           [0009]    An object of the present invention is to provide a decorative grower&#39;s container.  
           [0010]    Another object of the present invention, while achieving the before-stated object, is to provide methods for using a decorative grower&#39;s container by a grower of a botanical item or propagule.  
           [0011]    Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a grower&#39;s container of the prior art.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the grower&#39;s container of FIG. 1 having a portion of an outer peripheral surface of a sidewall cleaned.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the grower&#39;s container of FIG. 2 having a decorative pattern applied to the outer peripheral surface of the sidewall in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 3 having growing medium and a floral grouping disposed within a floral grouping retaining space of the grower&#39;s container.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 4 having an outer peripheral surface of the sidewall of the decorative grower&#39;s container soiled to distort the decorative pattern applied thereto.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 5 having growing medium and a floral grouping disposed within the floral grouping retaining space of the decorative grower&#39;s container and having a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the sidewall of the decorative grower&#39;s container cleaned to display the decorative pattern applied thereon.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a grower&#39;s container of the prior art.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the grower&#39;s container of FIG. 7 having growing medium and a floral grouping disposed within the floral grouping retaining space of the grower&#39;s container, an outer peripheral surface of a sidewall the grower&#39;s container being soiled.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the grower&#39;s container of FIG. 8 having a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the sidewall cleaned.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 9 having a decorative pattern applied to the clean area of the outer peripheral surface of the sidewall of the decorative grower&#39;s container.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a decorative grower&#39;s container constructed in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 11 having growing medium and a floral grouping disposed within a floral grouping retaining space of the decorative grower&#39;s container and having an outer peripheral surface of a sidewall of the decorative grower&#39;s container soiled to distort the decorative pattern applied thereto.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 12 having growing medium and a floral grouping disposed within the floral grouping retaining space of the decorative grower&#39;s container and having a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the sidewall of the decorative grower&#39;s container cleaned to display the decorative pattern applied thereon.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 14 is a bottom plan view illustrating the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 11 wherein the grower&#39;s container is provided with a drain hole in a lower end thereof.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic illustration of a stopper for closing off the drain hole in the lower end of the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 14.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of the decorative grower&#39;s container of FIG. 14 having the stopper of FIG. 15 disposed in the drain hole in the lower end of the decorative grower&#39;s container. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0028]    Shown in FIGS.  1 - 7  and designated therein by the general reference numeral  10  is a grower&#39;s container. The grower&#39;s container  10  is provided with an open upper end  12 , a closed lower end  14 , and a sidewall  16 . The sidewall  16  has an outer peripheral surface  20 . The closed lower end  14  and the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  cooperate to define a floral grouping retaining space  22 , which is in open communication with the open upper end  12  of the grower&#39;s container  10 . The floral grouping retaining space  22  of the grower&#39;s container  10  is adapted to receive growing medium and a floral grouping so that the floral grouping can be grown in the floral grouping retaining space  22  of the grower&#39;s container  10 .  
         [0029]    Containers suitable for use as the grower&#39;s container  10  are well known in the art. Such a grower&#39;s container  10  is constructed from a material  24  which may be polymeric materials, sandstone, clay, ceramic, porcelain, plaster, marble, glass, or any other suitable material or any other material constructed to be used by growers for such purposes. The thickness of the material  24  from which the grower&#39;s container  10  is constructed can vary widely, and the material  24  may be flexible or inflexible, as long as the material  24  is substantially shape-sustaining and can maintain a floral grouping and growing medium disposed within the floral grouping retaining space  22  of the grower&#39;s container  10 . Generally, however, the thickness of the material  24  from which the grower&#39;s container  10  is constructed is in the range of from about 1.0 mil to about 50 mil. The term “container” may be used interchangeably herein with the term “pot”.  
         [0030]    At least a portion of the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  is cleaned to provide a clean area  26  on at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10 , as shown in FIG. 2. The grower&#39;s container  10  may be cleaned by methods well known in the art, such as, but not by way of limitation, with water and/or mild soap.  
         [0031]    As shown in FIG. 3, a decorative pattern  28  is then applied to the clean area  26  of the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10 . The decorative pattern  28  provides the grower&#39;s container  10  with an aesthetically pleasing appearance.  
         [0032]    The decorative pattern  28  may be applied to the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  by several methods, including, but not limited to, painting, stenciling, texturing, printing, embossing, silk screening, applying stickers, and applying adhesive decorations. Application methods such as painting, stenciling and printing may require an ink or dye to provide the decorative pattern  28 . An example of an ink which may be applied to the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706, entitled, “Water Based Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic Organic Polymer”, issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1991, and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, methods such as texturing and embossing may require depressions and impressions to be imprinted on the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10 . Additionally, application methods involving silk screening, stickers and adhesive decorations may require a bonding material to be present on the decoration, the container or both.  
         [0033]    The term “bonding material” as used herein means an adhesive, possibly a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. Where the bonding material is a cohesive, a cohesive material is placed on both the decoration and the container for bondingly contacting and bondingly engaging the cohesive material. The term “bonding material” also includes materials which are heat sealable. The term “bonding material” as used herein also means a lacquer, which may be applied to the decoration and, in this instance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations also must be applied to effect the sealing of the lacquer. The bonding material may also be tinted or colored by using a dye, pigment or ink. U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706 described immediately above provides one water based ink which may be used to tint the bonding material. In this manner, the bonding material may provide the decorative pattern  28  to the grower&#39;s container  10 .  
         [0034]    Each of the application methods may occur singly, that is, the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  may be textured only or printed only, and the application methods may occur in any combination, that is, the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  may be both printed and embossed. The combination of applications to enhance the decorative pattern  28  may be accomplished by applying the patterns either in register with one another, out of register with one another, or partially in register and partially out of register with one another. The applications may be present on a portion of the outer peripheral surface  20  or on the entire outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10 .  
         [0035]    As shown in FIG. 4, a growing medium  30  and a floral grouping  32  are disposed in the floral grouping retaining space  22  of the grower&#39;s container  10  after application of the decorative pattern  28  to the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10 , as shown in FIG. 4. Subsequently, the floral grouping  32  may be fed and watered until the floral grouping  32  has matured to a size desired for marketing. The processes of disposing the growing medium  30  and the floral grouping  32  in the grower&#39;s container  10 , as well as feeding and watering the floral grouping  32 , may soil the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  containing the decorative pattern  28 , as shown in FIG. 5, and therefore the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  is then cleaned so that the decorative pattern  28  on at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface  20  of the sidewall  16  of the grower&#39;s container  10  is visible when the matured floral grouping  32  contained in the grower&#39;s container  10  is on display (FIG. 6).  
         [0036]    The term “floral grouping” may be used interchangeably herein with the terms “plant” and/or “flower”. The term “floral grouping” may also be used interchangeably herein with the terms “botanical item” and/or “propagule”.  
         [0037]    The term “botanical item” when used herein means a natural herbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term “botanical item” also means any portion or portions of natural herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers, blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or in combination, or in groupings of such portions such as a bouquet or floral grouping.  
         [0038]    The term “propagule” when used herein means any structure capable of being propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds, shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.  
         [0039]    The term “growing medium” when used herein means any liquid, solid or gaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation of propagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil, humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients, fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plants or propagules for growth.  
         [0040]    Now it will be understood that the order of the steps in the method as described herein may vary. For example, another method of use of the present invention is illustrated by FIGS.  7 - 10 . A grower&#39;s container  10   a  illustrated in FIG. 7 and used in this method is constructed exactly the same as the grower&#39;s container  10  shown in FIG. 1, and is provided with an open upper end  12   a , a closed lower end  14   a , a sidewall  16   a  having an outer peripheral surface  20   a , and a floral grouping retaining space  22   a , and is constructed of a material  24   a , as described in detail above. Growing medium  30   a  and a floral grouping  32   a  are then disposed in the floral grouping retaining space  22   a  of the grower&#39;s container  10   a  (FIG. 8), and the floral grouping  32   a  is fed, watered and allowed to mature to a marketable size. Next, a portion of the outer peripheral surface  20   a  of the sidewall  16   a  of the grower&#39;s container  10   a  is cleaned (FIG. 9) to provide a clean area  26   a  on a portion of the outer peripheral surface  20   a  of the sidewall  16   a  of the grower&#39;s container  10   a , and a decorative pattern  28   a  is applied to at least a portion of the clean area  26   a  on the outer peripheral surface  20   a  of the sidewall  16   a  of the grower&#39;s container  10   a  (FIG. 10).  
         [0041]    In another method of use illustrated by FIGS.  11 - 13 , a decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  is provided to the grower. The decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  (FIG. 11) includes an open upper end  12   b , a closed lower end  14   b , and a sidewall  16   b  having an outer peripheral surface  20   b . The closed lower end  14   b  and the sidewall  16   b  of the decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  cooperate to define a floral grouping retaining space  22   b , which is in open communication with the open upper end  12   b  of the decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b . The decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  is constructed of a material  24   b . The decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  is also provided with a decorative pattern  28   b  applied to at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface  20   b  of the sidewall  16   b  of the decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b . Growing medium  30   b  and a floral grouping  32   b  are disposed in the floral grouping retaining space  22   b  of the decorative grower&#39;s container  10  as illustrated in FIG. 12, and the floral grouping  32   b  may be fed and watered until the floral grouping  32   b  has matured to a size desired for marketing. The processes of disposing the growing medium  30   b  and the floral grouping  32   b  in the decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b , as well as feeding and watering the floral grouping  32   b , may soil the outer peripheral surface  20   b  of the sidewall  16   b  of the decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  containing the decorative pattern  28   b , as shown in FIG. 12, and therefore the outer peripheral surface  20   b  of the sidewall  16   b  of the decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  is then cleaned so that the decorative pattern  28   b  on at least a portion of the outer peripheral surface  20   b  of the sidewall  16   b  of the decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  is visible when the matured floral grouping  32   b  contained in the decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  is on display (FIG. 13).  
         [0042]    In yet another method of use, a floral grouping  32   b  may be replanted by a grower in a decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  as shown in FIG. 13 prior to sale of the floral grouping  32   b  by the grower. The decorative grower&#39;s container  10   b  used in this method is constructed exactly the same as the grower&#39;s container  10   b  shown in FIG. 11 and described in detail previously.  
         [0043]    As shown in FIG. 14, the closed lower end  14  of the grower&#39;s container  10  of FIG. 1 is provided with a drain hole  40  extending there through. The drain hole  40  provides drainage and irrigation to the floral grouping retaining space  22  of the grower&#39;s container  10 . The drain hole  40  is sized to prevent the loss of substantial amounts of growing medium  30  as well as the floral grouping  32  when growing medium  30  and the floral grouping  32  are disposed in the floral grouping retaining space  22  of the grower&#39;s container  10 . The drain hole  40  may be located in the center of the closed lower end  14  of the grower&#39;s container  10 , or it may be located peripherally and substantially close to the connection of the sidewall  16  to the closed lower end  14  of the grower&#39;s container  10 .  
         [0044]    As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a stopper  42  may also be provided with the grower&#39;s container  10  to close the drain hole  40  in the closed lower end  14  of the grower&#39;s container  10  when drainage and irrigation of the floral grouping retaining space  22  is not required. As shown in FIG. 15, the stopper  42  is provided with a plug member  44  adapted to be inserted into the drain hole  40 , so that upon insertion of the stopper  42  into the drain hole  40 , fluid will not be able to drain from the floral grouping retaining space  22  through the drain hole  40  of the grower&#39;s container  10 .  
         [0045]    The stopper  42  will be constructed of a fluid impermeable and slightly flexible but substantially shape-sustaining material such as, but not by way of limitation, rubber. The stopper  42  will also be provided with an outwardly extending flange  46  on a lower end  48  thereof, as shown in FIG. 15, and the flange  46  of the stopper  42  will allow for easy removal of the stopper  42  from the drain hole  40  of the grower&#39;s container  10 . The flange  46  on the lower end  48  of the stopper  42  will be of such a size as to maintain the grower&#39;s container  10  in a steady, upright position.  
         [0046]    It will be understood that the stopper  42  may be disposed in the drain hole  40  prior to or after any of the steps in the several methods described herein. The stopper  42  may also be removed from the drain hole  40  prior to or after any of the steps in the several methods described herein.  
         [0047]    For the sake of brevity, the drain hole  40  and the stopper  42  described hereinbefore were only discussed in relation to the grower&#39;s container  10 . However, it will be understood that any embodiments of the decorative grower&#39;s container contained herein, including the decorative grower&#39;s containers  10 ,  10   a  and  10   b , will also be provided with a drain hole  40  and a stopper  42 .  
         [0048]    From the above description, it is clear that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and to attain the advantages mentioned herein as well as those inherent in the invention. While presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described for purposes of this disclosure, it will be understood that numerous changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are accomplished within the spirit of the invention disclosed and as defined in the appended claims.