What Free Plants Cost your Nursery Business

Рет қаралды 15,636

Күн бұрын

When planning crops for your own plant business or backyard nursery, it's tempting to think of plants you propagate yourself as "free". Long-term, this can lead to poor decision making - holding onto carryover plants for too long, over-propagating easy plants, and missing opportunities on plants that may have higher upfront costs, but outperform your "free plants" in other ways. Consider your own time (maybe your most limited resource), space, ongoing watering, soil, plastic, fertilizer and other inputs. In the long run, these can outweigh direct financial costs. I suggest that you choose plants according to local market demand/price rather than initial cost.
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Photo credits:
Snapdragon Seedling, photo by Dwight Sipler, cropped and used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
Rudbeckia Indian Summer, photo by Qwertzy2 at en.wikipedia, used without changes under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Пікірлер: 79

@biosyncfarm Жыл бұрын

I've learned people always buy larger plants, especially ones that bloom. If i don't sell it as a small plant, I always make note and deduce why based on the plant itself. Virally trending plants also seem to be a good move. It's amazing how seed catalogs actually help a ton, and i try to keep a few for my customers to look through because they see something they want and then learn that I have it!

@FraserValleyRoseFarm Жыл бұрын

Good call - staying "plugged in" to new products has been helpful in my business too.

@stevenread1094 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. I started a palm tree nursery on Vancouver Island a few years ago and I am learning how expensive it is to overwinter plants, and how difficult it is to match how much you can grow against how much you can sell.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Steven. Palm trees? So cool. I'm with you on the overwintering thing. It's interesting that growing plants is the easy part! In fact, so easy that the hard part may be knowing when to stop growing and focus on marketing. Best wishes for your business!

@cgj3888 4 жыл бұрын

All very appropriate Time and effort is the value within the plant SMILES👍🇬🇧

@botanicaltreasures2408 4 жыл бұрын

Opportunity cost-is a crucial concept to learn. What plant should you propagate, what stock should you invest in, what subject should you study. Excellent topic!

@garymcdermott8748 4 жыл бұрын

always informative , always enjoyable, thank you !!!

@myperfectlyimperfectgarden7233 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the great info! This is my favorite channel.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Kelli

@winterliy103-7 4 жыл бұрын

Well said. I love seed saving and propagating of the satisfaction of doing it yourself . I never thought of it as free plants because of the time , space, and small expense in pots and fertilizer .

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@skyz3160 4 жыл бұрын

Such an eye opener! Thank you!

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

My pleasure. Thanks for watching

@oldmanfigs Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this thorough. I needed to hear this.

@dennism5565 4 жыл бұрын

great advice. One has to think objectively to stay in business.

@MarthinB75 4 жыл бұрын

Well thought through video!

@ScottFairley-sv4yg Жыл бұрын

Another concise and informative video, Jason. Thanks for posting.

@noneewong1751 3 жыл бұрын

Your roses are gorgeous. I learn how to take care mine flowers from you. You are always a good teacher for gardeners Thank you very much. God bless you. God bless.your families. God bless your business.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Nonee

@aimstat 3 жыл бұрын

You are very well articulated. I'm looking at the prospect of starting a small backyard nursery and these videos are very helpful.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Aimee - and best luck as you get your business started.

@ryanharvey1098 3 жыл бұрын

I agree, no such thing as a “free plant”. It’s good to consider whether or not it’s worth your time or effort, whether as a hobbyist or as a business.

@shameerbahadur4462 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much you are 💯 percent right always great information

@appasonata2 4 жыл бұрын

I agree... big thanks 🙏🏻

@gadielgomez2709 Жыл бұрын

Just discovered the channel a week ago. I love these videos. Greetings from Puerto Rico.

@aliyazar3732 3 жыл бұрын

I agree with you I have been Apple tree from seed but after two months begin mildew then must buy anti fungal, for free apple tree begin cost me 5-20$

@taylorthompson5498 3 жыл бұрын

That apple critique is logical. Just buy the grafted one.

@Tom-gardenplants1849 4 жыл бұрын

Love your gardens ^^

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@portiaholliday8741 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, I plan to sell these Livebearing Molly fish. I spend a lot of time watching them and separating them to ensure their safety and viability. If they get sick I have to purchase and apply meds. I have to feed them quality food. Just as in the garden. Yes, Nothing is FREE:-)

@crvforever Жыл бұрын

I probably don’t know much. But your black eye Susan comment, made me think. Standard BES sell like crazy in Maryland because it’s our state flower. Maybe a future business idea could doing a state/provincial flower collection. And marketing it like that. It may get more of a buzz. But then again that may be going too big too quick

@crvforever Жыл бұрын

But also, I love your videos. I’m so happy that I discovered your content

@katherinespencer2073 Жыл бұрын

Jason, if you liked fruit yogurt some years ago before they just became sweet dessert, you would have really liked Hungarian gooseberry soup. A hedge around your place with a path on both sides for easy pricing would have been a great deer fence that also offered inexpensive u-pick or jelly for your gift shop. I love the fruit when it has turned reddish brown & is properly ripe, sweet & not that hard. A soup tht we eat cold in summer, just like our yellow bean, our cherry, our peach or apricot soups are cream or homo milk based similar Canadian corn chowder but has no onion, fat, carrot etc in it. Just the wonderful abundant individual fruits. For jelly from such things, the tool used for tomato sauce, or apple sauce etc is a meatgrinder kind of thing that screws to your table edge. When you load product (apples do need to be cooked cut in half) and crank the handle one funnel goes off to the side with all the skins & seeds while the other goes straight into your pot or bowl, nice and clean & thick. Different inner straining parts for differing items. Huge time saver & safe tool. Easy to clean.

@MrsStevenBrown 4 жыл бұрын

I’m maybe a few hours into your videos now! Thankyou for all the info! I hope to start my Iris farm next year, I’ll be mainly online, and local market, it’s more for myself lol, but like your roses, I want to share them and propagate and crossbreed a few lol! Any suggestion for how many types to start with? To offer? How many rose varieties do you have now? I was thinking 60 types would be a good start for an online store.

@AlbinoAxolotl 4 жыл бұрын

I've started a small rare plant business and my advice would be start small with what you have first. I don't see any reason why you should wait until you have a certain large number of varieties to begin selling. It's a good idea to start with just a few varieties so you can get used to the selling process and get things working smoothly. There's no specific number you need in order to be a legitimate and successful business. You should start with what you have already and keep collecting more until you have as many as you want/are as comfortable taking care of, propagating, and offering. It's a lot of work to take photographs, write descriptions, and make listings for even just a few items, and add in the packaging and shipping process and you'll have more than enough to worry about! Not to mention it takes time to build up a customer base and starting small but doing things well can keep people happy and establish a good reputation so people come back and spend more. Is is just you in your business or will you have other people working with/for you? If it's just you and maybe one other person I would DEFINITELY recommend starting small. I work by myself and though I only sell locally its way more work than I ever thought it would be! Anyway, I'm curious about your business so tell me about it!

@BlakesNaturelife 4 жыл бұрын

Very helpful video

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@sc3pt1c4L 4 жыл бұрын

wow, I'm so glad I just garden for fun. You make the job sound such a negative chore. But I like your experienced perspectives.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Well, I oughta check my tone. I didn't mean to sound negative at all. I love growing plants, but just like any hobby/passion you try to make a business of, there are pitfalls to avoid. If I were a chef, as an example, I don't think it would make me any less passionate about food to caution restaurants to avoid offering too large a menu. Likewise, in the nursery business, if you overproduce the very easiest plants to grow (without regard to selling) it's a good way to damper your enthusiasm. If anything, I guess my advice is aimed at focusing on successful crop choices so that you can keep the job fun.

@sc3pt1c4L 4 жыл бұрын

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Yeah I get you. You are just practical and wise. When I think of the number of plants I have bought on impulse, then not planted or not put in a suitable place and they have just frazzled in the full sun on my patio or been smothered by bigger plants. I could have bought a new car with the money lost. I guess I'd make a good customer of yours If I lived in that neck of the woods. Your replies are always much appreciated, but I always feel guilty at how attentive you are to your followers. It must take up a lot of your time! In a future video (if you havent mentioned it already - I'm still new to your channel and working my way through them), please mention what your favourite plant(s) is/are from a casual gardener point of view without the hard headed business man perspective of production for selling. I'm always curious to be introduced to things I havent heard of or grown before. You already mention a lot I havent heard of being sold in England, which makes me envious.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

@@sc3pt1c4L Thanks. I'll make a note to present a video on some of my favorites this year. Despite all my best intentions, I always choose a few new plants that I'm not sure will appeal to anyone except me. But that keeps it interesting too!

@yoopermann7942 3 жыл бұрын

i found that with some plants it is better to buy rooted cuttings then it is to try and root them your self

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 3 жыл бұрын

For sure!

@botanicaltreasures2408 4 жыл бұрын

Rainy day here. Do you have a local elementary school that has a butterfly 🦋 garden? Perhaps you could get rid of some of your overstock that way. Also have you considered pairing a less popular native with a popular cultivar. Call it “🐝 & me” one plant to look pretty on the patio the other to feed the bees in the landscape.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Those are great ideas. I was able to give some of my plants to a local school when they started a community garden-style plot (a couple of years ago). Always great to grow plants for the pollinators and beneficial insects - and when I put that info on the tags, I'm always impressed by how eager gardeners are to help.

@botanicaltreasures2408 4 жыл бұрын

Fraser Valley Rose Farm, Wonderful! Glad you do your part to educate customers about beneficial plants for pollinators. We went for a walk today at the park and saw a few honeybees out on the pansies! 🐝

@moxee33 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Jason, would you ever offer buy x and get 1 (surplus) plant $3 or would that be inadvertently training customers to wait for special offers?

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 3 жыл бұрын

I don't see a problem with making offers that match your business goals. It's a good thing for you to sell more plants in a single transaction, so win/win. I've occasionally marketed plants in a structure like: $4 each *or* 3 for $10. Maybe they never would have thought to consider a grouping of plants if you didn't suggest it.

@agardeningreece 3 жыл бұрын

Always intresting!!!! May I ask what is that beautiful red plant on the above?

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 3 жыл бұрын

Winter color on a grape vine

@agardeningreece 3 жыл бұрын

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm ohhh I thought it was a creeping one like parthenocissus quinquefolia... craving for color in winter!!!! :))

@Tara-sf7uu 4 жыл бұрын

Both apples and roses also cost alot in the way of a spraying schedule...at least here in TN. If we dont use a spray schedule, you just cant get a crop of fruit worth eating or have roses that arent defoliated or covered in black spot. Whether organic or not those sprays arent cheap!

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

That sounds rough Tara - and you're so right: those sprays cost time, money, effort - and aren't always the safest to handle. I'm happy to get away without spraying (on most varieties)

@risalangdon9883 2 жыл бұрын

Question?? If one keeps track of approx. Cost per plant. Then if a crop is lost or you have to pitch it, then is that considered a loss you can deduct from your profit? Especially for tax purposes and just really your bottom line.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Risa - yes, as a part of your standard bookkeeping, you should be tracking all of your costs vs. sales, and the costs of lost plants can definitely be counted against your profit. I'm no accountant, but that what my accountant tells me.

@PaulBengtsson 10 ай бұрын

Thats just a normal cost of your operation.

@allmanslife8482 Жыл бұрын

Clivia takes 5-7 years to flower so agree no free plants Cheap soil has weeds

@justinross4770 4 жыл бұрын

How long do you grow cuttings before being able to sell?

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Hi Justin, if I'm growing them to fit a 1 gallon pot, usually about a year.

@hansgruetzenbach3945 4 жыл бұрын

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm I propagate my Muscadine vines and able to sell them in 8 wks.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

@@hansgruetzenbach3945 beautiful! Not hardwood cuttings then... semi?

@user-ug7hu1vu4w 4 жыл бұрын

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Muscadines don't root from hard wood cuttings only soft or semi soft cuttings, so I only have 2 months to take cuttings. Believe it or not I usually take between 3-5 thousand cuttings per season.

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a great business... and it looks like you've built your marketing and distribution to match. I'm so glad you commented, because it's great a great example of success in the plant business. Any advice for growers just starting out?

@moxee33 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jason. That reminds me of a question I've wanted to ask for years and years! Why don't home depot and Walmart mark down their dying plants?? It is disheartening to see them wilting🥀 and dying on racks in the LA sun🌞 and never watered. Even the succulents are dying!🌵 It is equally infurriating to see them never marked down or only marked down by $1 or 2 dollars on a $15 plant. Who pays for all the dead plants? How can they make enough money on their plant dept if they buy so many that are never sold? And WHY not mark them down?? 😕Please don't tell me the grower is forced to give them credit on the dead plants? ☹️I've always heard walmart is a horrible customer.☠️

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. Sadly, the way big box stores handle their plants (for good or bad) are basically built into the business arrangements with their growers. They have an incredible amount of leverage over their suppliers, and more often than not, I'll see plants that I've grown (for my employer) come back for credit from the stores *destroyed*, sometimes from temperatures or poor handling, but most often from a simple lack of water. From what I've seen (and it may differ between the retailers and regions) the cost of the damaged or unsold plants usually lands 100% back on the grower.

@moxee33 3 жыл бұрын

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm wow 😳 I had a feeling it was like that. It absolutely sucks to be a manufacturer so I had a feeling it would be similar for growers. So does that mean that the stores get more $credit back from the grower than they can get from marking it down and selling it?

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 3 жыл бұрын

That's what I've seen in the agreements I've looked at - the store has little incentive to sell through. They're already planning for the next program to come in, and my impression is that they're loath to tie up any space on clearance.

@lindajennings5953 4 жыл бұрын

Some like to spend the time and energy, especially if it’s a heirloom seed from your friend’s 30 years of growing. Just sayin

@truthofthematter9409 3 жыл бұрын

I must add that just like his propagations and work put into them so are the ones we propagate. They're not free ever unless you plant and ignore. I do propagate many of the shrubs I purchase and also accept divisions from my neighbor.

@arnulfogomez4095 4 жыл бұрын

Eh i have so many questions I wanna start my own business....

@FraserValleyRoseFarm 4 жыл бұрын

Good for you - I wish you the best in it.

@arnulfogomez4095 4 жыл бұрын

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm if you could tell me the first 5 things I need to make sure I have established before I promote myself..... I'm also doing this for my son who has autism... I wanna better and have fun with our life