How To Start Plant Nursery Business – Profitable Business Plan

The world today has a great sense of fashion in everyday work. To make it clear, people love to live a life in a beautiful surrounding and one of the best way to make better surroundings is with the help of flowers and plants. Gardeners are now showing more interest in finding new varieties of plants. Unique plants are grown even for social status. The desire for decorations at home till office, has created a state of necessity to include the ornamental plant selling in the business world.

Of these, the most wanted or the top rated is the Woody plant variety and some others. If you want to start your own nursery then read this article till the very end. Nursery business is very profitable and demanding, you can easily run your own plant nursery business in no time by following the profitable business plan. You can also take your business online and make more profit.

In this article I have shared a business plan sample for “Woody Ornamental Plants” which is very profitable and common type of plants for selling in nursery all around the globe.

10 steps To Start Plant Nursery Business And Make Profit

1. Choose a suitable location: The first and foremost thing for starting a plant nursery is to choose a suitable location. The location must have proper drainage and irrigation facility.

2. Decide the type of plants: You should decide the type of plants you want to grow in your nursery. You can grow flowering plants, vegetables, or herbs.

3. Buy quality seeds and seedlings: You should buy quality seeds and seedlings from a reliable source.

4. Prepare the nursery bed: You should prepare the nursery bed in a proper way. The bed should be well-drained and should have enough space for the roots of the plants.

5. Plant the seeds and seedlings: You should plant the seeds and seedlings in the prepared nursery bed.

6. water the plants regularly: You should water the plants regularly. The plants should not be allowed to dry out.

7. Fertilize the plants: You should fertilize the plants regularly. This will help the plants to grow healthy and strong.

8. Protect the plants from pests and diseases: You should protect the plants from pests and diseases. You can use pesticides and insecticides for this purpose.

9. Harvest the plants: You can harvest the plants when they are ripe. You can sell the harvested plants in the market.

10. Repeat the process: You should repeat the above process to get a good yield from your plant nursery.

Requirements for nursery business

For you to earn profits, I recommend to start this business at your complete management than employing more workers. The process is extremely simple and you will not require much of raw materials or expensive machinery to carry out the plant nursery business.

Land

The primary step in any farming business would be availability of land. In this, the land used need not necessarily be a huge space. Backyard can be utilised for more profit, than hiring land for farming. The basic qualities of land for farming should be present. These denote soil fertility, nutrition present, moisture content and non-toxic nature. With all these factors which decides the growth of the plant, the land is perfectly suitable for you to start the process. If you prefer to plant two three varieties of woody plants, use of varieties of soil might be a condition. In such cases you can spend a little of your investment on soil purchase. After purchasing, the land can be subdivided for different species. Bring the land to the most viable form by carrying out traditional methods of ploughing and harrowing.

Woody stem

To start farming, you will need few stems of the desired plant variety. These stems can be purchased from gardening firms or directly cut from shrubs. The cutting process is not a normal one, instead has a trick behind it. When you cut the stem of the shrub, make sure that you cut it straight at the bottom and diagonally at the top. And also, for growth purpose, the stems should contain three nodes each. Similarly, have a set of stems ready for planting. If you are planning to plant more than one variety, segregate the stems for maintaining the difference even while planting.

Sand

The next component is sand. The method which you will learning for planting these woody plats will require huge quantities of sand.

Simple tools

In this type of farming, there is an advantage of using less tools. Simple tools for cutting the stems are alone needed. There is no need of tools in any other phase of the whole process.

Steps in planting woody plants

• First, prepare the soilbed with necessary elements (moisture content) as already mentioned. Divide it into narrow lines if there are more than one species.
• Dig the soil at 2 feet depth, which is the height of the stems which are ready for planting. After digging it to 2 feet depth, fill the quarter height of it with sand.
• Now, stems are planted into the soil with proper spacing between each. Spacing is important since it can stop the growth of a plant if interrupted by other.
• Now cover the hollow space with soil on top of it. After covering, tap the soil properly to make it flat.
• The plating part is done and after this watering them at regular intervals is required.

To use fertilizer or not?

These woody plants will naturally contain the ability to extract nutrients from soil and from the water provided. Plants usually get 3/4^th of the micro nutrients from soil itself. Thus, from all this it is seen that the use of fertilizer is not a mandatory condition to follow in farming. Fertilizers are just to speed up the process of growth. And also, the use of fertilizers will not greatly affect your plant. If you wish to see a fast growth, then you can choose to use any fertilizer.

When to harvest?

The planted stems develop woody branches as they grow. The time of harvest can vary with each species planted. The different varieties planted will require alternate seasons for harvesting. The harvesting part of the process is uncertain. There is also a case where some people harvest it as they grow. This is to start business soon, and realise the profits then and there.

There are so many varieties of plants which can be produced, but of them the most profitable are some of these. These plants are profitable when we study about the popularity, ease in growing and also the nature of lasting for years.

• Boxwood
• Beautyberry
• Forsythia
• Hydrangea
• WeigeliaFlorida

Scope of nursery business

Apart from planning growth, business should also focus on the need for the produced plants in the market. The quality of the present lifestyle acts as a key to this business. As long as these fashion statements exist, the need for woody plants for ornaments will also exist. The scope seems to grow wider day by day due to innovative ideas of people. Area of is not restricted to few. Sectors and business firms which uses these plants should be found in order to increase sales. Some of the areas where these plants are use are,

Bouquet shops- Bouquets are no more the stories of flowers alone. Stems are gaining more attraction nowadays than the usual decoration with flowers. The prices are also favourable to you because woody bouquets are sold at higher prices than the flowered ones.

Craft business firms – Articles are now being made with wood pieces instead of other materials like plastic, mud, clay etc. Even game sets are made of wood nowadays. Anything in wood makes it look elegant, and this is the response of people in today’s world.

Containers- This is also come under craft business, but apart from that firms manufacturing small containers or baskets make use of these stems to add more details to the product made.

These areas are just few among the whole list. The use of these nursery plants varies greatly to each type of user.

Changing the style of the plant

Plants can nowadays be altered in their looks and size according to our desires. This is achieved with the help of Biotechnology and other new discoveries in the field of science. With that, hybrid varieties can also be grown changing the colour and texture of the stems. Coloured stems are more in demand than the normal ones. These attract more customers stimulating them to buy the most attractive variety of all, which is expensive.

Selling in bulk

You can choose your customers on the basis of quantities being sold. The woody plants after harvested, are taken for bulk selling.

• Selling as raw materials- These are packed and are sold with less margin since they are sold as raw materials for the production of some other product. In such cases, though the profits are less quantities sold are more. You can have contracts with crafting business firms, and supply them with these products on a regular basis.
• Selling to architects- Architects make the optimum use of these woody plants. They do not directly use them, but the designers working with them will have to procure these plants to finish the work as planned by the architect. Modern infrastructure will usually have light coloured flooring and walls. And to match this, the decorative stuffs should have the same theme which is the use of woody ornaments.
• Selling to other sellers- The last method of selling in bulk is selling to other woody plants sellers in the market. Not all the sellers will produce and sell. So, in such cases you can act as a producer supplying plants for selling.
• Export plants – You can also start export of plants to other countries like USA, UK, South Africa and other middle eastern Arabian countries.

Start your own plant nursery

• Start a shop – Harvest the plants are pack them in very presentable way. Have a shop on your own and sell these ornamental plants for users who buy for gifting purposes.
• Sell for growing purpose- Pack the woody plants in pots for people who wish to grow them at home. Like any other plant selling business, have the directions to use along with the pot.
• Start a profitable plant nursery in your backyard – You can utilise your backyard at the beginning to setup your business.

How to attract more customers?

• These plants are mainly for decorative purposes. Thus, major importance should be given to the presentation of it. Use of ribbons and other colourful items on it will grab attention. Tie few stems with any beautiful piece of rope and sell them to growers at home.
• Have more number of stems in each unit to popularise your product in the market.
• Target on places where there is more use of these plants. Not all bouquet shops will use woody plants. Find places where people’s lifestyle is in a way to spend money on these stuffs.
• Online selling will be a great idea for this too. Capture the pictures of the stems and advertise online. Quote the prices which will fight the competitors price.
• Above all this, regular contracts with architects and craftsman is more than enough to earn huge profits.

Tips to start an online plant business

You can easily list your products online with the help of one click install e-commerce store. You can create your website in a popular platforms like WordPress. Register a domain name for your business and hire professional to create a beautiful website for you.

You would be able to reach more audience with the help of online advertising. Create business profiles on social media like Instagram and Facebook. gain followers and start selling directly through social media platforms.

You can also run highly targeted demographic ads on Instagram, it will help you to reach out your target audience in no time.

Profit margin in nursery business

The profits made here in this business is huge due to extremely less production cost. Especially, when the production of woody plants takes place at backyard or any small place, the need for investment in land is less. Profits in this business are determined by the quantity produced. A well cared plant will produce enormous number of stems. This does not depend on the availability of land. Thus, even small area can earn more income. For this, you will have to look after the growth of the plant wisely. Proper watering and harvesting at right time is necessary for more production. Another benefit of this business is, it is said to exhibit one- time investment. Once the stems are planted, they continue to grow more for decades. You can easily witness regular flow of business.

Also, if you have planted more than one species of stem, year full harvesting can be done. This will enable you to have excess income instead of waiting for the next harvesting season.

You can also sell the woody plants with little flowering. Harvest the plants during the flowering season of that particular species. These can enhance the look of the woody plants and can create a change in their usual form. Quote the prices fairly, without aiming extremely high income at once. This can turn the customer’s interest to another seller. Try to focus on stable prices which is an added point in efficient selling.

Think out of the box and look for opportunities for exporting your products. This insists on creating a business overseas for a variety which is not available in other country. And in this category, you can make more money. Freight charges will be extra in this business, but you will be benefitted more here.

Conclusion

The ideas and plans discussed are not the only way to achieve success in this business. Apart from all these, your own creativity and contacts make up the survival of your nursery business. Do not hesitate to grow again if the first round of income hasn’t satisfied your expectations. Take it slow till your product reaches the customer. Being a producer, you can sell these plants at a very less price at the same time with more profit. By this, your competitors who buy and sell at a higher price will go behind you in the market.

Nursery business is very rare and one can make good profit out of it because of low competition in the market. Also, due to this uniqueness, you can also enjoy leadership in the market by being an outstanding seller or producer. Try not to use more labourers if in case you wish to carry out this process in a bigger scale.

As already mentioned, this is the simplest process of all types of farming. So, there is comparatively less need of labourers. There are more than 100 species of woody plants and its your choice to choose the most suitable variety. Make sure that you don’t disappoint the market once you have a regular flow of selling. Plan your production and customer size properly. Disappointments might lead to a shift to another seller.

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