Backyard Plant Nursery – Profitable Plants (2024)

Starting a backyard plant nursery can be an excellent way to turn your love of plants and gardening into cash. It’s one of the best ways to “bootstrap” a few hundred dollars into a good income.

When people think of a plant nursery, the local garden center usually comes to mind. Most garden centers produce very few of the plants they sell. Instead, they purchase their plants from specialty nurseries, which grow the plants.

You’ll find specialty plant nurseries ranging in size from tiny backyard nurseries to giant regional wholesale nurseries, which might supply retailers in several states. That’s the beauty of the plant nursery business – there’s room for everyone – from “mom & pop” part-timers to corporate giants. And it might surprise you to find out how many corporate giants started as backyard growers with just a “shovel and a wheelbarrow.”

The secret to making good money with a backyard plant nursery is to specialize in plants that are in demand and can be container-grown to save space. A relatively new development in container growing – called the “pot-in-pot” system, allows growers to produce more giant trees and shrubs without the back-breaking hand digging and high water consumption required by field growing. For smaller plants, container growing saves time, water, and transplanting.

Growers in small towns or rural areas can also make a good income, focusing on wholesale plant sales to retail nurseries and landscapers around their region. For example, a local grower specializing in ornamental grasses sells her entire year’s production to retail garden centers in a city 90 miles away.

Buying wholesale at deep discounts is one of the best “perks” about having your plant nursery. Hundreds of wholesale nurseries specialize in what is called in the trade “plugs, liners & whips,” which are different types of plant starts. All you’ll need to do is re-plant them in a larger pot – say a 5″ or 6″ size – and wait a year or so for the plants to grow to saleable size. The profit margins are impressive – you’ll find starts for 25 cents that can be re-sold in a year for $5 – a 2000% markup!

Wait – it gets even better! Once you’ve got your “mother” plants, you can quickly propagate more by cuttings or root division and reduce your plant costs to zero. For example, This can make a difference with ground covers and ornamental grasses because most buyers need dozens of plants, not just one or two.

Ground Covers

With profits of up to $20 per square foot, it’s easy to see why a ground cover nursery could provide you with the ideal backyard nursery crop. With today’s high labor costs and water shortages, ground covers are becoming the smart way to landscape. Requiring no mowing, minor maintenance, and conserving water, ground covers can pay for themselves in a year or two. As a living mulch, they can also protect the soil from erosion and keep it cool and moist – reducing the need for watering.

In addition to being a high-value crop, ground covers are easy to grow, easy to propagate, and easy to sell. Most ground covers are sold in one-gallon pots, so four pots only take one square foot of growing area. A backyard plot of 50 x 50 feet can hold eight thousand plants, which can be sold for $3 each wholesale or $4 to $5 retail. In Start Your OwnBackyard Plant Nursery, you’ll learn about the most popular ground covers – how to set up your container nursery – how to propagate for free growing stock – how to wholesale your plants to landscapers and garden centers – and how to have “Retail Saturdays” that can bring $5 a plant.

Ornamental Grass

Ornamental grasses are enjoying a surge of popularity today. They range in size from low-growing six-inch tufts to 20-foot-tall giants. Landscapers love them because they can be used in many ways – as ground covers, specimen plants, borders or near ponds, privacy screens, and rock gardens. An additional plus is that these low-maintenance perennials add striking form and color to the landscape much longer than flowers – some even lasting through the winter dormant season.

Most people think of Pampas grass – the “queen” of ornamental grasses – when ornamental grasses are mentioned. Yet there are hundreds of other ornamental grasses, most hardy in the north. In addition to the perennial grasses, there are about 25 annual ornamental grasses, which are grown from seed and have decorative flowers that can be dried for bouquets.

Ornamental grasses are easy to grow and are bothered by few insects or diseases. Most can be propagated by dividing the root clump as it matures and enlarges.

Because ornamental grasses are so popular, many specialty nurseries sell all they can produce. In Start Your OwnBackyard Plant Nursery, you’ll learn which plants are “hot,” how to set up a small-scale nursery, how to grow and market ornamental grasses, and where to find wholesale seeds and starts.

Landscaping Trees and Shrubs

Deep in the Appalachian mountains, a semi-retired farmer named Sam Davey decided to try growing high-value landscaping plants instead of low-value row crops. After a few years, his six acres contained thousands of azaleas, rhododendrons, Japanese maples, firs, spruce, and junipers.

Each year, his stock is sold out, without any paid advertising. Most of his plants are sold to residents, who appreciate quality plants at affordable prices. The rest go to landscapers and two nearby retail garden centers. As for profits, he will only admit that he’s making more money than ever before in his life. If he wanted to, he could grow out his existing seedlings and retire, set for the rest of his life.

Further west, Jack & Karen Cooper have filled their Arizona acre with deciduous trees such as cottonwood, maple and birch. They started with one cottonwood tree; from that one plant alone, they have grown and sold thousands of trees.

Jack prefers to sell wholesale in large quantities, working directly with landscapers and retail nurseries. He sells most of his trees bare-root, and then the retailers re-pot the trees in 15-gallon pots for resale. His acre is laid out like a cornfield, with rows three feet apart and tree seedlings spaced one foot apart in the rows. Using this method, he can grow about ten thousand trees on his acre and net about $50,000 after expenses.

Many backyard nurseries have also specialized in container-grown landscaping trees and shrubs. It’s surprising how many pots will fit in a small area – even the larger three and 5-gallon sizes. One grower has had great success with unique varieties of Japanese maples and charges up to $150 for a single plant. That’s one of the secrets of success for a small nursery – find a “niche” where you can specialize. Start Your Own Backyard Plant Nursery also covers landscaping trees and shrubs, with tips on the best high-value plants for specialty growers, hard-to-find sources for tree and shrub seedlings, and even where to get free pots.

Start Your Own Backyard Plant Nurseryhas detailed growing and marketing information for the best and most profitable crops for small growers: Ground Covers, Ornamental Grasses, Landscaping Trees and Shrubs, Flowers,and Herbs.

“You’ve done everything for the potential grower except weed the garden! I’ve wondered how to market, how to set prices, and what to try. Your book answered all my questions and made me feel that, with a little work, we can do anything.” Linda Lee …Texas

Here’s Why a Plant Nursery is a Perfect Spare-Time Business

It’s something anyone can do. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, how old you are, or how far you got in school … you can easily do this. All you need is a small growing space and a few hand tools.

You can work on your schedule. If you can spare an hour daily, you can start a backyard plant nursery. Container growing means you spend less time watering, weeding, and transplanting.

You’ll be doing something you love. If you love growing plants, you’ll look forward to tending your nursery, and it won’t seem like work at all!

You can turn it into a full-time business. With just a tiny investment, you can start a backyard plant nursery in your spare time and, if you choose, expand it to a full-time business. Say goodbye to the 9-to-5 rat race and produce a solid income growing plants for profit.

It’s a low-tech business. You don’t have to be a horticultural expert to do this. Just follow the simple steps in the guide, and you’ll be set. You would be amazed at how many million-dollar plant nurseries started with little more than a shovel and a wheelbarrow.

“On our very first plant sale day, it was like a tornado hit. They cleaned us out before noon! Took in over $3,500 in just three hours.” Roger D … Illinois

Here are a few secrets you’ll learn in “Start Your Own Backyard Plant Nursery.”

• How to grow 3,000 high-value plants in just a 32′ x 32′ space.
• How and when to re-pot to double or triple your profits.
• “Ten Commandments” for a successful plant nursery.
• Pro grower’s formula for perfect potting soil.
• Ten best herbs to grow for ground covers.
• How to get free advertising for your nursery.
• Set up a low-cost misting system and propagate plants for free.
• There are four ways to produce “value-added” plants for extra profits.
• How to sell a $3 plant for $20 using “hypertufa”
• How to pre-sell your plants.
• They are drying ornamental grasses for extra income year-round.
• Wholesale sources for over 7,000 plants, plus wholesale grower supplies.

Your guide is packed with good information and has encouraged me to start growing plants on my small acreage. It was easy to read, and I especially liked how it was laid out step-by-step. I was able to use one of your sources to find Japanese maple seedlings for just 50 cents each!” Chris Cooper – Idaho

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