How to Start a Landscape Plants Nursery
Starting a landscape nursery business is a great way to utilize farm space or achieve your dreams of profiting from your green thumb. A landscape plant nursery can sprout from your backyard or farmland; and can provide you a successful career working for yourself. You may even choose to work from your backyard and run the landscape nursery out of your home. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Land
- Business license
- Investment money
- Irrigation system
- Drainage pipes
- Young trees
- Young flowers
- Young bushes
- Garden hose or sprinkler system
- Fertilizer
- Shovels
- Potting soil
- Pots
- Advertising funds
- Promotional signs
- Promotional business cards
- Cash register
- Change
Instructions
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1
Determine where you will locate your landscape plant nursery. If you own a farm, you may use your own land or invest in acreage closer to a main roadway or highway. Have the soil tested if you do not already know whether the soil is fertile enough to support the types of plants you want to include in your landscape nursery. Make sure the land you choose is not prone to flooding.
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Obtain a business loan or use your own money to invest in a business license and to purchase the supplies you will need to transform the empty piece of land into a landscape nursery. Plan and section off areas for certain types of plants.
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3
Establish an irrigation system for your landscape nursery. Use pipes, or simply dig drainage ditches. Install any underground piping for sprinkler systems at this time. While you are digging, you may also want to dig a well system and a foundation for an office, greenhouse or equipment shed.
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4
Begin transplanting bushes, trees and flowers you wish to grow in your landscape nursery and the plants you plan to offer to your customers. Look for bargains when purchasing your own plants, and only buy from competitors when it is necessary. You may want to plant your landscape plants a year or two before you open your landscape nursery to customers; this ensures you have enough plants to satisfy customer needs and to start your crop for the next year.
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5
Place plants that are ready for sale in pots with fresh potting soil. Carefully transplant to avoid harming the plants' root systems. Fertilize plants and separate them from plants that are not mature enough to transplant in a customer's yard or garden.
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Advertise the opening of your landscape nursery by handing out fliers, hanging signs, taking out radio announcements and handing out business cards. Be sure to advertise your landscape nursery to landscape architects and new businesses.
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Take a course in owning a small business and keep a cash register, receipt copies and proper documentation of expenses. Keep records to aid you in filing taxes at the end of the year.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider offering landscaping services, in addition to simply offering landscape plants. Look for clients where new businesses and buildings are under construction.
