# Selling trees/plants from home



## PrettyPaisley

I saw this guy several years ago when I was living in a smaller space and filed it away for later. 

http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm

Is this something that might work? I honestly have to admit that I'm an EOTW kinda girl and would never spent $100 on a tree that just looks good-so it's hard for me to buying into that idea. BUT-living not too far from a large city full of folks who don't realize what the state of the economy really is-I wonder if it would work. 

I don't want to spend $47 on his info if it's not viable - but need to do something with this land to generate some income. 

Thoughts?


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## Pam6

I bet he makes more money on selling his 'system' than he does on plants now! If a 'system' really does work do you really want to sell all of your trade secrets so that info floods the market and you have competitors who are younger and have more energy?? 

I have Hostas and they sell for $10 a small bucket around here in the spring. They multiply like crazy too. I thinned out the hostas in my landscaping a couple of years ago and spread them throughout a 10'x30' area and I bet I could easily pot up 1,000 of them now if I divided them up and left half of them there for my base stock. I am sure this could be done with other perennials as well if you had the space and the market. 
I do plan on digging them all up and taking them with me, dividing and spreading them out even more, when I do move to a bigger piece of property and then selling some. 
I have a wee bit of space and could probably grow more but I live a mile and a half up a dead end road, 5 miles from the nearest tiny town with a gas station, so I do not have a market without it being ate up by the gas money it would take to get to it.


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## katlupe

Oh yeah, I used to get that guy's newsletters and was tempted by his marketing methods myself. Since then, I have thought about trying to start heirloom plants in the spring to sell. Someone told me I had to be certified to do that, but I could list them on my local cheapcycle or craigslist and sell some.


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## clovis

There are quite a few people selling plants around here.

It is important to remember that _it is what you make it._

Some folks have grown their operations in to multiple large green houses, and support themselves year round from what they grow and sell in the spring and summer.

Others are still small, selling only divided plants and rooted cuts from their own backyard landscaping.

I know one woman that is thrilled to earn $25-$35 a week at a farmer's market, and I met another guy who tries to sell at least $1,000 worth of bedding plants in the spring. "It helps pay for our Florida vacation" he says.

The buyers are out there if you will do the work...but I would pass on the $49 lesson plan.


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## clovis

Oh, and in our state, you are _supposed_ to have a license from the state to sell plants. The last time I checked, there were 2 types, an annual and a perennial. Both were cheap, and very easy to get, IIRC.


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## PrettyPaisley

Pam6 said:


> I bet he makes more money on selling his 'system' than he does on plants now! If a 'system' really does work do you really want to sell all of your trade secrets so that info floods the market and you have competitors who are younger and have more energy??


You know, I thought about that, too. But he seems to be selling to locals, like locals who buy in bulk-ish. So since not everyone is local and he probably has his local market wrapped up tight - he probably has little to lose. 

If I'm not mistaken he is also offering a wholesale provider where you can buy starts for little money - and what he is offering from years ago is different. IIRC he used to just offer the how-to instead of the source. 

IDK. My concern is still whether or not there is a market for a $100 Japanese Maple in this day and age. I reckon I could sell transplants and herbs fairly well (if I could figure out how to get them started myself)!!


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## Danaus29

Not really sure I would trust anyone who misspelled Reagan's name. 

Yes, you can make some money growing and selling plants. Some people make a lot of money. Saw a guy at Lucasville this past spring selling good sized tomato plants in 5 gal bucket planters for $15 each. Not sure how much he netted because he had to have had a greenhouse to grow them in, the expense for potting soil, the box truck he drove there, space rental and fuel for the truck. But he ended up leaving early when he sold out. 

I've made a little money selling plants. Sometimes the more unusual stuff sells real well and sometimes common stuff sells better. There are a lot of variables in the market and people's wants that year. 

Personally I would recommend you spend the money on _The New Seed Starters Handbook _and _Plants A Plenty_ instead of his program. Then you'll have to come up with a supply of pots and soil. 

And be sure to check your state's laws. I don't know the law where he lives but in Ohio if you sell more than $500 in hardy or woody plants you have to have a license. Then there are lots of business and tax forms you have to fill out too.


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## WestFork

Well, he's right, you can make money propagating and selling plants. My wife and I did it for 20 years. You have to know the market in your area. It's trendy, and the market can flood with certain varieties. What he doesn't tell you is how much work it is, and how tied down you get when you have to care for plants. In summer, you are constantly watering. You take off for a weekend, and everything dies. You are so tied down, pretty soon you don't have any friends. The bigger you get, the more overhead you have. Tractors, tools, equipment all take maintenance. So what I'm saying is, sure you can make profits growing plants. But you have to be smart about it. And don't expect it to be easy work.


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## theemon

i never bought his program, but i am signed up to his news letter, teaches me a bunch of stuff i didnt know i didnt know... id sign up for the news letter, ps if u join his blog he replys


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## CesumPec

in 94 / 95, I was out of work. I collected pots from trash piles where new homes were being landscaped. Collected newspaper, xmas trees, and other compostables from the curb on trash day using both hot composting and vermicomposting to make soil. Collected potting soil, fertilizer, and every other bagged garden soil stuff from a local hardware store. I hauled off all their broken or too wet to sell bags. I bought a few plants and made cuttings and dug up and potted wild things I found interesting. 

All this was done because I enjoyed it and wanted to create my own garden paradise. But then a job forced me to move from zone 10 to zone 7 where my plants would not be happy. Had a moving sale and made over $1000 from the plants. I didn't make minimum wage on all this, but it was a nice bonus when I needed moving money. A few orchids and larger plants sold for $25 - $50, but many plants sold for as little as $1. Unfortunately I didn't have time to let those $1 plants to grow into $5 - 10 plants.


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## willow_girl

I've grown and sold plants for years, mostly perennial divisions from my garden and herb, tomato and pepper plant seedlings. I've done garage sales with plants, and rented tables at a community flea market. Having a good location to sell from is important. If you're not too far off the beaten path, you might be able to do quite well! It is a lot of work, though ...


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## edcopp

No need to buy basic information from a stranger. Do your own thing.


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## LoonyK

PrettyPaisley said:


> If I'm not mistaken he is also offering a wholesale provider where you can buy starts for little money - and what he is offering from years ago is different. IIRC he used to just offer the how-to instead of the source.
> 
> IDK. My concern is still whether or not there is a market for a $100 Japanese Maple in this day and age.


haha he probably is the wholesale provider, so he offers program person buys, plus sells them small starts from the 'secret location' and they have to figure out how to sell 100 dollar maple. Things are considered to be improving since housing crash, but things aren't as optimistic as he presents it in that tidbit of info he has on there. For stuff like trees, housing market needs to be pushing good. 

I agree with everyone else on here. Reminds me of all the people trying to sell their stock trading tips, if they were a little bit successful at it, they wouldn't be bothering with some stupid magical program.


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