Selling rare plants

A good way to earn money can be to propagate and sell rare and exclusive plants. Do not consider this alternative unless you have a burning love for these plants and are willing to spend energy to find, care for and propagate rare plants. You will often have to spend a lot of money to buy your mother plants but you can also earn a lot of money selling plants that you propagated from your plants. It is hard to stay motivated and devoted enough to succeed if you do not love what you do.

Indoors, greenhouse and garden

You can use this method to earn money regardless of whether you have a garden or not. If you do not have a garden you can do the same thing but on a smaller scale indoors by utilizing your window sills as an earning garden. Indoor plants are often worth a higher price than garden plants and can be more profitable to work with.

Ideally you should have a heated green house so you can use that to grow a lot of plants all year around. How warm you need to keep the green house depends on what plants you want to propagate. Some types of orchids and other plants will prefer a cooler temperature during the winter.

You should always make sure to insulate the green house well. By using 3 glass windows and insulation all around the green house you can build a green house that is cheap to keep warm and that can earn you a lot of money. The larger the green house the more you can earn.

You can of course also use your garden to propagate rare plants and earn money. If you live in the north then you need to focus on perennials and will only have a few month a year to propagate and sell plants. If you live in the south than you can propagate and sell plants all year round. Make sure that you plan according to the climate in your area.

The plant ladder

If you want to collect, propagate and sell rare and expensive plants then you will have to get on the plant ladder. It is likely that you wont be able to afford to buy a lot of expensive plants at once. A good alternative is to start out by buying cheaper but still unusual plants and then use the proceeds you get from propagating them to buy more and more expensive plants. This allow you to build an ever more impressive and profitable collection of plants. Keep the cheaper plants and keep selling them if you got the space. If you do not have the space needed to keep all the plants species than you should focus on those that are most profitable.

By climbing the plant ladder you will be able to afford the plants you really want that you might not be able to get otherwise. It is a way to realize your gardening dreams at the same time as you earn money. Buying expensive plants becomes an investment not just an expense.

Selling your plants

Internet has made it very easy to sell your plants. This is true no matter how rare or exclusive your plants are. It is usually easier to sell rare plants than it is to sell more common plants. There are plenty of collectors forum and Facebook groups where you can find buyers who are desperate to get their hands on the plants you want to sell. You will likely be using the same forums to add new species to your collection.

Ebay and other auction sites can also be great places to sell your plants and cuttings.

Local plant shows and other events can also be great places to sell your stuff.

Expanding your business

Most people who collect and propagate plants for profit will sooner or later find that they run out of space in their windows, gardens and green houses. When this happens you will have to chose which plants to keep and which to remove to make room for other plants or you will have to build a new greenhouse. (or buy more land if you are running out of space in your garden). Most people chose to prune their collection to be able to make due with the space they have but I recommend that you invest in more land or a new green house. If you are making money from your collection then you should not be afraid to spend money to be able to keep growing it. Never be afraid to grow your collection. If you keep growing you collection it can turn into a full time job and a proper company with multiple employees. A lot of companies in this industry have started as private collections and have been grown into real companies by people who haven’t been afraid to expand and follow their dreams.

Never stop growing plants, never stop growing your collection