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Saving & Making Money...
Propagating Plants
Money Can Grow... On Plants!
Purchasing landscape plants can be very expensive, especially when purchasing multiples of the same variety for mass planting and larger landscaping needs. You can literally save thousands of dollars by propagating landscape plants you or your neighbors already have or by buying a single speciman and reproducing it yourself. If you spend $20 for a single speciman, think of the potential savings you can realize by propagating a virtually unlimited number of duplicates yourself!
Another benefit that should give you reason to consider duplicating your landscape, house and garden plants is supplementing your income. Tens of thousands of backyard growers are not only saving money by growing their own plants, they're making money by selling their excess stock at farmers markets, garden centers, even on their driveway or a picnic table set up in front of their house!
Not only do people love plants, greenhouses love them as well. Greenhouse growers often purchase their starter plants as rooted cuttings from smaller growers and propagators. They especially like plants from smaller growers, It doesn't take much to make money each spring! Herbs are easy to grow and easier to sell! as they realize that the quality of young plants they purchase are going to be better because smaller growers tend to take better care of their investment.
Make Serious Money With Your Favorite Hobby!
Mike McGroarty owns a 1/2 acre nursery in suburban Ohio. Well, actually, the "nursery" is his yard! And to be truthful, he only uses 1/10th of the 1/2 acre to grow the plants he sells. Mike has beautifully landscaped his yard, which contains most of his stock plants that he uses to make clones, or duplicates, which he sells on his driveway each spring. But what surprises most people is the fact that not only does Mike make money selling his cuttings, virtually every plant that he has purchased for his landscape is completely tax-deductible as a business expense since he uses them to create new plants which he then sells. His garden tools, containers, soils, etc... all tax-deductible; all business expenses.
Mike McGroarty's backyard landscape is full of beautiful nursery plants which he uses to propagate the plants he sells. Mike McGroarty's 1/20th of an acre nursery business, right in the backyard!
Mike sells his plants right on his driveway each spring. The photo on the right was taken on April 23rd, the day before their ad in the local newspaper appeared. The photo below right was taken on May 18th, less than a month after the newspaper ad. During this short period, Mike grossed over $25,000 selling small rooted cuttings for about $5.00 a plant, except towards the end of his sale when he reduced the price to $4.00 a plant since the selection was so picked over.
But here's the best part. Because Mike propagated all of his plants from existing plants in his yard, his total cost per plant that he sold for 5 dollars each, which includes the pot, soil, and newspaper advertisements, was 25 cents. Net profit, not including his labor (actually, the labor of his family, since everyone chips in and helps), is a whopping $4.75 each, which equates to over $23,000.00. And Mike further points out, that if he had chosen to grow some of those plants into larger specimens for future years, he could have sold them for as much as $25.00 each, and even greater profit potential.
Anyone with a little extra space in their yard can make money like Mike McGroarty does. The demand for home landscape plants is only going to increase, especially with rising energy prices that will force people to look to their own backyards as their weekend destination. And you don't necessarily have to do it on the same scale as Mike. A smaller venture can still net you a significant sum of money for a negligible investment, money that everyone can put to good use. For more information on how you can create a backyard nursery like Mike's, visit his website at FreePlants.com.
