Is gardening your passion? If so, you probably thought about opening up your own plant nursery. And if you’re already going through the process of starting your own nursery, you need to beat out the competition.

Any gardener and nursery owner struggles with the same issues: growing thriving and healthy plants. Are your plants short and stubby? Or maybe they grow to their full potential, but they don’t live very long.

These are common issues a nursery owner faces. But experts have their own secret method to create a lush nursery. Here are 10 tips that all plant nurseries swear by.

1. Choose the Right Plants

The secret of a thriving plant nursery is choosing the right plants. Unfortunately, you can’t use any secret ingredients or magic potions on some plants. They don’t grow as powerfully or live as long as other plants.

But you should also try and diversify your nursery. Research flowers and plants that live a long time, grow to maximum proportions, are easy to maintain, and look beautiful.

Flower examples include Peonies, Lavender, Snapdragon, Cleome, Black-Eyed Susan, Daylily, Spiraea, and Clethra.

Plant and tree examples include Caladium, Maiden Grass, Yaupon Holly, Sourwood, and Apple Trees.

2. First Impressions Matter

When your customers walk into your nursery, they want to walk into an enchanted garden. If you have dying or weak plants, there’s no reason to get upset and blame yourself. Add them to the illusion.

While you need to focus on each individual plant, focus on the way your nursery looks to a customer. They won’t notice any weaker plants if they’re surrounded by healthy plants.

But you should pay attention to any dead plants and start growing any plants that are getting weaker.

What if a customer points out a dying plant? Just explain it’s part of the gardening process. But assure them you have a replacement plant growing – especially if that’s the plant they want to buy.

And don’t forget about other decors! Examples include rocks, pebbles, chips, statues, and other gardening decors.

3. Keep Bestsellers In Mind

The old adage is true – the customer is always right. If you notice any plants are selling better than others, always keep more of those plants. Display them on the floor and keep a hefty stock of them growing in your greenhouse.

This way, you’ll never run out of stock.

If your nursery is new, start by growing extra of general popular flowers. These include roses, chrysanthemums, lilies, irises, daffodils, sunflowers, orchids, tulips, carnations, and daisies.

4. Healthy Soil Is Key

The start of a healthy garden is the thing flowers grow from: soil! This is why healthy soil is the secret to a thriving plant nursery.

Take a look at the soil you have in your nursery. Are you buying high-quality soil? Is the soil suitable for the plants you’re growing? Do you consistently change the soil?

If you’re new to gardening, you may not know the answer to these questions.

Just know that soil should easily be shoveled and picked up. When picking up the soil in your hands, it should easily crumble. Soil shouldn’t be too hard or moist.

5. Keep Your Location in Mind

Even though you make your nursery suitable for just about all flowers, your customers may not have the same flexible growing conditions.

They will more than likely buy your flowers for their garden. To ensure longevity, focus on flowers that grow in your climate.

For example, certain flowers work better in colder climates than warm ones.

If you live in the cold weather, tell your customers that great flower choices include Marigold, African Daisies, and Petunias. Have an abundance of these flowers in your nursery.

If you live in warm weather, you’re in luck – many flowers thrive in warm weather. But you should still keep flowers that sell the best and have a long life.

These flowers include Amaranthus, Helenium, Mexican Sunflower, and Moss Verbena.

6. Set a Maintenance Schedule

Owning a nursery is exciting in the beginning stages. Until you realize you have to take care of all of these plants. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or procrastinate on the maintenance. But you’re at risk for dying plants.

Instead, keep a schedule. Focus on your individual plants and set a daily or weekly schedule for each. Keep a schedule for when you need to water the plants, change the soil, and other vital garden upkeeping.

7. Start Simple

When you first start your nursery, there’s no reason to immediately jump into an extravagant nursery. Start simple. Focus on growing select sets of plants until you become more comfortable owning a nursery.

The first plants you should grow should be both easy and popular. You can even start with the plants mentioned previously in this post or the best plants for your location.

The beginning phase is the most difficult. But starting with simple and popular plants will help you gain trust and a good reputation.

8. Stand Out From the Competition

Chances are, there are different nurseries in your area. These nurseries may have a devoted following and gained a reputation in your community. So how do you defeat your competition? Do whatever you can to stand out.

This will take some competitor research. Visit their nursery and take a good look around.

Look at the plants they grow. See if you can see how they maintain their nursery and how they treat their customers. See if you can do any of those jobs better.

You can also find what they don’t have. For example, your competitors may not grow fresh fruits and vegetables. Start growing food and see how powerful your clientele will become.

Become One of the Best Plant Nurseries in Your Area

Everyone needs fresh plants. That’s why plant nurseries are so successful.

Do you struggle to grow healthy flowers and plants? If you just started your own nursery, you have to make your plants and your business thrive. Use these tips and start your journey!

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