Do you want to know how to grow mums for sale? Every gardener who has a passion for growing plants dream of making a profitable business out of it.
However, the flower market is more competitive than you think. You’ll need to grow and harvest the best flowers in the market to make a profit.
Growing Mums for Sale? Here’s How:
Growing mums as a full-time job is just like starting any other business. You’ll need to put more time and effort into it by making a business plan, marketing your products, and managing your finances. But the first thing you need to do is ensure that your mums will grow healthy and beautiful.
If you want to know how to grow mums for sale, here’s how:
Step 1:
Do you want to grow your flowers as perennials or annuals? Even though mums are considered perennials, they won’t make it throughout the winter season if you plant them in the fall. If you choose to grow them as annuals, your customers will come back every year when the mums die.
On the other hand, perennials are perfect for long-term survival as they live longer than annuals. You can choose to sell both and charge higher for perennials to make the most out of your profit.
Step 2:
Before you open your doors to the public, you need to practice growing beautiful, vibrant, high-quality mums. Your flowers should be resilient enough to maintain their beauty as they’re being shipped, packaged, or handled by other people. However, not every gardener can produce the mums of the same size and color every year. You can position your business by selling different combinations.
Step 3:
The next step is to create a business plan containing the marketing strategy, financial forecasts, and more. Calculate how much profit you need to make to offset the return of investment. One of the most common costs of running a flower business includes seeds, fertilizer, pots, soil, shipping, and greenhouse.
Step 4:
Get in touch with retailers that sell flowers, like local flower shops, grocery stores, and gift shops. Pitch your business idea and ask if they’d like to resell your flowers. Give them all the information they need – price, color, size, growing conditions, etc. and how they’re different from others. Before they commit to buying your flowers, they may need to see how you’re growing them.
Step 5:
Another way to sell your flowers is to attend fairs and festivals in your area and give out fliers and business cards to customers and passersby—display beautiful arrangements in flowerpots, bouquets, vases, and hanging planters. Create an attractive booth that catches people’s attention. Keep in mind that you may have to pay a fee to participate in a fair.
Step 6:
Once you have everything in place, advertise your business online using social media and florist websites. You can purchase ads on various social media platforms for a small fee. Your target audience will be able to see your posts, increasing brand awareness.
Why Plant Your Mums Inside a Greenhouse
If you’re growing plants for profit, you need to ensure that you have everything in order. With a greenhouse, you can control the temperature and plant any time you want while protecting your plants from insects and the elements.
Other than that, here are some reasons why you need to grow your mums in a greenhouse:
Protect your mums from pests that could damage them
Spittlebugs, thrips, four-lined plant bugs, tarnished plant bugs, stem borers, beetles, and other insects that feed on mums could ruin your flowers and leaves. If you plant them inside a greenhouse, you can lower the risk of attracting these insects. But if you see a few, make sure to kill them with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab.
They come in different sizes
If you’re still on the fence of whether growing mums for business is for you, you can initially invest in a small greenhouse kit. Greenhouses come in different shapes and sizes, from large contraption to a tabletop greenhouse. Once you’ve determined that greenhouses are for you, you can then purchase a more permanent greenhouse.
Gardeners with limited space
If you’re planning to sell mums, but you don’t have enough space to plant them, you can buy a mini greenhouse. You can place them on balconies, decks, and patios. Its standard size of six feet is more than enough for startup businesses. Once your business progresses, you can buy a larger space and a greenhouse.
Grow your plants any time of the year
A greenhouse allows you to control the indoor temperature to suit your plants’ preferences. Once you can create an ideal growing environment, you can plant your mums anytime you want. You can start growing even before the right season begins in your area. Once the weather warms, you have the option to transfer your flowers into your garden.
Keep your plants safe from bad weather
Bad weather is the enemy of every gardener. Keep your plants safe from frost, drought, heavy rain, and high winds by keeping them inside a greenhouse.
Final Thoughts on How to Grow Mums for Sale
Mums are a staple in almost every household during the fall season. Knowing how to grow mums for sale could be a profitable venture for passionate gardeners. You’ll be able to grow beautiful flowers for your home and sell them for profit. Win-win!