This is Part 3 of a 3-part series on buying plants online and also selling the plants you grow online:
- Part 1 – How to Sell Plants Online
- Part 2 – Where to Buy Plants (at Rock-Bottom Prices) Online
- Part 3 – [You Are Here] – How to Get Paid to Sell Sticks (Yes… STICKS!!)
(I lied to you in this video!)
I didn’t mean to lie to you, but when I told you how much people are willing to pay for some unrooted cuttings I greatly underestimated the value that some folks are willing to pay for certain kinds of hardwood cuttings.
I told you they can sell for 15 cents to 50 cents, but apparently they are worth a lot more than that.
I am told that some unrooted cuttings of certain kinds of grape plants are being sold for $3.50 or more per unrooted cutting!
That’s a bunch of money!
Why is it that people are so willing to buy unrooted cuttings? When you are growing plants for profit and you are constantly adding to the line of the plants that you grow, sell and propagate.
So it really doesn’t matter how much you pay for that batch of unrooted cuttings because once you have that first batch, chances are you’ll never have to buy that particular plant again.
Once you have those plants growing in your nursery you can take cuttings from them several times before you sell them. So 10 cuttings can turn into 100 plants. 100 plants can turn into 1,000 plants and on and on. That’s what Makes This Business So Special.
Questions? Comments? Post them below.
This is Part 3 of a 3-part series on buying plants online and also selling the plants you grow online:
- Part 1 – How to Sell Plants Online
- Part 2 – Where to Buy Plants (at Rock-Bottom Prices) Online
- Part 3 – [You Are Here] – How to Get Paid to Sell Sticks (Yes… STICKS!!)
Great article. Cheers
Would someone tell me three or four of the best selling Japanese maple trees please?
Bloodgood, Crimson Queen, Emporer 1, Waterfall, Inaba Shadaire.
Mike could you do a video on doing cuttings on crape myrtles. I am having problems getting mine to root.
Greg,
We don’t have Crape Myrtle around here but many of our members, http://backyardgrowers.com/join, do them as softwood cuttings in the summer under mist, https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/mikes-plant-propagation-kit/.
are there any Backyard growers in the north meaning in the Canadian side if so I’b like to get in touch, cause, I don’t think I can buy across the border( plants) ??
Mike, I can,t find the article you wrote about building things to use in the garden. It had adirondak chairs and a trailer you made with 1 axle centered under a piece of plywood. I can,t find it. I love the links (take a gander at these) that you include.
Cindy,
I’m guessing that the information you seek was in one of our Mondays with Mike series and I’m sorry to say that we did a poor job of listing those videos and now it’s really hard to find the content that you are looking for. We do have a Mondays with Mike category on this site, you can try searching that. But we should have listed some of the content in each video and we failed to do that. Live and learn.
hI mIKE,
like hard wood cutting video , here is my ??s
i have Magnolia tree (white flower) 18 year old ,grown to 45 feet tall3′ wide at bottom about 8′ half way up . about 10 stump grown out of the ground 1″ to 3″ in dia..
this tree is growing crazy give me a hint when is the right time to do hard wood cutting ?? is there any market for this tree cutting & how to store them properly.
I have collected some seeds (red in color) put in plastic bag in refrigerator last month, is this is the right way to store seeds.
hope u or any one can reply to this inquiry is appreciated , i am new to this & like to explore more.
ty,
kanu
Kanu,
Clean the seeds and store them in a cool dry place just like I do the Japanese maple seeds. https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/10/how-to-grow-japanese-red-maple-trees-from-seed/
I think it’s unlikely that the Magnolia will grow from hardwood cuttings, but you can always try. Selling the cuttings would not be good for a couple of reasons. 1. You don’t know the variety, you have to know the exactly variety and the only way to know that is to have the original plant tag. 2. The chances of success of those cuttings rooting would be slim. I tell our members, http://backyardgrowers.com/join, that if you’ve never successfully grown a particular plant from hardwood cuttings you should not be offering them for sale. You need to sell from experience. First successfully root some cuttings, then you know for sure what works.
I WOULD LIKE INFORMATION FOR RED TIP PHOTINAS (NOT SURE HOW IT IS SPELLED). I LIVE IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS. INFORMATION ON HOW TO’S FOR CUTTINGS AND HOW TO’S FOR ROOTING THE CUTTINGS. I HAVE AROUND 20 MATURE BUSHES.
There are three basic ways to create a new photinia plant, using pieces that are three segments, or nodes, long:
1 Put cuttings into a mix of perlite and vermiculte in a ziplock bag, place in light.
2 Put cuttings directly into potting soil, let them root under light
3 Put cuttings in water, place on a window sill with plenty of light.
When you have new root growth, plant the new plants from the photinia pruning in pots till the roots are stronger. Then you are able to plant a new red tip photinia in an area where it has plenty of room and light to grow strong and healthy.
THANK YOU SHARON
SHARON NOT SURE IF THE OTHER MESSAGE WENT THROUGH BUT WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR INFO.
Got it hun! You’re welcome!
Photonic are easy to root. Scar the cuttings by lightly scraping them on the bottom one third of the cutting. Use a heavy soil mix . This means using a coarse soil…not a pest based soil. You should start seeing stem scarring and the beginning of roots in a out 3 to 5 weeks.
Peat based soil.
Dontcha hate those pest based soils? Keep tryin to crawl away……
MIke,
You didn’t lie. $3.50 per cutting might be reasonable for a vinifera grape cutting to be used as a scion, but very excessive for a native grape such as an unrooted Concord or rootstock.
Scott
When you said “1. You must be licensed by your state before you can sell plants to anybody.” , does that apply to selling sticks and does that only apply to your site. Can I sell on Craigslist without a license?
Diana,
Legally you have to be licensed to sell any plant or part of a plant. It’s all about the dept of Agriculture s controlling the transfer of pests from one area to another. It truly protects all of us from ending up with unwanted pests in our yards.
Wondering sense you need to be licensed to sell plants online Mike, would it not be prudent starting out to only sell plants that are native to your zone or. plants that cover and that will grow in several zones ex. 5 6 7 ?
Most plants can be grown in multiple zones which gives you a wide range of choices of what to grow. Natives are okay, but that’s not really what the general buying public are looking for. Most are looking for pretty. The prettier the better. If natives were super hot sellers more of the big name growers would specialize in them, and they are not. They know what sells. I know what sells in my nursery. Nobody asks me for natives.
Mike
I have two 50 year old willow trees in the back yard that need to be cut down.
My dad planted them way back when to dry up a little swamp we had going back there.
They are still gowing for the most part but look like hell.
When would be the best time to cut them down to harvest the sticks?
-WayneV
Wayne,
During the winter for sure. But there are a lot of willow varieties, you really should know the variety if you want to sell them.
Hi Mike, loving your course.
Can you use vinegar or bleach diluted as pre-emergent herbacide???
Will these also kill what you have planted. I know commercial Herbacide
is very expensive. I knew you would know the answer.
My best to you, John wheat-one of your students
John,
I don’t think bleach is ever a good idea around plants. Vinegar is often used to kill weeds, but I don’t think it will work as a pre emergent. Mulch helps a great deal to control weeds, but you probably need to add more mulch each season which really helps to improve the soil.
mike 2 weeks ago my cuttings was doing good, all had few green leaves and looked healthy. went to check them last night they were brown and dead the roots were dead too.. I had about 50 forsythias and azaleas what happened to them. .
Thelma,
They probably froze. Don’t count them out yet. All of our cutting look dead right now.
Potting mix?? What do you use in these wooden flats in the dead of winter? Sand, perlite and peat moss? I have lots of ready to trim rose of sharon and possibly a couple of good sized dogwoods, firethorn. Wow, who knew.
Have a blessed day!
Terry,
We had a few warm days and were able to use our potting mix that was thawed on the top layer of the pile. You can buy bagged potting mix or any peat/perlite mix should work just fine.
I would like to know how to start a Pear & Peach & Apple tree.Can they be started by this stick method?
Also….What is a good liquid root starter and powder root starter?
M?,
Probably not. They are usually budded or grafted onto a root stock grown from seed. But if you want to try cuttings, do them in June with this http://www.freeplants.com/homemade-plant-propagation.htm
Hey Mike I jus recently purchased your deal for, 7.95 or whatever the pice was plus the freebie for 2 something for the shipping what I’m asking is that going to give me access to your sellers database and also are all the books going to come to me in mail in physical for and also how long is the wait?
Anonymous. Please contact me [email protected] I need more information from you.
Need a address of the back yard grower that got a patent on the fertilizer stick th at is sued to fertilize a bunch of plants at a t ime. I have about 26,000 blueberries and I need a little help when it comes time to fertilize them. Thanks
Reb,
Details on that product are here. https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2013/11/fertilizer-applicator/
Reb,
I suggest you buy the product, we’ll be promoting it again soon. I cannot publish his address nor will we supply via Email. If you buy the product, you’ll get an confirmation Email from him.
I love the wild winterberry. Have spent many dollars on bushes that do not grow. Would like to try cuttings from the wild ones in my area, Can I do this now? Come spring I cannot identify the bushes. Thanks Linda
Linda,
It certainly won’t cost you anything to try. But when you go to take the cuttings tie a long ribbon on the plants so come June you can come back and try softwood cuttings. http://www.freeplants.com/homemade-plant-propagation.htm
I am just astounded by the world-wide responses to these posts.
Mike, you have hit upon a way to make neighbors of folks living half-way around the world.
Henry
Henry,
You’re right about that and never did I realize it would turn out this way.
Thanks Henry, I appreciate that.
Hi Mike, Does this demo apply to Pussy Willow cuttings too? If not, can you please tell me how I would do hard cutting on The Pussy Willow? I have several different species of them that many of my friends would like cuttings from. Thank you so much for your gardening tips. I think you’re GREAT! God Love Ya!!! Kathi
Kathi,
Yes, this should work perfectly for pussy willow as well.
Kathi,
Great question. Pussy willow is a perfect candidate for this method right now, dead of winter. We just stuck some black pussy willow. I’ll do a post about that in a few days.
Mike, I enjoy and learn so much from your website. I have a beautiful fringe tree and I would like to give a piece to my daughter. It’s January in East Tenn. How and when do I go about starting one for her?
Ted,
You can try some cuttings now, then again in June. If the hardwood cuttings don’t work for you, the softwoods should using this method. http://www.freeplants.com/homemade-plant-propagation.htm
OK Mike I am still trying to figure this out after several e-mails and posts without answers I am tying again(I dont give up) Your system sounds to good to be true and you no the saying I dont have money to throw away.I have found 1 bad review out of hundreds,but still how do you make money selling plants for4.97 and make a profit when the cost of pots,potting mix,water,some times heat,root harmone etc.has to figure in the cost at this rate you will be lucky to make 50 cents a cutting, so how do you do it I need proof that it works.Help me out here please.
Peggy, I just saw your message. I hope you find my response. Take hope with you. I’ve bought the system and it is so worth it. The board is amazing. You don’t put that much into the plant money wise (or labor wise). A typical 1/2 gallon pot costs 10-20 cents wholesale, the soil costs about the same or less depending on what it’s made of and the cutting is usually 10-50 cents If you take your own cuttings, you have nothing in it but the opportunity cost (what you could make by just selling the cutting). So, on the high end of the numbers I gave you, you have 90 cents into it. And a little labor. So, if you sell it for 4.97 you have about a 550% profit (assuming no labor costs). What bank or stocks pay that over a year or two?
For your own sake, overcome your fears. Do it. Get the system and do this.
If you don’t do this, what else will you do? Take care.
Jason, where are you finding pots for 10-20 cents??? I have searched and searched, cheapest I have found are about 20 cents for a 15 cm pot.
Peggy,
I don’t know that I can give you proof. The most expensive part of a $4.97 plant is the pot and at the most you’ll pay 40 cents or less. If you shop around you can get pots free or buy them for less than 20 cents.
In my system I show you how to mix your own soil etc.
Now, with that said, if you are not comfortable doing this, then by all means don’t place an order. But here’s something to think about. Many of the nurseries that sell to the big box stores have over 100 employees, many of them making well over $50,000 per year and they sell wholesale and still make a profit.
Us backyard growers? We don’t have that kind of overhead.
But in your case, since you are very skeptical, you probably shouldn’t order.
Hi Mike Great video, Tammy asked wether you dipped the sticks in something before you sold/shipped them. I am guessing you were talking about after they arrive at their new homes. Am I right?
Thanks,
Warren
Warren,
When shipping unrooted hardwood cuttings best thing is to wet them and put them in a plastic bag so they stay moist. Then when the grower gets them dip in a rooting compound and stick them.
Thanks Mike, just wanted to make sure I had it right.
Warren
I love your videos. They have helped me greatly. I too, have purchased sticks!
If anyone has grapevine “sticks” for sale please reply. I am in the southern IL area just outside St. Louis. I am mostly interested in Globe Grape varieties. Thanks, Mike!
I followed Mike’s video on air rooting…. Instead of the plastic molded rooting covers I used plastic. Some black from yard bags and some white from grocery bags. I now have 8 fig trees over 4 feet tall. I started with 10 but due to my own oversite, lost 2. This is such an easy way to propagate! I’ve tried sticks several times and I don’t know what I did wrong….
Rebecca, you’re right, the art of air propagation has been around for decades, probably before the turn of the century. Before I even knew about those clamshells I taught air layering on my http://freeplants.com website and one of my customers successfully rooted Butterfly Japanese maple using the technique. So it does work. Congratulations to you for a job well done!
I have done what Mike has suggested over the last year and I have been successful.
I live on the North Coast of Ireland and would be interested to hear from anyone near me to exchange ideas.
i live on the causeway coast too. following the backyard postings and stuff for years, but haven’t really done much. lol
Thanks again Mike
I am just learning. I live in Michigan. When you cut sticks from your tree’s and schrub’s do you do it in Feb just before Spring starts, then wrap them until you sell them or in my case give them away???? Would appricate info on hard and soft cuttings.
Hey Mike great vid! Just one clarification if you would.You talk about dipping the sticks in rooting hormone and sticking them for your own use, you don’t mean that people should treat the sticks with rooting hormone before selling them, do you? I’m pretty sure you don’t but wanted to check. Thanks!
Way to go, Mike! Are you losing weight?
Mike, please forgive the question if I’m not supposed to ask, but how do folks buy from you guys all the time when the “buy/sell community board” is closed to new people. Or is that only for those of you who are already in it? I’m confused about how you all buy from each other….
Hey Mike,Have not posted anything in a while but I read them all.You talking about sticks .I like to mention roots.I think I’ve found myself a money maker,if it works out I’ll share it with you all. When you buy potted nursery stock,”small scale like me”.I look for things like pots that they planted extras in the pot.I recently bought a nice plant,Let it go dormant and frozen.Them I used a tree saw to saw between the four plants.repotted them.Now I have 4 of my 59 dollar bush.Instead of one.Stay with it folks,new and better ideas will come to you as you go along.Great site Mike ,TY
Hi Mike, I really enjoy all your posts but the thing is—I live in northern wis. where it gets really cold so I’m afraid that many of these ideas of starting cuttings will not happen up here. Ideas?
THANK MIKE for the info we just getting start here away go info from you and the guys and gals here
Thanks Mike! You are a fantastic person for sharing your knowledge so that others might have success. I bought your system a while back and was greatly pleased. I had a local friend give us about 12 “sticks” of a grape variety from his prunings with instructions to plant them about 6″ apart in my garden bed just to see what they would do. I planted them in early spring and kid you not–they actually produced little grapes THAT season. I was amazed!
The Lord provides! Merry Christmas all!
Hi Mike, I have bought your system. I guess I was hoping someone had tracked down a wholesale buyer they’d recommend. My hope was there’d be some big buyers who can’t seem to source enough starts. On the buying side, I’m going to see if I can track down most of the 30-odd recommened plants from those who have listed their email addresses on this site. Given I don’t really know what might sell, I’m just guessing that I should get as many of those 30-odd in the ground that I can find, and hope to find buyers when they are ready. It does sound all very exciting and seems to offer good potential. I don’t have anything in the ground yet, and am looking forward to getting something started this Spring!
thanks Mike love your vidios…………
Hi Mike, and Merry Christmas to all. I was wondering if your system would work for me. However I do not know what kind of plants that I could start with. I live in Alberta Canada., and most plants ie Japaniese Maple do oty survive the winters here. Does anyone have suggestions??
Val, my system would work perfectly for you in Canada and in the system I give you a list of plants that would be great for you to start with. I need more Canadian members. I need more people in Canada that can grow and sell to our other Canadian members. Great opportunity for you. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hi Val.I tell you how I have decided what to buy.For nursery stock.I watch all of Mike’s video stuff.Decide what ones I like and what ones I think I can do .Then I take my list to my local nursery’s to see what they have.It can be kinda expensive getting your first plants.Make sure they are labeled properly.Just start doing what you can and have fun.Im really surprised sitting around this winter looking thru my picture albums of my nursery stock and planning out what Im going to be doing this spring..Go for it!!!
Mike, how are things? It has been awhile and I’m getting less done then nothing at all.
Could you rell me how deep to bury Rose of Sharon after I put some stuff on their bottoms and bury them upside down? I got at least a 95% root growth on the bottoms and I planted in pots inside for a bit, I think), but then I put them in the basement for over winter and when I brought them up and outside n late spring and left them there til the Fall, I got no recovery from any and yes I know that they’re late starters and they had an amazing mass of roots underneith. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…..
Todd, hardy plants really need to spend the winter outside. Even when they are small. We root cuttings from June through the winter and they stay outside where it cold during the winter and warm during the summer. That’s what they need. Recently I did a video on building a plant propagation box, you can see it on the side bar. Use that system, it works. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hi Mike, how would this work in Costa Rica? We live in the Central Valley, our temperature runs between mid sixties and higher eighties. No frost here!
Among the big questions to my mind is how do I find this kind of buyer? One has to have what the buyers wants too of course.
In some ways I like the idea of “selling sticks” because it seems like a good way of utilizing limited space. And if one can find a repeatable market/source of wholesale buyers, that could go a long ways to helping pay the bills. I find that potential stability attractive.
All of which keeps circling back in my mind as where do I find this kind of buyer? Anyone crossed that bridge and consider it old hat by now?
Erik, There are a number of different ways to find buyers for your products and I cover at least a dozen differnet ways in my Backyard Growing System. I won’t allow those kinds of discussions here because selling that information is how I get paid for doing all that I do here for free. But to give you an example, I just bought $200.00 worth of sticks from one of my customers and I can assure you he sells thousands of dollars worth every year. If you invest in my system I share all of my secrets with you. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Thank you Mike-always giving us such helpful information! Merry Christmas God Bless You
Stephanie
he heh …you should be getting a little kick back from Carhart for advertising their coveralls!
You know what Bob? I was thinking the same thing as I was watching that video this morning. At the very least they should send me some bibs don’t ya think? LOL -Mike McGroarty
I have an old pair I’ll send you!:)
This is so neat that you share this information so readily. Thank you so much! I have some beautiful flower quince that I turned into profit. People do buy them…amazing!
Julie, I’m happy to hear to that. The more you grow the more you can sell. One of our very successful backyard growers just posted a message today stating that every years she grows too few plants and sells out of many things. And she’s one of our most aggressive sellers!
Hi Mike –
I am interested in the hard wood cuttings. Many of the plants you mentioned on the video do not grow in Florida. Will you give me suggestions as to what would be best for me to sell. I live in Sebastian, Florida. Thanks
Elizabeth, any thing that is popular in Florida would be a great plant to grow and sell. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
There are a lot of people interested in Fig tree cuttings, and they sell for a little more per “stick”:)
ANOTHER “STICK” STORY. THE COMPANIES THAT FASHION WALKING STAFFS & WALKING CANES ARE BUYERS OF STICKS. SEARCH IT OUT, YOU’LL BE SURPRISED.
Robert, you are absolutely right. Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick plants and Golden Curls Willows are just two of the plants that can be sold as walking canes. Not to mention flower shops, they love to buy those curly branches for their arrangements.
I love this!! Selling sticks! 🙂 Thanks Mike. Merry Christmas!!
Hi Mike, I really enjoy your DIY videos. Besides being very informational, they are also inspirational. Thanks for sharing these with us. Jim
An interesting piece of information!!
well, i wish ‘fiddlesticks’ was here in australia & i’d be begging him to let me work for him so i could learn from him.
thank you mikr for all your inspiration and help. love what you do for us. x
Hi Mike – Are there many people doing this in Ireland? I am interested in starting but not sure if there are other backyard growers to trade with on the boards, as I could foresee issues trying to import plants from overseas? Perhaps other growers in Europe or the UK could ship with an EU Plant Passport?
Thanks
hi rosemary i am in ireland and sell some plants on a small scale feel free to contact me
I live in the North Coast of Ireland.
I grow plants as a hobby in my retirement.
I would be pleased to hear from Roasemary or Phil.
Rosemary, please don’t let your decision be based on something like that. There are lots and lots of ways to get the plants you need to start your nursery. By thinking up reasons not to get started you are really cheating yourself. Instead you should make the decision to do this, then become the person in Ireland that others can buy from. -Mike McGroarty http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hi Mike
Seasonal greetings to you and yours and wishing you every success in the new year.
With your kind permission I would like to say a few words to interested parties in the Irish republic. Without wishing to dampen entrenpenurial spirits, Ireland has a very small total population, and is currently going through the worst economic crisis in its entire history,making it very tough for any single plant grower to have even limited success. Therefore, in my opinion the way forward would be to band together and form a
“Backyard growers club/association” in which people would not only trade with each other, but would also be able to share knowledge and ideas to promote their products.
I live in Co Wicklow anyone wishing to contact me can do so on….0894 590459.
Hi Rosemary , I have just joined this forum and am hoping to finally get a nursery off the ground in Wokingham Berkshire, England. So we could post to each other .
Regards,
Thanks Mike, Your always showing various ways for us to prosper…:)
Oh……Fiddlesticks!!!!!!
Thanks Mike
I know I have invested close to $1,000 on sticks this fall. Well over 2,000 of several types of plants that I,m sure will be the base for our nursery.
Rick, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. One thousand dollars worth of sticks! And the best part is you will turn that $1,000 into a great deal more than that. Thanks for sharing. -Mike McGroarty
I bought sticks for the first time earlier this year, near the end of summer. In many cases, particularly with the willows, some of those sticks were so long I was able to cut them into two or even three cuttings, making each unrooted cutting even cheaper. They are a great way to get started cheaply! Next year I plan to sell a few sticks, too.
Susan, I hope fiddlesticks is because you just cleaned out your plants and did not take advantage of your cuttings!
Last year I saw a video Mike made about cutting grapevines and decided I needed one more to replace one that died on my gate entrance. I followed Mikes advice and played it safe with planting sixteen of the cuttings figuring I would have….. maybe one survive. Lo and behold, doing what Mike told us to do, I now have fourteen plants that did great and I told a few people and I have all of them sold come February when I transplant them, WOW!!
I know plan to do the same with all my grapevines so to put in bluntly, I have a fortune waiting to be cut come February.
i live in Texas so, very soon, all my neighbors will be growing grapes and I will be like the Pied Piper of Pearland Texas.
Thank you so much Mike for the valuable information you give us, Joseph
Joseph, you’re welcome, I’m glad to hear what I taught you worked for you successfully. That’s why I do what I do!