ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
PO Box 3657
Fayetteville, AR  72702
Phone: 1-800-346-9140 --- FAX: (479) 442-9842

By Steve Diver and Lane Greer NCAT Agriculture Specialists May 2000 (Revised Nov. 2001)

The PDF version of this document is available at {pdf lcoation} 9 pages — 287 kb

---

Marketing

Anyone contemplating entry into the nursery business will need to conduct a market analysis to determine what opportunities exist to sell plant materials in the local area. Most new firms begin with only a few acres of production and initially market primarily within a 50-mile radius, unless growing for mail order or on contract (1). Part of this market analysis includes finding out what crops other nurserymen have grown successfully in the region, and, secondly, what the competition is like.

When considering which market you will serve, bear in mind this advice from Lynn Byczynski, editor of Growing for Market, a newsletter geared to small-scale producers: "I feel quite strongly that it is a serious mistake to commit to growing for anyone before you have become extremely confident of your skill as a grower. My recommendation for marketing is a simple one: Start where no one is depending on you. If you have nothing to sell, no one will have to know" (3). For more in-depth information on marketing, request the ATTRA publication Direct Marketing.

Marketing really begins with a decision on what to produce and at what volume. The primary considerations are:

1) deciding who your customers are,
2) determining what type and size of plants these customers want,
3) keeping up with trends in buyers' preferences,
4) knowing what combination of plants will maximize profits (1).

The following paragraphs will address each of these topics.

Who are your potential customers and what plants do they want?

Mass merchandisers usually want large volumes of a few types of the more popular species of plants. Usually, they purchase smaller sizes and may not be particular about the specific plants as long as they are able to obtain a good mix of fast-moving materials. Demand from these customers is very seasonal (1).

There are several disadvantages to dealing with mass merchandisers: they often want instant shipment, they usually pay the lowest price for plants, and they often do not take care of the plants after receiving them, which can reflect poorly on your nursery.

Landscapers look for large high-quality specimens carefully identified by cultivar. Generally, they want to buy plants from a limited number of producers, but they also want to be able to choose among many plants and sizes. Their purchases are more spread out over a year, but there is an emphasis on spring planting (1).

The lawn and garden center falls somewhere between the mass merchandiser and the landscaper. Some centers want more variety in plants and sizes, some less.

Other retail outlets include mail order, web-sites, and farmers' markets. Selling through mail order and websites may involve national advertising, a catalog, and a larger inventory. Sales at farmers' markets will be local, but "local" can mean weekly travel of 200 to 300 miles to a large, metropolitan area.

No matter who your potential customers are, one thing they all have in common is that they need to know they can get uniform, well-grown plants from the producer without having to inspect the crop each time they make a purchase (1).

Keep up with trends in buyers' preferences and watch for service opportunities.

Once the nursery is in operation, constant monitoring of customer characteristics and their purchases should begin. Advertising and promotion are never-ending.

 

 

A survey taken in 1992 analyzed the needs of landscape architects in Georgia and identified the following areas of improvement for growers (4):

 

The most common complaints that landscape architects had about growers and nurseries was that the plants provided them were below the specified size and quality.

Know what combination of plants maximizes profits.

Ornamentals fall into general categories: shade trees, conifers, perennials, vines, shrubs, bulbs, and annuals. While most nurseries grow a range of plants, there appears to be a trend toward specialization. For example, growing only native groundcovers, or only daylilies, are viable niche markets. The production of specialty crops (e.g., hardy bamboo, disease-free apple stock, native plants, etc.) and specialization in plants in short supply (e.g., native plants, uncommon plants, very large trees) are niche markets that even small growers can serve.

Back to Table of Contents

General Production

There are two types of nursery production: field and container. Field stock is either direct-seeded or transplanted from seedlings, then lifted as bare-root stock for use as nursery liners, fruit trees, seedlings for Christmas trees, windbreaks, and conservation plantings. Field stock is also grown for balled and burlapped (B&B) landscape or shade trees. Container stock, which is propagated from seed, rooted cuttings, and field-grown seedlings, is common in both forestry and landscape nursery production.

 

 

Fifty years ago, most ornamental plants were grown in the field, then dug up for transplanting purposes. Today, 80% of ornamental plants are grown in containers. The switch has occurred for several reasons: container-grown trees have a greater chance for survival and establishment after transplanting than do trees produced in the field; containerized production does not require good soil and takes up less acreage; and containerized stock enables the grower to extend the planting season. Both container and field production will be discussed separately, but there is some commonality between the two forms of production. For instance, most woody landscape plants are propagated by cuttings (1). Another similarity is that both types of production spend a good percentage of their budgets on farm-type mechanized implements and fertilizers (1).

Five major considerations in determining where to establish a new nursery are soil, climate, water, market, and labor supply. Soil productivity is not as important when growing only containerized products, but relatively level land with good drainage is still necessary. Of concern for the beginner is learning the length of time required to produce saleable crops and how to schedule these so that the proper number of each species is available for the first year of sale and each year thereafter (1).

Back to Table of Contents

Irrigation

The two most widely used irrigation systems are overhead and drip (or trickle). Overhead irrigation is designed to cover a large area, and these systems are the least expensive to install. However, this method produces uneven water distribution, which can slow plant growth, encourage disease, and contribute to runoff. Also, a container nursery using overhead irrigation can use from 15,000 to 40,000 gallons of water per acre per day in the summer (6), a reminder that sufficient water is a prerequisite to nursery production.

Large containers are usually watered with a drip or trickle system, which uses 60%-70% less water than overhead systems. Drip irrigation systems cost more to install than overhead systems, but have superior application uniformity and efficiency. They are also less affected by wind and crop canopies, and they produce less runoff. Another advantage is that workers can continue working while the plants are being irrigated. The biggest disadvantage to trickle
irrigation, besides the initial cost, is keeping the pipes and emitters clean.

A third, less-used type of irrigation system is subirrigation using capillary sandbeds. In this system, water rises into containerized plants through capillary action. Usually, the sandbed is covered with at least one inch of fine sand, and slopes very slightly from one end to the other. Water is released at the high end and slowly percolates to the low end. These systems cost the most to install, but they have no runoff or leaching.

Sandbeds are normally constructed using wood sidewalks, a plastic bed liner, sand, a small tank, a drainpipe and a float valve. They do not require the use of any electrical parts, and provide a uniform and consistent supply of water without forming a saturated water table at the base of the soil column in the container. In short, you get efficient and uniform crop growth while providing less water, less fertilizer and less pesticide. It also requires less labor, as sprinkler heads, timers, pumps, valves and water-treatment systems don't need to be monitored (6).

The biggest disadvantage of sandbeds is that weeds and containerized plants grow into them. There is a product designed to alleviate this problem: the Agroliner™, a mat that has been treated with Spin Out™, a product that prevents root growth. (For more information on Spin Out™, see the Container Production section.) The mat is placed over the sand and under the containers. For distributors of this product, see the Resources: Suppliers section. For a list of articles related to sandbeds and subirrigation systems, see Resources: Publications.

Regardless of the irrigation system used, it is vital that the plants be watered often, especially during hot, sunny days. A typical nursery plant in a 1-gallon container may consume a pint of water a day, while the growing medium capacity may be only 1½ pints. One important aspect of irrigation management is to group plants according to water requirements.

 

Back to Table of Contents

Irrigation Runoff

The most important issue in sustainable nursery production, as it relates to irrigation, is the runoff of water, fertilizers, and pesticides. Many states now have regulations limiting runoff and groundwater nitrate levels.

Subirrigation systems are designed for zero runoff, but overhead and drip systems may require special attention. Runoff water can be collected by using ditches (planted with grass to slow down water flow) or tile systems, which direct water to a pond or other holding area.

The water (and some of the fertilizers present) can then be recycled by pumping it back out of the holding tank or pond, after some of the impurities (sand and silt) have settled out. Recycled water has actually been shown to improve plant growth. "In experiments with more than 100 species of ornamentals grown in 2.8 liter containers, the mean relative growth of plants irrigated with continuously recycled water was 103% over that of the control" (8).

Another way to reduce runoff is to use pulse irrigation. In this system, instead of applying one heavy watering daily, a small amount of water is applied five or six times during the day. Very little water escapes from the container or runs off from the field. The production advantage to this is that less fertilizer has to be applied, because there is less leaching. Most nurseries that use this system use a computer to control water flow, since watering plants repeatedly by hand would cause a huge increase in labor expenses.

There are several cultural practices that can reduce runoff:

 

Researchers at Ohio State University have been conducting experiments to reduce the amount of pesticides and growth regulators leached from nursery pots and trays. They have had excellent success in mixing chemicals in ordinary latex paint and then painting the interior of the pots. Not only was there less leaching from the pots, but the growth regulator and pesticide they used (Bonzi™ and Marathon™) provided more consistent control. This method also reduced worker re-entry intervals (REIs) into the nursery area, since the chemicals were applied only once, at the beginning of the growth process (9).

A study conducted in the late 1990s found that "growth may be more effectively maximized by reducing moisture stress than by increasing fertilizer concentration" (10). This study, also conducted at Ohio State University, used fertilizer concentrations between 50 and 200 mg/L of nitrogen. The researchers showed that water stress might limit growth more frequently than does limited nutrition under current container production practices, and that ensuring that plants do not wilt is not sufficient. Their recommendation was to use lower amounts of N fertilizer (50 mg/L) and to provide sufficient moisture.

Several Extension bulletins and other publica-tions that deal with irrigation runoff issues are accessible on the Web. See the Resources: Websites section for more information.

Back to Table of Contents

Integrated Pest Management

"IPM is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks" (11). An integrated pest management (IPM) program involves using resistant cultivars, building up populations of beneficial organisms, monitoring numbers of pests and developing treatment thresholds, and using spot treatments of pesticides that are least harmful to beneficial organisms and the environment. It is important to identify pests early, so that appropriate measures can be taken quickly.

Again, there are numerous publications available from Extension that deal with integrated pest management for nurseries. See the Resources section for more information. A shaded box on this page identifies several related ATTRA publications.

 

 

Back to Table of Contents

---

ATTRA is the national sustainable agriculture information service operated by the National Center for Appropriate Technology under a grant from the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. These organizations do not recommend or endorse products, companies, or individuals. NCAT has offices in Fayetteville, Arkansas (P.O. Box 3657, Fayetteville, AR 72702), Butte, Montana, and Davis, California.