How To Start A Plant Nursery In South Africa

What is a Plant Nursery?

A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture.

How To Start A Plant Nursery In South Africa

1.Research your target market

Estimate demand

Find out whether there is enough demand for a plant nursery in your area. Establish how well your target market is already supplied. This will help you to focus on any gap or niche you could fill.

It may be that you are not planning to target a local market, perhaps because you are going to specialise in a particular plant variety and hope to make sales to customers all over the country.

Be aware that the market for plants is competitive, with many existing specialist plant nurseries in the UK and strong competition from imports. (Any fall in the value of the pound tends to benefit you, as the cost of imported plants goes up correspondingly; and vice-versa when the pound’s value rises.)

2.Establish your customer profiles

It is likely that your customers will be mainly local businesses and organizations, although if you decide to specialize in particular varieties you might have customers from all over the UK and even from overseas. This could also be the case if you decide to sell plants online.

Your trade customers might include:

other plant nurseries, if you breed plants for cultivation by another nursery
garden centres
retail outlets such as garage forecourts, florists, grocers
smallholdings (for example, you might specialise in a particular crop such as strawberry plants, or asparagus crowns)
the parks department of your local authority
schools, colleges, sports grounds and other organisations with extensive grounds
landscape gardeners

You might require your trade customers to purchase a minimum number of plants per order; for example, 500. This will depend on the type of plant you produce and its cost.

Some plant nurseries only sell to the trade, while others also welcome members of the public and local gardening clubs. You will have to decide which is right for your business, bearing in mind your location, the area your nursery covers and your resources. If you decide to open to members of the public, give some thought to how you will prevent damage to growing stock. Also think about who will be available to deal with any retail customers. People do not want to wait while staff come from other parts of the nursery to serve them.

3.Decide what to sell

Ornamentals

Ornamental plants are plants which are grown for display purposes, rather than functional ones. This includes:

bulbs and flowers, grown in open conditions
hardy ornamental nursery stock (HONS), (see below)
bedding plants, such as geraniums and pansies
pot plants, such as begonias and poinsettias
cut flowers, grown under glass

HONS are the largest sector and include hydrangeas and other shrubs, Christmas trees, roses, ornamental trees, perennials and fruit stock.

Bedding plants are the next biggest sector, and one which has enjoyed a lot of growth in recent years. Between them, HONS and bedding plants account for nearly three-quarters of the total value of production in the UK.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) produces an annual publication containing useful information on the UK horticultural sector. You can download Horticultural Statistics from the DEFRA section of the Gov.uk website.

4.Choose a range to sell

Decide on the type and range of plants to sell. There has been strong demand for hardy ornamental nursery stock as well as bedding plants in recent years, but these sectors are very competitive, particularly for the more commonplace plant varieties. You might decide to concentrate on more unusual plants, for gardeners looking for something a little different.

Your plants must be healthy, vigourous specimens that will survive well in the retail garden centre or other outlet and thrive once planted in a garden, park or other location.

At times of economic downturn demand for young vegetable plants may increase. This could provide an opportunity for your nursery. Patio plants like dwarf fruit trees have also become popular.

Some plant nurseries specialise in a particular type of plant instead of growing a broad selection. For example, you might consider specialising in alpines, geraniums, herbs, roses or lavenders. You would be able to grow many different varieties of your chosen specialism in different sizes and colours and could refer to this in your promotional literature. Or you might decide to concentrate on larger plants like bamboo, ornamental grasses, hedging, trees and topiary for customers who are looking to plant mature specimens.

5.Grow from scratch or buy in

You will also need to decide on whether you will grow all your plants yourself, from seeds, bulbs, cuttings or graftings, or whether you will buy in mini plants or ‘plugs’ from plant breeders who have started them off for you. If you decide to grow them from scratch you will need mature parent plants from which to breed others.

Services to offer

There are a number of services you might decide to offer your customers, such as:

mail order and online ordering facility
van sales, so that your trade customers can top up their stock during the busy season
point of sale labelling and promotional material
distribution of ‘availability sheets’ to trade customers throughout the season, so they know what is still in stock
horticultural consultancy services to other nurseries
arboricultural and landscaping services
showhouse plant and shrub packages
plant list sourcing and pricing (for example, for landscapers)
pest control services

6.Promote your nursery

The right image

It is important that your nursery business projects a professional image, particularly if your customers visit you to place their orders. So:

keep your site and any glasshouses tidy, well-maintained and weed-free
supply your plants in fresh, clearly labelled packaging
highlight your selling points, such as the fact that your plants are grown in peat-free compost
if you make online or mail-order sales, ensure that your plants are professionally packed in robust packaging materials
ensure that all plants sold are healthy specimens, free from disease or blight.

Services to offer

There are a number of services you might decide to offer your customers, such as:

mail order and online ordering facility
van sales, so that your trade customers can top up their stock during the busy season
point of sale labelling and promotional material
distribution of ‘availability sheets’ to trade customers throughout the season, so they know what is still in stock
horticultural consultancy services to other nurseries
arboricultural and landscaping services
showhouse plant and shrub packages
plant list sourcing and pricing (for example, for landscapers)
pest control services

7.Promote your nursery

The right image

It is important that your nursery business projects a professional image, particularly if your customers visit you to place their orders. So:

keep your site and any glasshouses tidy, well-maintained and weed-free
supply your plants in fresh, clearly labelled packaging
highlight your selling points, such as the fact that your plants are grown in peat-free compost
if you make online or mail-order sales, ensure that your plants are professionally packed in robust packaging materials
ensure that all plants sold are healthy specimens, free from disease or blight.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Do you need a License to sell plants in the in South Africa?

You need a license to sell plants that are listed on: schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act and taken after 30 October 1981. Annex IV b of the EU Habitats Directive and taken after June 1994 – this includes plants known as European protected species ( EPS ).

Is plant nursery a profitable business in South Africa?

Ans- As more people are shifting to homes with limited or no land for vegetation, the demand for bonsai and flowering plants has increased rapidly; opening a plant nursery can be a highly profitable business.

Why do houseplants get brown tips in South Africa?

Plant tips can turn brown when they’re exposed to too much fertilizer and too many salts build up in the soil. When this happens to potted plants, tips turn brown from a condition known as fertilizer burn or tip burn.

Should I cut the brown tips off my plant in South Africa?

The answer to this question is yes, you should always remove the brown tips from your indoor plants. If your indoor plants begin to exhibit dry and brown patches on more than 50 per cent of their leaves, then you need to remove them immediately.

When should plants be repotted in South Africa?

Plants typically need to be repotted every 12 to 18 months, depending on how actively they are growing. Some slow growers can call the same pot home for years, but will just require a soil replenishment. Spring, before the start of the growth season, is usually the best time to re-pot your houseplants.

Do seedlings need heat in South Africa?

One of the odd things about seedlings is that, as much as almost all seeds need warmth and stable temperatures to germinate well, once they germinate (once leaves appear), they grow best in cooler conditions and actually prefer it when temperatures drop at night.

How do you keep seedlings warm at night in South Africa?

Surround plants with water-filled bottles, which will absorb heat during the day then release it at night, warming the air around your plants. This is especially effective within a greenhouse, tunnel or cold frame. You can also fill plastic bottles with hot water on cold nights to protect seedlings.