How to Grow and Sell Plants from Cuttings
Have you considered growing and selling plants as a side gig or weekend hobby? Selling cuttings from plants is an easy way to make extra income.
Plant lovers and gardeners will be happy to buy healthy new starts sprouted from your established greenery. Here’s how to grow plants from cuttings.
What are the best plants to grow and sell?
A mother plant used for cuttings should be healthy and mature, so when you take a few snips, it won’t harm it. Plants with non-woody stems are the easiest to propagate.
Ground covers are popular with buyers as they are low-maintenance and an eco-friendly way to landscape a yard. Plus, ground covers are easy to propagate and profitable, making them a perfect choice for a home nursery.
Ornamental grasses are also popular with customers. Just buy a mature plant and divide the root clump as the plant grows. Plant root divides in pots, and you’ll have new plants to sell.
However, plant cuttings fall into four categories: softwood, greenwood, semi-hardwood, and hardwood.
Softwood Cuttings are trimmed from new growth in spring or summer. Popular plants for softwood cuttings include:
- Aster
- Butterfly Bush
- Chrysanthemum
- Dogwood tree
- Hydrangea
- Rose
- Salvia
Greenwood Cuttings or herbaceous cuttings are trimmed from plants with pliable, non-woody stems. Popular plants for greenwood cuttings include:
- Annual plants
- Boxwood
- Dahlia
- Gardenia
Semi-Hardwood Cuttings are trimmed in fall or midsummer from sturdy, more mature growth. Popular plants for semi-hardwood cuttings include:
- Azalea
- Camellia
- Honeysuckle
Hardwood cuttings are trimmed from mother plants with tough, woody stems.
Popular plants for hardwood cuttings include:
- Deciduous shrubs
- Climbing or vining plants
- Fruiting plants (blackberries, gooseberries)
- Trees
How do I propagate plants from cuttings?
Propagating refers to trimming a small piece of a root, stem, or leaf from a mature plant to create a new one. Here’s how to take a cutting from softwood plants:
What You’ll Need
- A sharp knife or small pruning shears
- Rooting hormone
- Vermiculite, perlite, or fine-grained sand
- Plant container with drainage holes
- Large plastic zip bag
- Potting soil
- Trim a four to five-inch long stem or side shoot from the mother plant and cut just below a leaf. Remove most of the leaves, leaving two or three remaining.
- Then, dip the stem’s cut end into rooting hormone. Rooting hormone contains growth hormones that stimulate root growth.
- Fill a small container with 3 inches of vermiculite, perlite, or sand.
- Add a little water to the container to dampen the growing medium.
- Insert the cutting into the growing medium.
- Carefully place the container into a plastic zip bag. Ensure the plastic does not touch the foliage.
- Seal the bag to retain moisture. New roots will grow.
- Place the bagged container in bright, indirect light.
- Open the bag every other day to allow fresh air in and prevent mold growth.
- After 4 to 8 weeks, or when cuttings have sprouted roots, move them to soil-filled containers.
- Harden off new, established plants by exposing them to varied temperatures and to gradually bright light.
- Finally, plant your rooted cuttings in your garden or sell them.
How do I sell plant cuttings?
Here are five ways to make some cash from your newly rooted greenery:
- Sell plants from your home by placing ads in a local newspaper, posting on a local Facebook group, or posting fliers in a grocery store or library.
- Sell your new plants at a local farmers’ market, craft fair, or festival.
- Contact your local botanical society. Then, ask how you can participate in the society’s seasonal plant sales.
- Contact local plant nurseries and offer your cuttings wholesale. Nurseries usually buy in bulk, so you can often sell your plants at one time and be paid quickly.
- Lastly, set up an online store and sell your plants directly to customers.
Did you know? Most indoor plants can be propagated in water. When the root growth reaches 3 to 5 inches, then plant the cutting in potting soil.
Now that you’ve got the proper information on how to grow plants from cuttings, it’s time to start growing and planting!
