Can You Really Make Money From Cut Flowers?
One of the most popular reasons people commit to growing cut flowers at home is the opportunity to make money from selling them. Homegrown bouquets can be a profitable side business, but making money isn’t guaranteed. One bad hailstorm or bug infestation can ruin your entire crop, and even the world’s most beautiful bouquets won’t make you money if you can’t find buyers before they wilt.
For this reason, it’s important to keep your expectations realistic, especially when first starting. Think of cut flower gardens as a way to get paid for spending time in your garden and to offset the costs of the bouquets you display in your own home. If you make more money than that, great! Just keep in mind it might take a few growing seasons to scale up a truly successful business.
The key to making money from cut flowers is to start small while you’re still learning. Don’t commit to more than you can maintain. Otherwise, you might give up in the middle of the growing season and lose money in the long run.
If you want to try selling flowers for profit, ask yourself these questions before starting to ensure your plans are realistic:
1. Can You Pay the Startup Costs?
It’s going to cost money to make money selling flowers. Can you commit to the price of seeds, garden tools, pruning equipment, soil amendments, flower vases, and more? Without basic supplies, your business won’t be a success.
2. Do You Know Where You Will Sell Them?
There’s no point in starting a cut-flower business if you don’t have a plan for where customers can buy them. Some people do well with a simple roadside stand in their yard, while others prefer to go to a local farmers’ market once or twice a week. Others make arrangements with other business owners to sell flowers from their storefronts. Each option can work, but it’s always best to have a plan before starting.
3. Can You Commit to a Full Garden Season of Work?
Maintaining a cut-flower business is hard work. Are you willing to put in long hours pulling weeds, planting seeds, and arranging the blossoms into bouquets? Most of the harvesting work needs to happen in the early morning or late evening to ensure the flowers are as fresh as possible — will that work with your schedule?
4. Where Will You Store Them Before Selling?
Fresh cut flowers are highly perishable, especially if they spend time out in the sun. Do you have a cool space to store them before selling, or are you better off drying them first so they will last longer?
5. What's Your Marketing Strategy?
In today’s world, it can be hard to manage a business without social media. Are you willing to create a website (or at least an Instagram page) to promote them? If you want to skip the internet, make sure you have a plan in place to get the word out about your bouquets in other ways.