How to make money growing flowers in a greenhouse

Flowers are not only a decoration for our lives, appropriate for any occasion, from joyful to mournful. Flowers are also an excellent business because the demand for them is constant at any time of the year.

To satisfy this demand during the cold period, it is quite profitable to open your own enterprise for growing flowers in greenhouses. Before you start registering a business, it is advisable to familiarize yourself in detail with all the information on growing and caring for flowers, which are sometimes quite capricious, requiring certain conditions, and dying if they are not met. Such knowledge is necessary if you do not want your business to become unprofitable.

Growing flowers in a greenhouse: documents for starting a business

Any business requires official permits to register business activities. For growing flowers in a greenhouse as a business, it is most profitable to register as an individual entrepreneurship .
To do this, state registration and indication of the code according to the All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activities (A.01.12.2) are required.
Then you will need to decide on the desired type of taxation and the range of plants grown for sale.

What flowers are best to grow in a greenhouse?

The correct selection of the assortment is very important, because different varieties require different conditions: humidity, lighting, temperature - all this is very important for plants.
To optimally reduce risks, it is worth making sure that your flowers in this regard are selected in accordance with the conditions that you can provide them with.
In addition, it is necessary to study the market conditions and understand which flowers are in greatest demand in your region and which varieties can be supplemented with the assortment.

Bright

Tulips

Tender

Queen

School

Dahlias

Don't forget to analyze the flowers already available on the market in order to competently compete or avoid it altogether. All this is very important to take into account in order to open a business growing flowers in a greenhouse.

Equipment for flowers

As we can see, different forms of running a flower business determine the list of equipment. Let's look at the most common items that are needed:

Cooling equipment.

No one wants to receive a rose as a gift, even the most beautiful one, on a long stem, but with dried petals and withered leaves. Therefore, when opening your own flower trading business, you need to take care of equipment that will be designed to preserve the freshness of the flower for as long as possible. In a home-based business, you can use a home refrigerator.

In other cases, the room can be equipped with an air conditioner that maintains a certain temperature. The power of the air conditioning system depends on the size of the room. These systems can work both to cool the air and to heat it. But the air conditioner keeps the temperature at 16 degrees, and cut flowers are best stored at temperatures up to 6 degrees.

The best solution, although the most expensive, is refrigeration chambers, which allow you to create the optimal temperature for storing the flower. They come in different capacities, single-chamber or double-chamber (more spacious). The main criterion when choosing is the ability to create and maintain the optimal temperature for storing the flower.

Racks and showcases for flowers. They can be of any shape. Stepped, pyramidal or slide-shaped. The main thing is capacity and stability. But, since flowers are constantly watered and sprayed, the material for the rack must be strong and moisture-resistant.
Tables. These are jobs for a seller and a florist. A table is necessary for packing bouquets and creating flower arrangements. It must be made of high-quality material, be smooth and stable. The optimal parameters for a table are 120 by 80, height - 75 cm. It is advisable that the table is in the field of view of customers. By observing the florist at work and the process of creating bouquets, visitors evaluate the professional skills of the workers, and for potential buyers, the creation of a beautiful bouquet serves as advertising.
Equipment that can be added.

The store can also be equipped with a thermal curtain. It is usually located at the entrance to the store. Used to ensure that the weather outside does not affect the climate in the store.

For southern light-loving plants, it will be useful to purchase phytolamps. They will warm flowers at any time of the year.

In addition to all of the above, when starting a flower business you need spatulas, pruning shears, sprinklers, watering cans, plastic flower vases and much more. Also, when opening a store, do not forget about decorative elements, wrapping paper, bags, baskets, ribbons, etc.

All materials and equipment must be of high quality. After all, the conditions for storing flowers and their comfortable maintenance will ensure an increase in the duration of storage. And this will entail an increase in profits and profitability, a decrease in the payback period of the business.

Discount cards.

It is worth taking care of preparing discount cards for clients in advance. This will ensure that customers contact you again and develop a database of customer phone numbers. In the future, they can be notified by SMS messages about the availability of promotions, the arrival of fresh goods, new products, as well as congratulations on the holidays and under other pretexts to remind them of themselves.

When opening a flower pavilion, store or boutique, you need to choose the right retail equipment. The dimensions of all installations depend on the area of the room. The commercial equipment market is very diverse. Furniture can be purchased either ready-made from specialized companies or made to order. Whether you use industrial refrigeration chambers or regular refrigerated counters, like in supermarkets, to store food depends on your financial capabilities.

Growing flowers in a greenhouse: greenhouse parameters

You need to start by choosing a site for growing flowers in a greenhouse. Perhaps you have your own acres, but if not, you will need to rent the land and draw up all the necessary contracts.
The construction process itself depends on your skills and capabilities. If you can build the structure yourself, you will save a significant amount, otherwise you will have to order a ready-made greenhouse, selecting the size you need.
The optimal size of the initial greenhouse is 4x15 m; as the business expands, further ones can be built. Experts recommend mounting a greenhouse from polycarbonate, because... Unlike film, it protects against ultraviolet penetration and is sufficiently durable.

Business

The foundation is better strip, up to 50 cm deep, on a sand and crushed stone cushion. It is better to choose a pitched roof.
You will also need to install climate control and heating (at your discretion and capabilities - water system, electric or solar collectors), in addition - drip irrigation.
Thermos greenhouses are interesting, where two layers of polycarbonate have an air gap between them, and there are holes in the walls for ventilation, which contributes to more uniform heating of the greenhouse and saves up to 70% of heating and lighting costs.

Question No. 1. Business scale: what to decide on?

So where to start? Is it worth bothering with a small volume and hiring family members as assistants, or is it better to immediately draw up a competent business plan, get capital and start your own success story?

Greenhouse farming: from 100,000 flowers

So, it often happens that, having first seen all the splendor of blooming greenhouse flowers and multiplied in their mind their number (from 10,000 in a small building) by the price of a tulip or rose in the eight-March bustle, many immediately decide to start a large-scale business. After all, we are talking about multimillion-dollar profits!

Well, it’s quite real. To do this, you need to build a large, durable greenhouse, on a good frame, with a reliable coating in the form of dense polycarbonate or glass, with the whole set of automation, ventilation and heating. And also fill out all the necessary documents, hire workers and purchase high-quality planting material.

There is only one principle here: you plant the seeds, grow them and sell the flowers by the right time. Profit, of course, will not keep you waiting and can amaze any imagination. But get ready for difficulties. Believe me, all the information that you have heard about the greenhouse flower business or read in online notes will have to be carefully checked. Indeed, in a large automated process, one mistake is enough to destroy the entire crop: it is enough to lower or increase the limiting temperature by just a few degrees for the flowers to lose their marketable appearance. Although, we note that the quality of products in domestic greenhouse farms is not particularly high, because there is always an emphasis on volume.

As for design features, today a tunnel flower greenhouse is gaining popularity, when part of it is in the ground and one of the walls is blank:

You can figure out all the subtleties and nuances. Moreover, progress is so rapid that even experienced flower growers do not have time to keep up with all the technical innovations. Today, a large number of hired workers today successfully replace the computer, which is responsible for watering, temperature, automatic ventilation and even the supply of nutrients. And the correction of nutritional supplements makes it easy to achieve the desired quality of the plant, its thickness, color and even smell.

Therefore, also find out about the typical problems of local greenhouse growers, whether they have to deal with sudden frosts, extreme heat or lack of sufficient water. If they couldn’t avoid all this, then it will be difficult for you too. And keep in mind that a large-scale greenhouse business will bring its income only in three to four years; at first it only pays back its costs.

Here's how a business of this size works:

Country business: from 20,000 flowers

In an average greenhouse there are about 35-40 thousand flowers at a time - this is a real business! And it’s better to start with 18-20 thousand, for which you will still need the help of everyone at home. In any case, think about help in advance, because in such a greenhouse there is a constant turnover: some boxes are taken out as soon as the flowers bloom, while others are taken out of the refrigerator and placed in the free space. You need to calculate such clear parameters as area, costs of heating and water, electricity and the like.

Also find out exactly how much electricity and warm water you can take from your home. Also, if you really will grow flowers not for your own pleasure, but specifically for sale, be sure to purchase a control unit.

As for the design, it all depends on the variety. For example, to grow petunias for sale, you will need a heated greenhouse with extended days. This means that in addition to equipment and lighting, you will also need to organize several zones for seedlings and adult flowers, install special equipment and leave space for replanting grown plants.

Here is an example of building a fairly simple and functional greenhouse for this purpose:

Enterprising novice businessmen also came up with the following system: connect the house drain to the greenhouse by connecting an additional pipe to a large barrel. And from it there is already drip irrigation, and the pressure is regulated by a regular tap. After all, tap water is not suitable for growing flowers, because... it contains chlorine and other substances that can destroy any plant. And rainwater is just the thing, unless, of course, you live near a chemical plant.

Over time, you will learn many valuable secrets. For example, when adding calcium, you need to add boron to the solution, because it is quite difficult for calcium to move along the stem of a flower. These little tricks will allow you to avoid many problems.

A matter for the soul: the first 1,000 flowers

If you are new to the greenhouse business and don’t have an experienced advisor nearby, start small. After all, any flower diseases, midges and all sorts of unexpected factors can unsettle you, and therefore we advise you to definitely start with something less risky.

Ideally, from a very small greenhouse, where in just one year you will get a good feel for what it is like to grow a particular flower, how much specific care it requires, how capricious it is, how much time you are willing to spend in a greenhouse and how this business is in your region profitable. Small volumes will allow you to always have fresh greenhouse flowers from the greenhouse for sale to your friends and neighbors. Believe me, the first year is the busiest time, when all the pitfalls become clearly visible, new advantages, advantages and prospects open up.

If in the end you like such a business, you will build a new and larger greenhouse with the proceeds, and there will always be another use for the smaller one. And you will be pleased to know that this is how many successful flower growers today started their business. Moreover, when there was no such mass access to the World Wide Web, when it was problematic to order planting material and when the main source of information was the advice of others. As Eastern wisdom says, a long journey begins with the first step!

And for this purpose it is enough to build a greenhouse like this:

Or this:

How to make money growing flowers in a greenhouse all year round

If you plan to grow flowers in a greenhouse year-round, you should make sure that it is solid. As already mentioned, it is better to start with small areas, with a plan for their expansion in the future.

The standard requirements for a greenhouse intended for year-round use are the following:

The coating must be made of polycarbonate or glass.
The base is on concrete, brick or foam blocks with mandatory waterproofing.
The frame is made of metal (in extreme cases, wooden).
The roof is strong enough, single or gable, so that snow does not linger in winter and is easy to clean off.
Artificial lighting equipment is mandatory since during certain periods of plant growth it will require almost round-the-clock illumination.
A necessary component of a year-round greenhouse is heating and artificial lighting.
Installation of a regular watering system and climate control.

Which covering to choose for growing flowers in a greenhouse?

You can choose a coating for growing flowers in a greenhouse, focusing on the climatic conditions of your region, aesthetic indicators and, of course, solvency:

Film coating is the least expensive, the simplest to equip and operate, easily ventilated and just as easily dismantled if necessary. Disadvantages include the need for fairly frequent replacement, risks of damage, and unsuitability for winter. Recently, reinforced film has been used more often - it is stronger and more durable.
The glass coating is excellent for providing light transparency. It has low reflectivity, is easy to use and maintain, and is quite environmentally friendly. But among the disadvantages is the heaviness of the coating and at the same time its fragility, which creates the risk of damage and destruction. To create a “thermos” effect, you can use a double layer of glass - this option is appropriate in cold regions.
The polycarbonate coating is slightly inferior to glass in transparency, but superior in thermal insulation. Being a flexible and fairly durable material, polycarbonate is resistant to ultraviolet radiation (which requires a special coating), fire, and temperature changes. Disadvantages include susceptibility to active thermal expansion, the possibility of damage during hail, and instability to abrasive materials.

It is important to choose a coating

DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

The main activity is greenhouse growing of cut roses. It is planned that the sale of products will be carried out through several wholesale buyers (flower shops).

The assortment of a flower greenhouse is determined based on a comparison of different varieties of roses. The main parameter that you should pay attention to when choosing varieties for cultivation is their yield. The minimum yield of the variety must be at least 200 flowers per sq.m. per year to pay for the maintenance of the greenhouse. Also, when selecting varieties, growing and transportation conditions, color, growing characteristics, and customer preferences are taken into account.

Priority is given to those varieties that are the most productive and less capricious when grown. According to practical data from Russian greenhouse complexes, it is possible to identify the most productive varieties of roses, the characteristics of which are reflected in Table 3 of the business plan.

Table 3. Comparative characteristics of rose varieties for growing in a greenhouse

Rose variety	Characteristic
Aqua	One of the most popular varieties for growing in greenhouse conditions. The flowers are large in size, the bud is dense, and has a characteristic pink-lilac color. Productivity – at least 200 bushes per meter per year. The main drawback is that the variety is very tender and does not survive severe frost well.
Heaven	The flowers are medium size, deep pink. It does not like rain and cold, it is quite picky in care, but it provides an annual yield of at least 200 bushes per meter.
Talea	The flower is large in size, ivory in color with a pink, gradually dissipating center. Grows equally well regardless of weather conditions, loves light. Productivity - 140-160 flowers/sq.m. in year.
Red Naomi	This variety is the leader among red roses on the domestic market. The flowers are large, red-cherry in color. Productivity 200-300 flowers per sq.m. in year. Disadvantage: it draws water strongly, which complicates the storage process.
Sphinx	Bud size is medium. Medium terry petals. Flowering is constant and abundant. The peduncle reaches the marketable stage somewhat faster than in varieties with large buds. The variety has good frost resistance, is hardy and unpretentious. Flowers are characterized by good transportability. Productivity: 300-340 flowers/sq.m. per year.
Avalanche	The size of the bud is large, classic in shape, color is white with a green tint. Flowering is continuous, resistance to disease and frost is above average. Productivity: 140-160 flowers/sq.m. in year.
Candy Avalanche	The size of the bud is large, the color is pale pink. Long flowering period, withstands both high and low temperatures. Productivity: 200-400 flowers/sq.m. per year.
Angie Romantica	A beautiful peony rose in a delicate creamy pink hue. Productivity: 150-180 flowers/sq.m. in year. Features: the rose cannot be imported, as it must be put up for sale no later than 2 days after cutting. The flower is cut only when the bud has fully opened. This feature complicates the process of growing and selling roses, so it is presented in a minimum volume in the assortment.

It is important to note that selecting a varietal base of roses for planting in a greenhouse is a long and responsible process. Selecting roses is a serious long-term investment (about 4-6 years), so mistakes can lead to loss of profit and low greenhouse productivity. This is due to the seasonality of sales, which must be taken into account when planning planting and replanting flowers. In each specific case, it is recommended to carry out professional selection of varieties. This business plan provides an approximate list of varieties selected according to the criteria of yield, plant hardiness and bud color.

Thus, the range of flower products is represented by the following varieties of roses:

Red Naomi (red);
Candy Avalange (pink);
Avalange(white);
Sphinx (yellow);
Anzhe Romantic (peony-shaped, creamy pink).

In addition, you can consider the possibility of earning additional income. For example, you can find a use for rejected and unsold flowers by using them in various sub-projects.

Painting roses.
Recently, flowers painted in different colors are gaining popularity. Roses are most suitable for coloring. The technique of creating rainbow roses allows you to get original bouquets of bright colors. The painting process does not require special skills or special equipment. White roses are used for coloring.
Petals and buds for decoration.
Rose petals can be used for sachets or wedding decorations.
Rose petal jam.
This is the most difficult option. For jam you need to use tea rose petals grown without the use of chemicals.

Purchase of planting material for growing flowers in a greenhouse

When you study supply and demand and decide on the nuances of growing flowers in a greenhouse, purchase planting material - bulbs or seedlings. It is very important to immediately purchase high-quality bulbs, not only your “harvest” depends on this, but also the further growth and development of plants. So don't save, but choose the best.
To do this, contact only trusted, reputable agricultural companies in your region, in which the varieties are selected and adapted to the existing natural and climatic conditions. In the future, you can grow seedlings yourself by planting them in pots.
You can learn how to care for plants from specialized literature or by attending specialized courses and master classes.

Important

Growing roses

Rose is a flower that is always in greatest demand. It can be of different colors, sizes, both adults and children love it, it is given to teachers and lovers. In addition, it can immediately provide large profits. That is why roses are so often grown by flower growers and businessmen. How to cultivate a rose in a greenhouse?

Growing roses in a greenhouse

Step 1. Prepare the soil for crops. Add humus to the soil (20 kg will be enough), superphosphate (about 30 g) and ammonium sulfate (30 g), peat (no more than 10 kg) per 1 m 2. Also, the soil can consist of mullein, peat, turf and (1:5:4:) and be approximately 80 cm thick. Such a mixture should be kept in a pile for about a year and only then used. Before planting flowers, add a little meat and bone meal (1 kg per 1 m2) and mineral fertilizers to this soil.

Soil preparation

Attention! Before planting seedlings, do not forget to warm the soil to +12 degrees.

Step 2. Most likely, you ordered the seedlings by mail. This means they should be prepared for planting. Since the plants lost a lot of moisture during transportation, first immerse them in water for 24 hours. If the plants have been stored for a long time and were waiting in the wings, then you can immediately drop them in, leaving the grafting site exposed to the air - do not forget to properly moisten them and spray them with a product containing copper to avoid diseases. If the roses arrived to you in peat, then water them a little and immediately plant them in the ground.

Rose seedlings

Step 3. Plant roses in the greenhouse according to the following pattern: 30*30 or 40*25, so that there are no more than 12 units per 1 m2. Plant as written above: the root system is in the ground, the grafting site is in the air.

Planting a seedling

Attention! The rose should not sit too deep/high. In either case, the plant will die. It is important to choose the correct planting depth for the bush.

Planting scheme

Step 4: Give the seedlings a good watering with a hose.

Watering with a hose

Step 5. Now carefully monitor the air temperature - it should not be higher than 10 degrees before forcing, otherwise the bushes will grow unevenly. In general, the optimal air temperature for roses is about 22 degrees, and the soil temperature is at least 12.

Monitor the temperature carefully

Step 6. Don't forget about humidifying the air. Spray the flowers daily to keep this figure at 70%.

Spraying roses

Step 7: Provide proper lighting. It should be bright and uniform for 16 hours. In winter, make sure you have additional light. In summer, lightly shade the bushes.

Lighting should be bright and uniform

On a note! Self-rooted roses are ideal for early forcing; they can produce at least 100 flowers per 1 m2.

Step 8. To cut a rose, drive out one shoot, remove the remaining buds and side shoots, leaving a short part (about 3 buds). Soon they will give new shoots. And if the flowers are being prepared for sale, then pinch them above the 3rd leaf so that the shoot becomes woody and allows buds to form in the leaf axils. New stems will appear, and after a while you will have new flowering bushes in the greenhouse.

How to properly care for roses in a greenhouse

On a note! Roses can be propagated by layering. To do this, bury the shoots deflected to the sides into grooves up to 8 cm deep, strengthening them there with pegs.

Reproduction of roses by layering

Growing eggplants in a polycarbonate greenhouse
In this article you will find everything you need to know about growing eggplants in a polycarbonate greenhouse! We also recommend reading the article about why tomatoes crack when ripe.

Prices for rose seedlings

rose seedlings

How to prepare the soil for growing flowers in a greenhouse?

to start preparing the soil for growing flowers in a greenhouse in the spring. With the first warm weather, dig up a layer of soil up to 10 cm deep in a meadow or in an area near a forest and lay it at home, covering it with transparent polyethylene and watering it abundantly.
Thus, as a result of the combustion process in the soil, all remaining pests and weeds will be destroyed. Make this soil the basis of your greenhouse in the fall.
You can, of course, buy ready-made soil, but taking into account the fact that the expected area is quite large, this is quite a significant amount for a start-up investment. Further, as you develop and make a profit, you can switch to the option of purchasing a ready-made soil layer.
The interior arrangement of the greenhouse comes down to the formation of beds, passages, installation of racks and shelves. It is advisable to map out the placement of plants and flowers in advance, which will facilitate a more harmonious layout on site.

Perishable goods.

Flowers are an extremely short-lived product. The average lifespan of a flower at the right temperature is about twenty days. Since the majority of the goods come from abroad, the cut flower lives most of its remaining life on the way to the store (especially if the store works with resellers and not with direct deliveries). There are several technologies for transporting flowers and options for receiving them from a wholesaler: buying dried flowers and then “soldering” them or flowers in water, which are immediately ready for sale, but will last much less.

Once it reaches the seller, there is no guarantee that the flower will be bought quickly. Today there are no fixed expiration dates for flowers and the return of spoiled goods, as in the grocery sector. The testimony of working businessmen regarding the amount of damaged goods written off ranges from 10% to 50% of the total amount of goods. The profitability of a flower shop directly depends on this indicator.

There are the following ways to solve this problem:

reducing the price of flowers that have a short life left, and, as a last resort, selling at cost. It's better to go to zero than to go negative. An additional advantage of this option to resolve the situation will be the availability of goods and, accordingly, attracting new customers. The main thing is to teach your sellers to honestly warn about the fragility of the purchased goods instead of assuring them of their freshness, so as not to tarnish the reputation of their store;
the use of probiotics, preservatives, citric acid and other additives. These products really help the flower look fresh and last until it is sold, but they kill the natural immunity of the flower itself. After the buyer puts flowers in ordinary water at home, bacteria from it will quickly defeat the flower, which can also have a bad effect on the store’s reputation.

How to properly plant flowers in a greenhouse?

As a rule, when growing flowers in a greenhouse, the beds are arranged quite high, with parallel rows allocated for each species, and separating the species with partitions. You can place flowers floor by floor by building shelves and racks.
The general rule is to place tall specimens on the north side, and low ones on the south. And a few more “laws”: pots with hanging flowers should hang above the height of a person, climbing plants should be able to spread their stems, for which they pull twines, wires, etc.
If you attach a plant in a flower pot to the frame, make sure that the brackets are fastened firmly and securely.

Earning money from growing flowers in a greenhouse: implementation

The sale of flowers grown in a greenhouse is complicated by the fact that they have a marketable appearance for a very short time, so an ill-thought-out sales method is fraught with capital losses that can ruin your business. Therefore, even before you start growing flowers, take care of how you will sell them.

Own flower kiosk or shop. This will also include the cost of renting a MAF or premises that need to be located in a crowded place. In addition, you need to familiarize yourself with the pricing policies of possible competitors so as not to lose to them.
Selling in wholesale quantities is a convenient way to sell, which requires concluding agreements with large flower shops.
Home delivery. This online scheme is very popular today and is readily used by those who cannot personally go to the birthday person or other celebration. To do this, you need to create your own store on the Internet, present the products offered in it in detail and indicate how you can place an order.
Seasonal sale option , when mass quantities are grown for certain holidays.
Selling locally is an opportunity for the client to choose his own flowers from those growing in the greenhouse.

Sales
It should be noted that wholesale sales are less profitable, since the prices here are also wholesale, and therefore lower. And they become more profitable with a constant large sales market.

Question No. 3. Sales: personal or wholesale?

Be sure to investigate the situation with the sale of finished products: how simple it will all be. After all, you can’t take fresh flowers far - they are only brought from Holland in more or less normal condition, but special technologies are used for this.

What is the difference between Dutch tulips and those grown in Russia? Dutch is simply thinner and smaller. These are easier to transport. In addition, they are cut a month before the holiday and treated with a special liquid that stops the circulation of liquid inside the plant, and the flower seems to freeze. But it comes to life only after it is put back into the water, but in Russian greenhouses they begin to cut flowers two weeks in advance in order to have time to sell them in marketable condition.

In any case, your customers, wholesale or retail, will look first of all at how long the flower lives outside its environment, and the minimum is two days. And you will learn all the tricks on how to extend this period. For example, the owners of such greenhouses treat cut flowers with a Baikal solution of 1:2000. Such flowers feel great on the table for more than 2-3 days, and for another two weeks they remain quite fresh and do not fall off. There is a lot of work to be done, believe me:

Think about what type of sales will be more profitable for you. It may well be that in your local market there are many retail outlets with fresh flowers, shops and simply services, and by March 8 there is already a real slaughter for the buyer, but rarer flowers, elite varieties in pots and seedlings are sold less often. Just look for your niche wisely!

How to make money growing flowers in a greenhouse: additional income

Start selling related products along with growing flowers in a greenhouse: seeds and fertilizers, seedlings and chemical protection products, etc. This way, clients will know that they can buy from you not only a beautiful bouquet, but also provide it with a “long life”, while also providing care for indoor plants.

You can sell flowers not only in bouquets, but also in the form of seedlings. It is advantageous in that its lifespan is much longer. In addition, seedlings can be grown in open ground, which reduces the number of additional greenhouses. Another advantage is that seedlings, as a rule, are sold in large quantities.

And if you have time, desire and opportunity , you can supplement your sales volume with indoor flowers in flowerpots. You can do this even in an apartment, the main thing is to find your own zest and those varieties that will definitely interest potential buyers.

Question No. 4. Investments: home soil or hydroponics?

It is also important which method of growing flowers you prefer: it will be ordinary soil with natural fertilizers or a modern hydroponic solution. The difference is significant: firstly, the costs, and secondly, the results.

Hydroponics: expensive, but calculated

Here are the advantages of hydroponics for the flower business:

you won’t need to carry heavy boxes (and there are a lot of them in this business);
flowers will bloom evenly and quickly, which is very important for a business that is always scheduled for certain days;
less dirt, the bulb is clean, it turns out lighter and taller, which is especially appreciated by buyers.
Flowers grown hydroponically are more resistant to wind.

How to proceed? It depends on how you are going to sell the grown flowers: if on the market, then the unusual crimson shade may well please buyers and even successfully compete on “diamond days”. But if you are dealing with resellers, they expect a very specific ordered shade, so that it can be combined in bouquets with other ordered flowers. And the deal may fall through because your roses were supposed to be a fashionable coral color, and you brought rustic scarlet flowers, because... the existing chemical composition of the soil from the garden gave exactly this option.

It is especially risky if you are dealing with businesswomen who buy greenhouse flowers, because women distinguish many more shades than men and do not call wasabi, light green and pistachio the same color as green.

Soil: cheap, but not reliable

Hydroponics will cost you more, but it will allow you to grow very beautiful and unusual varieties of flowers, the desired color and quality. After all, with traditional flower growing, you may not get the final result by planting low-quality seeds or not studying the soil enough. It’s all about the soil itself, so if you are not an agronomist, you won’t be able to figure it out correctly, nor will you be able to accurately select the right nutrients. Therefore, you, like many others, will act on a whim. But by organizing hydroponics, you will provide yourself with reliable results.

Although, we note that the majority of Russian greenhouse complexes that are engaged in the industrial cultivation of flowers, for the most part, work not with hydroponics, but with natural soil. They compensate for the necessary financial investments with cheap labor, and supply their products to the market from March to November. The problem is that the larger the greenhouse, the more difficult it is to heat it, and greenhouse complexes are usually simply huge and tall. Therefore, it is logical that if you can organize a winter greenhouse for flowers, such costs will definitely pay off. Just at the beginning of your business journey, install a greenhouse of reasonable size, which will be enough for one stove or a couple of modern heaters - and enjoy your profitable hobby until the desire arises to turn it into a serious family business.

How to advertise yourself and your greenhouse flower growing business

To attract as many clients as possible in the business of growing flowers in a greenhouse, follow a few simple but always working rules:

Make yourself known. Place advertisements in newspapers, on television, communicate in relevant specialized groups and communities on social networks, and on forums.
Spare no expense in creating a catalog of your products ; it is especially convenient to do this online, where you can quickly update and correct information.
When selling a product to a buyer, accompany the purchase with brief information on how to care for a plant or how to extend the life of a bouquet. Accompany all purchases with a business card from your store (business).

Where to start a flower business

A competent business plan for growing flowers begins with choosing the type of plant, assessing demand and choosing distribution channels for products. This sets the basic parameters for building and equipping the greenhouse, organizing the process and choosing a marketing strategy. By the way, to implement such an activity, you need to have not only a plot of land, but also a car that allows you to transport flowers.

What flowers can be grown in a greenhouse for sale?

Flowers suitable for sale are divided into two large groups:

Flowers for cutting into bouquets . In this category, the greatest demand is for: roses, daffodils, tulips, chrysanthemums, lupins, asters, callas, gladioli, carnations, gerberas, lilies.
Flowers in pots . These can be indoor perennial flowers or annual flowers for landscape design. Popular among perennials are: phalaenopsis, dracaena, Gruzoni cactus, spathiphyllum, cyclamen, violets, pelargoniums, ficus, eustoma. The most profitable annuals: petunias, lobelias, balsams, nasturtiums.

If you plan to grow only one type of plant, business organization is carried out based on its agricultural technology. When selecting multiple crops, you can:

Set up a separate greenhouse for each species . This will increase your costs, but you will be able to grow the most cost-effective species.
Select plants of similar agricultural technology . It will reduce costs and diversify the assortment, but creates risks of losses when choosing crops with low demand.

A significant disadvantage of the flower business is the fickleness of fashion. To determine which flowers are profitable to grow for sale, you need to study not only the range of your competitors, but also the preferences of florists and landscape designers. You can avoid these difficulties by choosing flowers that are constantly in demand: roses, daffodils, tulips, carnations, asters, petunias. But in this case, competition will increase significantly.

Definition of the sales market

Before building greenhouses for growing flowers, you need to choose sales channels for your products, which in turn will determine production volumes and the format for legalizing your business. You can realize flowers in the following ways:

Supplies to market intermediaries . Suitable for selling cut flowers in bouquets and indoor perennials. The main disadvantage is high competition and low prices. The advantage is that it allows you to apply a simplified scheme for legalizing activities.
Your own pavilion or flower shop within the city . Requires mandatory tax registration and additional rental costs. The advantage is increased prices for the sale of flowers and the ability to quickly introduce new varieties to the market (sellers, as a rule, purchase only plant species that are popular on the market). Read more about how to open a flower shop here - How to open a flower shop from scratch: business plan.
Wholesale supplies to supermarkets . The main disadvantage is the difficulty of concluding a transaction and the low cost of delivery. The advantages include a stable sales market and no need to advertise products.
Deliveries to order for florists (companies involved in event decoration), landscape and interior designers . This format is suitable for gardeners working with a wide range of plant species. The disadvantage is the instability of demand and strong dependence on fashion trends. Among the advantages are the very high cost of production and creative work.
Direct sales in a greenhouse farm (in this case, the farm must be located near busy highways) or through an online store . You can sell seedlings or flowering plants to individuals at retail.

Possible forms of enterprise registration

It is legally prohibited to sell flowers without registration with the relevant authorities. In this case, you face confiscation of the products, a fine of up to 100 minimum tax-free plus 25% of the estimated amount of income. To prevent this from happening, there are two ways to legalize flowers for sale:

Open a private subsidiary plot (personal subsidiary plot) . When registering private household plots, income received from the sale of products grown on a personal plot (there must be a document of ownership or lease) is not taxed. Such benefits are provided provided that the plot does not exceed 0.12 hectares (since growing flowers is classified as ornamental horticulture) and the farmer does not have hired personnel (family members involved in the activity are not taken into account). In this case, you will only be able to sell flowers wholesale to a reseller.
Register an individual entrepreneur (FOP) . This format is suitable for opening your own flower salon. Business registration may also be required when collaborating with supermarkets. In this case, you must correctly calculate the expected profits and costs and choose the simplified taxation system that suits you. For Russia, the most cost-effective way is to register for the Unified Agricultural Tax (USAT), which amounts to 6% of profits. In Ukraine, the analogue is the 4th group of the single tax with a rate for indoor soil of 6.33%.

Special quality certificates for flowers are not required. The exception is when plants are exported to other countries, which requires obtaining a phytosanitary certificate.

Business plan: growing flowers in a greenhouse

A mandatory investment is the construction and equipment of the greenhouse itself, the purchase of the necessary garden tools (shovels, watering cans, rakes, hoses, etc.), the purchase of the required number of flowers (bulbs, seedlings, seeds) and chemicals with which you will feed the plants and treat them against diseases and pests.

The approximate costs for starting your business are:

Up to $4000 – for the construction of a foundation, greenhouse frame, installation of a heating system.
$500 — carry out, install and launch the irrigation system.
$300 – approximately this amount will be needed each month to pay utility costs.
$1500 – purchase the required amount of planting material.
About $50 will be needed for fertilizers and protective equipment.
About $300 is needed to pay taxes and other expenses that arise in the process.

Thus, if you count in dollars (and this is appropriate to do in conditions of currency exchange rate fluctuations), then starting a business for growing flowers in greenhouses will cost within $665 -7000.

ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN

To ensure the operation of the enterprise, it will be necessary to hire workers, which include a technologist, a greenhouse worker and a sales manager.
The technologist is responsible for the entire technological process of growing flowers; daily monitors the condition of plants, climatic conditions and the serviceability of equipment; controls the process of plant care; maintains records of materials write-off.

A greenhouse worker carries out work preparing greenhouses for planting, planting and caring for plants, maintains greenhouses and the surrounding area in exemplary sanitary condition, and packs finished products.

The entrepreneur, who performs all management and accounting functions, is also involved in searching and setting up sales channels and negotiating with partners. Also participates in the collection and packaging of products.

Thus, the company’s staff includes 3 people, incl. entrepreneur. The total wage fund is 89,700 rubles.

Table 6. Staffing and wages fund

№	Job title	Salary, rub.	Number, persons	Payroll, rub.
Administrative
1	Sales specialist	20000	1	20 000
Industrial
2	Technologist	27000	1	27 000
3	Greenhouse worker	22000	1	22 000
Total:			69 000.00 ₽
Social Security contributions:			20 700.00 ₽
Total with deductions:			89 700.00 ₽

What is the profitability of growing flowers in a greenhouse?

Growing flowers in a greenhouse itself is quite profitable - predicted values sometimes reach 300% . Although, as practice shows, depending on various conditions, including force majeure, profitability can fluctuate between 50-70%.
If we speak in monetary terms, then, provided that only roses are grown, the annual profit can reach an amount within $25000 — $33000.

You can grow any flowers.
A decrease in profit can be due to various factors: unaccounted for or increased competition, weather conditions when heating costs increase, death of flowers, etc. On average, the funds spent on starting a business for growing flowers in a greenhouse pays off in less than a year - 6-8 months.

Features of floriculture

The flower business has always been and remains one of the most reliable types of income. Beautiful flowering plants are in constant demand - birthdays, weddings, such important dates as Knowledge Day or Teacher's Day, and simply the desire to demonstrate your concern for the woman you love provide flower gardeners with regular customers. Moreover, there is a demand for flowers both in winter and in summer, and they are especially actively purchased during significant holidays, such as International Women’s Day, Victory Day and many others.

The flower business is considered one of the most reliable

But first, we will begin to study a business plan for creating your own flower business and study the features of this industry.

Remember that the demand for flowers is highly dependent on seasonality. Above, we have already discussed the main dates when demand is maximum and there is an opportunity to make good money. However, during the rest of the year, flowers will not be sold in such large volumes.
Also be prepared for the fact that in the summer the price of the product will have to be reduced - competition at this time of year increases greatly, the products are supplied to the market by those gardeners who grow flowers only in the summer. That is why it is best to immediately plan to grow plants in a greenhouse in winter.
Flowers are plants that need constant care. You will need basic knowledge about floriculture, and you will have to pay a lot of attention to caring for plants. Any wrong action, lack of watering, overwatering or overheating can lead to massive death of plants, and at the same time losses, sometimes quite large. That is why you must be an expert in floriculture, or, alternatively, you can hire a specialist in this field.

The demand for flowers depends greatly on seasonality

Prices for flower seeds

seeds flowers