James A. RobbinsProfessor - Ornamentals

What Production System?

The production of ornamentalplants can be a worthwhile andprofitable business. However, beforeembarking on this type of venture, aperson needs to evaluate whatresources are necessary to starta nursery.

One of the first decisions to makeis what type of production system youwill use. The three types of nurseryproduction systems are field,container and pot-in-pot (PIP). Fieldproduction can be further subdividedinto balled and burlapped (BB) orbare-root (BR) production dependingon the type of harvest method.

Selection of a production system isnot an exclusive one. For example, agrower might choose to have 90percent of the production incontainers and 10 percent in the field.Each of these production systems hastheir advantages and disadvantages.

Field production tends to havethree major advantages. First, fieldproduction is often less demandingthan container production in terms ofwater and fertilizer requirements. Inaddition, the labor required duringproduction is less intensive thancontainer production. Field productionalso offers growers in colder climatesthe option to avoid or minimize winterprotection methods.

There are several disadvantagesassociated with field production. Aprimary disadvantage is that

“harvesting” (digging) field-grownplants is limited to specific windowsduring the year, typically fall andspring. Another major disadvantage isthat the harvest operation is verylabor intensive. Although improve-ments (e.g., mechanical diggingmachines, staple guns replacing handnailing) have been made in recentyears, the process is still laborintensive and difficult. The type offield soils preferred for balling andburlapping operations also means thatthe average weight for a B&B plant isgreater than for a similar sizedcontainer-grown plant. This additionalweight translates into increasedaverage shipping cost for B&B plants.For example, 5-6' field-grown pines orspruce may weigh 250 lbs each. Atypical semi-truck with 160 of thesetrees being transported 1,000 mileswill add an estimated $15 per plant in

Nursery Series

Starting a Wholesale Nursery – Part I

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Field System

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addition to plant cost. Field production also offers thegrower a challenge in space allocation because ofrandom harvesting from fields or because of randomplant death in production. In contrast, as plants are“harvested” for shipment in container production, thecontainer block can be re-sorted, moved ortightened up.

The dramatic shift from field to containerproduction over the past 30 years has been largelyresponsible for the unprecedented growth in thenursery industry. Container production makespossible almost year-round “harvesting” and avail-ability of plants. Although containers offer majoradvantages to the consumer, they also offer growersseveral significant advantages. Growers gainhandling convenience and increased flexibility forplant spacing not offered by B&B plants. Handlingadvantages in the field also translate into handlingefficiencies when stacking or loading trucks. The useof container production also means that a growercould customize the growing media. The potential tomodify chemical and physical properties in acontainer is much greater than for a field soil.Container production also allows producers to grow“transplant sensitive” crops such as Magnolia.

While container productions offer manyadvantages, the system is not without its challenges.The type of media used in containers means thatmonitoring of water and fertilizer needs are morefrequent than in field production. A container growerwill find it difficult to leave the operation unattendedduring the growing season for any length of time.Switching to production in aboveground, restricted-volume containers also means that issues such asoverwintering, blow-over and circling roots becomesignificant considerations. Exposure of roots toextremes in both summer high temperatures andwinter low temperatures causes stresses not seen infield-grown plants. Growers must also remember that

container-grown plants cannot be held as long asB&B plants. An unsold crop of field-grown plants cansimply stay in the field; however, unsold containerplants will likely require moving up (bumping-up) toa larger container size which adds cost to the finalproduct. In general, initial land development costs(e.g., grading, bed preparation) for a containernursery are significantly higher than for starting afield nursery.

Many nurseries are now growing trees and largeshrubs in aboveground rigid containers/boxes, fabricbags or air-pruning rings. Some of these methods mayreduce the root circling commonly associated withrigid pots.

Starting in the early ,90s, a hybrid productionsystem began to appear in the nursery field. Thesystem, called pot-in-pot (PIP), combines severaladvantages found in both field and containerproduction systems. From the field productionsystem, PIP shares the advantage of eliminatingplant blow-over though plants are growing in acontainer, and they gain the advantage of havingminimized extremes in root zone temperatures.Because the plant is actually growing in a rigidcontainer placed in the field soil, PIP-grown plantsare easier to harvest than traditional field-grown plants.

Probably the most alarming disadvantage to thePIP system is the high initial capital expenserequired by placing two pots in the ground. Two otherminor disadvantages come to mind. First, while theflexibility in moving and spacing plants is not asefficient and convenient as traditional abovegroundcontainers, it is more efficient than field production.Lastly, access to certain chemicals may be limitedsince product labels may only be labeled for straightfield or container production.

Container Production

Aboveground Air-Pruning Rings

What Product Mix?

Probably the second most frequently askedquestion is, “What should I grow?” As with any otherproduct, you want to thoroughly research the marketthat you choose to enter. Within the arena of plantproduction there are several questions that you needto explore. Are you going to specialize in a particulartype of plant material? Categories include conifers,trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, native plants, etc.You must also decide if you want to grow and sellpropagules (e.g., rooted cuttings), liners or finishedstock (1-gal, 3-gal, tree-box). If you plan to ship greatdistances, you can be very successful sellingpropagules and liners. Simply identify a niche thatyou want to focus on. You may wish to focus onfinished sizes of native plants for markets inArkansas and southern Missouri for example. If youdecide to focus on markets well outside Arkansas, youalso need to address how to transport those plants.Will you be a mail-order nursery that ships by aparcel shipping service or a wholesale grower thatuses common carriers?

Nursery Site Selection

Unfortunately most of us do not give adequatethought when selecting a site for a nursery business.In most cases we use the land we live on or that afamily member has available. These parcels may notbe the best choice for this type of business. There areat least six factors that should be considered whenevaluating a potential nursery site. These are:

1. Quantity and quality of irrigation water2. Access to transportation and markets3. Topography and soil type4. Access to, and type of, utilities5. Favorable climactic conditions6. Access to steady labor supply

When considering a potential nursery site, it isessential that you analyze the quality of your watersource. State and private laboratories are geared toconduct this test for a nominal fee. You must alsoconsider the volume of water required to start anursery. Container nurseries require a tremendousvolume of water – up to 15 acre feet per acre ofproduction per year. Field and PIP production requiremuch less water. Make sure you have these waterquality and capacity issues resolved before you startyour nursery.

The type of land depends on whether you areconsidering field or container production. Forexample, in container production we are typicallygrowing above ground so the soil type (e.g., clay, sand,loam) is not an important issue. It is also possible tocorrect extremes in topography for containerproduction and still have useable ground to placecontainers on.

After selecting a parcel of land for a nursery, itwould be valuable to give some thought to long-termdevelopment of the parcel. In general, consider issuesthat provide for the least movement of plants andpeople. Also, give some thought to basic issues likelocation for loading trucks, clearance for trucks,turning radii of equipment, width of equipment andweight restrictions on access roads.

Significant consideration should be given togeneral employee issues such as lunchroom facilities,bathrooms and handwashing facilities.

General Crop Scheduling

Another commonly overlooked task is taking thetime to plan and schedule your production. A clearplan will ensure that you have sufficient productionspace and save you money when ordering supplies.

A great place to start is to consider using acomputer spreadsheet to outline your production inreverse order. An example for a container productionnursery is illustrated in the following table.

In this example, our production goal is to have1,000 three-gallon saleable plants. Understanding thepotential losses at each stage of production and theamount of space required, you can calculate howmuch space a particular crop will require. Evencompleting this exercise for a few crops will clarify inyour mind the amount of space required and when itwill be required. In addition to this space allocationspreadsheet, you may wish to design a productioncalender so that you can adequately allocateresources and anticipate when certain bottlenecksmay occur.

Pot-in-Pot (PIP) System

Time Required for Production

People unfamiliar with the nursery industry oftenhave no idea how long it takes to grow a plant to asaleable size. The answer to this question depends onthe kind of plant being produced, the productionsystem chosen, the level of management used to growthe crop and the length of the growing season. Thefastest production cycle is for the small one-galloncontainer plants seen in many mass market storesand retail nurseries. These plants are usually grownfor their first production season in the “liner” stage inthe propagation structure. The spring of their secondyear they are potted in containers and grown for onegrowing season, becoming saleable during the end ofthat year. But about 80 percent of the nurseryproducts grown are sold in the spring so they wouldprobably remain at your nursery until February orMarch. In the scheduling example on page 3, theplants would spend from 6 to 12 months in propa-gation, one year as a one-gallon plant and one moreyear as a three-gallon plant for a total productiontime of 30 to 36 months.

It is more difficult to estimate production time forfield-grown plants, but a rule of thumb for trees is toestimate that they make about one-half inch of trunk

caliper growth per year. Thus a 2-inch caliper shadetree would spend one year as a liner and requirethree additional years to achieve the desired size.Slow-growing plants, such as Japanese maples ordwarf confiers, may only produce one quarter to onehalf the growth suggested above and are, therefore,very expensive in the marketplace.

Licenses, Permits and Regulations

Specific license and permit regulations will varyby state and county. To operate as a business, youmay need to consult one or more of the following: cityor county clerk’s office, city or county assessor’s office,state department of finance and administration,state department of labor, U.S. Citizenship andImmigration Services (USCIS) and the InternalRevenue Service (source of Federal IdentificationNumber), just to name a few. Once a businessexpands to include employees, serious considerationmust be given to rules administered by theOccupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA). OSHA standards cover such matters asexposure to chemicals, protective gear, first aid,worker training and notification laws.

Resources to the Rescue

Like other ventures, you are wise to do yourhomework and get connected within your area ofinterest. Make the effort to seek out other growers inyour area who are willing to share their experienceswith you. Join and participate in related professionalorganizations such as the Arkansas Nurseryman’sAssociation, Perennial Plant Association andInternational Plant Producers Society. Your local andstatewide University of Arkansas Division ofAgriculture, Cooperative Extension Service personnelare geared to help in your venture also.

DR. JAMES A. ROBBINS is professor - ornamentals, Universityof Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Horticulture Department,Little Rock.

FSA6055-PD-5-10RV

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 andJune 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture,Director, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas. TheArkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligiblepersons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age,disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status,and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Printed by University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Printing Services.

Acknowledgment is given to DR. GERALD L. KLINGAMAN, former Extension specialist - ornamental horticulture, as an originalco-author of this fact sheet.

Cuttings1 galloncan-tight

3 gallon1X spacing

Saleable3 gallons

Number ateach step

1,452 1,210 1,100 1,000

Productionspace (ft2)required

32 350 3,400 3,400

Percent lossexpected

20% 10% 10% ---