Thinking of a Plant Sale

I am thinking of having a Plant Sale, similar to a garage sale, in my driveway. :-D

I have a lot of plants that I need to divide and would rather not re-plant elsewhere, so I can have room for new stuff! :-)

All are perennials, Like, Hosta, Daylilies, Coneflowers, Sedums, herbs, veggies, etc. I may just sell the veggies and a few easy perennials now, and re-pot the rest to sell later on after they get re-established. I don't want to start a business or anything, just looking for a way to unload my excess plants and also make some compost money.

So who has done this? Did you consider it worth your time? How did you price your gallon containers? How did you price your smaller containers?

Please share your selling experience with me!

Can I come?

I haven't done it as a yard sale type thing, but I have had good response posting on Craigslist. But I didn't individually price, I just offered a big group of things as a lump item for barter.

Hey, Sue! I'd be there for sure! On craigslist there is a Plant sale with prices that are very reasonable. I've seen gallons for $3-5 dollars and more depending on what type of plant. http://seattle.craigslist.org/for/75086175.html

Jacqueline

Of course you are both welcome! :)

I love craigslist, I'm going to spend some time looking at it tonight. Thanks for the link Jacqueline! I like that the person who posted asked people to bring their excess pots, that is a great idea. I can always use them.

I'll be sure and drop by. Let me know if you need any pots ahead of time Sue and I'll swing by with them.

Marc

Thanks Marc, what a great offer! Okay, I'm still in the planning stages but this is looking do-able! Back outside for me. Is this a beautiful day? Wow.

Send me your address and directions and I'll drop by a big ole box of pots for you. I'm working the Renton clinic tomorrow and again on Tuesday.

Marc

I would definitely stop and buy from someone like you. In fact, I have! I think it's a super idea!!

I have done this. It was at the end of last summer so was not the best time of year - but the people who stopped bought an average of $25-30. I am doing just a few markets this year and have a great time doing that. Once I retire, hope to do about one a week. Just don't have time right now to keep up with plants, work full time and get ready for market.

I do love it though. And I loved doing the yard thingy. I price plants so low that they think they can't pass them up. Very few of the plants I sell cost me anything but a pot and some dirt (I had a huge yard full of things that multiplied) so I can set low prices for the time being.

One lady who bought from my yard sale last year, knocked on my door just the other night and asked if I had any plants for sale.

Try it.

i have 100s of plants potted up and the 4sale sign is up Im selling them for 5.00 for gallon pots.
4inch pots Im going to ask 2.00
I have potting soil and pots and tags and my time and the plants I figure the prices are fair-I will take a picture tomorrow and post.
I also have iris boquets(mix n match)12 stalks for 5.00(how does that sound?)

I will let you you know how sales go-keep your fingers crossed :)

Hi Dori.........the next time I come to Bay City to shop, I will stop buy and check out your stuff......I know you have some stuff potted up for me....promise I will be there in a few weeks....been sick since I got back from Indian....

Sue, I often find I don't have the time to pot up all the extra perennials in the gardens to sell, then you have to wait for them to go through their shock (wilt period) cause no one wants to buy them wilted. I have recently put an add in the paper "dividing perennials" so they would know they have to be dug up, and their not potted up. I too have lots of perennials that need to go. their taking over in some places, I stated in my add, lots of perennials need to be divided, etc... I sold $110.00 worth to one lady the other day and have 2 other ladies coming, they don't mind walking around the gardens, and asking either. and i du g up everything right there, put it in walmart sacks, and put water in the sacks, and loaded it into boxes for them. works out great so far, and I don't have to take the time to pot them up , it saves on potting soil, pots, etc...

kathy_ann

but lots of folks have plant sales all the time, if you have time to pot things up. some folks just dig up the extra iris's and daylilies and lay them on a newspaper, and sell them bare root, dig them right before the yardsale.

In our local newspaper we have a Lawn and Garden classified section. I have found a few gardners that had great plants. What I bought was dug on demand.

You might make some new local gardening friends to swap with!
Teresa

We have a 100 mile yardsale that is in the middle of July. I always pot flowers up for it and sell them for $! a pot -no matter what size. I don't have access to any regular pots--other than pots that I bought a new flower in--I use gallon milk jugs. They drink a lot of milk here and it works great for me. I save milk jugs all year long.

hugeposiepatch..............gosh wish I lived in Pennsylvania.....what a great concept, drive for miles on the same road with nothing but stuff for sale....and Plants at that.....

Deann

deann, It is a big deal here--people come from miles away and say that they have been waiting all year just to come back and buy plants from me.

I love this thread!!! Good Luck to all of you in selling your extras!!!

Judy

I wish someone in Kansas (NE) would do that!!!

I want to come too!!!

Viv

I have thought about this myself. I have a lot of plants that you pay a fortune for. There is a local gentleman who is so successful with plant tag sales that he can afford to just drop you off of his list and curse you to boot if he doesn't like something about the color of your t-shirt or thinks your gay or worse. Of course I am not exaggerating. He's worse than this and does very well. So guessin' customer service aint a big deal, people are just looking for good size healthy perennials at a price below the local snob and snob nursery (I live in Martha country) and I've seen it work. I'd love to connect and and share plants and experience with people who have a serious interest in this and would want to trade and expand their catalogues and garden inventory. Maybe we could start a collective webpage? I've learned the best thing is to divide when it's appropriate and then let the plant grow out to a gallon size. You win and the buyer does too.

Let's face it what we're offering is good healthy plants cheap and that's what folks want. I'll do anything to defeat the evil empire aka Wal something or other. if interested please e-mail at this site . Green-Ox.

greenox - I am doing just that. Dividing now, and potting up for sales later in the season or probably next spring. Kathy_ann was right about the plants going into shock and needing time to re-cover and grow in their pots to look stunning again.

You have a good idea! And I ROTFLMBO at ' Local Snob and Snob Nursery' . Hee hee.

Green-Ox, I agree with you completely. And, yesterday I have decided to get rid of my overgrown St. John's Wort and get a Witchazel instead. lol How does your smell when in bloom? I'm thinking that if I dig up my SJW now and cut it back, maybe I would sell some this fall.

Pins,
The witchhazel that I posted above is a little bit of a slow grower. It's a fancy variety that looks like orange poms poms when it first comes out and it usually blooms here in February. No scent, but wonderful in late winter. Maybe now you could find one at a discount price locally or over the net?

I'll sure be looking! It seems that one of them does have a scent. At any rate, another plant that I got was a Winter Honeysuckle, which is actually a bush, but smells heavenly in the winter.