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karin_mt_2

Selling plant divisions on Craig's List - worth it?

karin_mt
10 years ago

Our gardens are at the point where I have many more plants than I need. It seems every weekend I am dividing perennials or yanking out (perfectly nice) seedlings. I do my best to give away as many plants as I can, but it occurred to me that I could also sell them on Craig's List. I'd have things like perennial grasses, Siberian iris, daylilies, scabiosa, penstemon, perennial herbs, etc.

In your experience, is it worth it to do this kind of thing? Or more hassle than it's worth? I'm not looking for something high-maintenance but I wonder if I could pot up a bunch of stuff and offer it all for sale on one weekend. I'd be happy if I could earn enough money to buy a rose bush or two. :)

What do you think?

Comments (14)

  • aachenelf z5 Mpls
    10 years ago

    Yes, it is worth it if you do it right. I'm not doing it this year, but the past 3 years I have and generally pulled in about $1500 or more a season - spring and fall.

    People loved my ads, because I had photos (plant in bloom) of every plant I had for sale. I also included a short cultural blurb and random comments.

    What can really waste your time is people not showing up when they say they will. I insisted on people making appointments and even placed a short note in my ad stating "I sell my plants by appointment only. If you're not serious about making and keeping an appointment, please don't contact me." It worked and none of the people who came over were offended in the least. In fact, they completely understood why I had to say that. Also, ignore the folks who won't make an appointment and say "Give me your address and phone number and I'll call you." They won't. Make all your appointment by email. Contrary to all the horror stories about Craig's List, the people I met were really wonderful and so appreciative of the plants I had for sale. I actually had a great time selling plants this way.

    Kevin

  • terrene
    10 years ago

    Yes I use Craiglist a lot, to find tenants, Free items and Curb alerts, and also sell a lot of items, in particular office furniture leftover in commercial space, some electronics, miscellaneous items like kids' stuff and sporting goods, and I've also sold plants a few times over the years.

    The first time I sold plants was when the town was putting in a new sidewalk out front in 2008, and I had an entire border to remove! I gave a ton away, and sold most of the daylilies and a few other plants. Made a few hundred.

    Occasionally there is a no show in CL transactions, but most people show up and they are very nice. 1 out of 10 buyers might be a little weird - in a quirky way but not threatening or criminal or anything like that.

    Craigslist has a new messenging system that anonymizes your email address, but scammers still try to get your contact info. I just ignore any message that doesn't reference the item and listing specifically, and doesn't sound like it comes from a real person.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    10 years ago

    Adding my two cents......

    When I downsized, sold my house and moved out of the area, I sold most of my garden via Craig's List. I had a very complex garden and the house was going to be used as a rental so streamlining the garden made sense. What I didn't keep and move myself or give to friends I sold. I just advertized it as a plant collector's moving sale and the date and the general vicinity (no address - posted signs on the sale date).

    The turn out was huge!! I had some things in containers but most was left in place in the ground - a U dig proposition. There were a few plants excluded as either too large to move or too tricky to move but pretty much everything else went. And that included a lot of tools, supplies and garden "stuff" as well. An entire pallet of flagstone, lawnmowers, pots, a few landscape boulders, copper trellis, etc. I made a chunk of change - far more than I did selling any of my interior goods which included a bunch of furniture and antiques.

    The place looked the surface of the moon when it was done but the new owners raked it clean, mulched, added some seasonal color and were good to go

  • terrene
    10 years ago

    ^^^ Ggal that is exactly what I plan to do when I move from this house. I am 99.9% certain that future owners will not want huge gardens to maintain. This is a family neighborhood, close to an elementary school, and they will probably have 2 or 3 small kids. They will want to turn the whole back garden into grass, a play area, or a swimming pool!

    Leave most of the shrubs and trees, a few green hostas, take what I want, and give away and sell the rest. ;)

  • karin_mt
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    This is very helpful feedback, thanks guys! I think I will go for it. I like Kevin's approach of just doing it by appointment, and if possible I'll try to get the appointments into a short time frame so it doesn't drag on with me tending to dozens of pots that need daily watering.

    Kevin, how did you come up with enough pots? Or did people just bring their own? I always have a decent stash of 1-2-3 gal pots around, but it seems I'll run out of them in short order.

    What about pricing? I'm thinking $5 for a big division in a ~2 gal pot and $3 for smaller ones. Around here retail is $8-10 for gallon-sized perennials.

    This will be an interesting experiment!

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    10 years ago

    Karin, just ask for pots on freecycle. I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of people just like me who could supply a nursery with the pots piled up in their garage! Although, I now remember a thread on GW where someone was told by the freecycle moderator that they could not post for pots if it was for a commercial venture. I suppose you don't have to say why you want them...

    I've also read here that some people get pots from nurseries. Might be worth asking.

    Good luck with your sales!
    Dee

  • aachenelf z5 Mpls
    10 years ago

    Karin - I don't pot anything. Before I place my ad, I divide everything I want to sell, replant the divisions somewhere in the garden and then when people come over simply pop the plants out of the ground and bag them. I save plastic bags for months before and even have friends and neighbors save them for me. After bagging, I slap a label on the bag so people know what they have when they get home.

    By doing it this way, if something doesn't sell, you don't have to replant all those pots of plants. Plants in the ground also don't dry out as fast as potted plants, so they're easier to keep watered. Whatever you do, don't make the mistake of thinking you'll divide the plant on the spot. I tried that once and it was a nightmare. It just takes too long to do while someone is standing there looking over your shoulder.

    Pricing can be tricky, but you have to make it worth your effort. I rarely sold anything for less than $4 - usually in the $5-6 range and for something like a nice sized division of a Cimicifuga - $8. In the fall when I sold Peony divisions, I charged $12 for an 8 eye division. I had no problems getting $25 for a division of one of my fern leafed peonies. I also propagate various Colocasia and sold those for something like $7-8 for a 3-4 inch pot.

    Customers constantly told me, they would much rather buy from someone like me rather than one of the garden centers because the plants were healthier, well cared for and locally grown. They also liked to see what the plant looked like growing in the garden.

    Kevin

  • aachenelf z5 Mpls
    10 years ago

    One point of clarification:

    When I divide my plants for sale (because I'm so lacking in garden space), I would usually dig the plant I want to divide, chop it into divisions and replant all the divisions in the same spot as the mother plant if that's where I want it to stay. They usually all fit unless your garden is really crowded. By doing it this way, you don't have to worry about digging and moving plants around again when your sale is over. If all the divisions don't sell, you just leave them where they are or dig the excess ones and toss or give away.

    Kevin

  • karin_mt
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ahhh, ok. I can do it that way too. I have 8 raised beds in the back yard, one of which is out of the rotation this year. So I could fill that with divisions. This would definitely limit the watering and tending chores and I could bide my time until I accumulate enough plants to warrant a sale. I definitely like that plan better than amassing 20 pots on the front porch, thank you!

    Should I need pots though, I really like Dee's suggestion too. You all are so helpful!

    Starting this weekend I have Siberian iris and calamagrostis to move and I've been needing a plan for what to do with these plants. I think I have my plan now - many thanks for getting me un-stuck on what to do!

    Let the digging begin...

    Karin

  • eclecticcottage
    10 years ago

    If you post on freecycle, don't explain why you want them. It kind of goes against the whole idea of freecycle (that they would then be used for profit). Depending on who runs yours, it might get denied.

    I've had luck posting wanted for them on CL, and roadside grabbing during planting season!

    I sold a few on CL, sold some at the road via an on-your-honor cart and gave others away via plant swapping.

    If you have more left over than you want that aren't selling, try posting them as free. I've gotten a number of plants that way, and my gardens wouldn't be half of what they are with out them. I plan to do the same once I'm done getting things filled out here-as it is, I sold what I did for more "plant money" to buy plants I couldn't find free/via swapping.

  • karin_mt
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Just an update that I've had the first round of CraigsList plant sales. Success!

    I posted an ad with some photos and descriptions of what we've got. I got 2 rapid responses and in each case they got a dozen or more plants. In one case I dug them up ahead of time because they buyer knew what she wanted, and in the other case I dug them up on the spot and they carted them off in cardboard boxes.

    In both cases, once the buyer started hemming and hawing about not wanting to spend too much, I just named a reasonable price and said for that amount we can just dig up as much as they want. I'm not doing it for the money - I just want the plants to find new homes and I'd like enough cash to make it worth the time to post the ad and dig the plants.

    So now I have a little bit of money to recoup some of my over-the-top spending for the garden tour. I think I will re-post the ad from time to time and keep on digging and dividing. It's easy and worth the time, I think.

    Thanks for the advice, folks!

  • molie
    10 years ago

    GREAT thread! I plan to save this one. My gardens are getting crowded and like many of you, I just hate to throw things out. But in time many plants get too big or spread too much.

    My DH and I have been talking about what would happen if we decided to move in some years --- would anyone else really want to maintain our large gardens? Probably only another garden lover. So I like your technique, GGal, of a huge dig-your-own plant sale/removal.

    Kevin, you gave such logical advice for those who need to free up their yard. I especially liked the way you advertised, your clear warnings/requirements, the fact that you replanted smaller divisions in your garden rather than repotting them (makes caring for these easier) and your plastic bag technique for taking them home. Thinking about it, that was a good one! Customers will be more likely to plant the babies right away if they're in bags rather than pots.

    I've been apprehensive about posting on CL, but--- not to be prejudiced here --- I think that gardeners are a special breed of people with a love of Mother Earth and great care for their own small part of Her. No one is going to come and buy the plants if they don't plan to care for them. I think the money you gain will bring less satisfaction than knowing someone who loves your plants will take them home and love them---- although more money would not be a bad thing.

  • aachenelf z5 Mpls
    10 years ago

    Karin - I was wondering if you ever did this. Happy to hear it went well for you. I think you just have to do it once to figure out a system that works well for you. I didn't do it this spring, but I have a few peonies to get rid of this fall, so I'll put 'em up. That should bring in a nice hunk of change to put towards my spring plant order.

    molie - You know, I think you're correct about the type of people you meet selling plants. From my experience, they really are a different breed - a nice breed. That being said, I've sold so much stuff on CL - non plant stuff - and have yet to have a bad experience. If you have some common sense, you really can weed out anyone who seems insincere or just not who they say they are. I think it also depends on what you're trying to sell. Selling a rare coin collection for instance probably wouldn't be a good idea. Selling some patio furniture, no big deal. Just my opinion based on a lot of experience.

    Kevin

  • growlove
    10 years ago

    I have never tried selling on Craig's list, but for too many years to count, I dig excess plants from my many beds and advertise a two day sale. The wonderful gardening friends I have met make it a joy, not a chore. I dig and pot according to the size of the plant and mark each with info about it. The reward is in sharing for at a fair price and then having the dollars to buy more of the expensive plants I would otherwise not afford. Though it is a bit labor intensive and ads, potting soil,etc.take a little off one's profit. The reward is meeting these gardening folks who look forward to the sale each year. Have only had to purchase pots one year and most return them each year. Usually dig between 6 00 and 700 plants each year and try to introduce a couple new ones. One year I tried the dig your own approach which didn't work out for me. Good luck with selling on Craig's list. Will be anxious to see how that works out for you. Mary