Above are several Echeveria pups that I pulled off of the trunk of the mama plant. I started with one of these plants 8 years ago and have started and sold hundreds of them since then.This is one way of growing for market that is free. There is no patent and you don’t have to buy the seed. I will plant these pups into 4″ pots and sell them this spring for at least $3.50 each. The Echeveria isn’t hardy outside in the frost so I sell it as a house plant. When I sell it I tell the customer how easy it is to take starts and share with friends. When you tell a customer what it is and how it grows they appreciate it but when you tell them how they can share it they see a future in the plant. The image below is a mixed flat of Echeveria and unpatented Hens and Chicks.

There are lots of plants like these that you can find, buy, grow into a large size and then take cuttings off of. I propagate a half dozen different plants this way. These are the types of plants that almost no one else will do. I don’t know why they don’t but it makes my sales of them better. Take a long slow browse down the aisles of your local nursery and look for stuff like this. My criteria for hunting these things is,does everyone else sell this,like sedums. Does it have foliage spilling over the side? Another way to find good stuff is ask the owner if they have any particular plant that they really like.Even in the sedum family I have found a variety that no one else sells and it’s actually very common. It’s a cool color grows fast is hardy as well as covered with flowers in the summer. It is also so easy to start it’s amazing, if you break a branch all you have to do is drop it on a pot of soil and water when it’s dry. So I break 64 at a time and make up 4 flats in the fall and another 64 in the spring. That’s 128 sedums of one variety at say $3.50 each. Interested? The ones in the image below will sell for $5-$6 each.Leave a comment and I will get back to you with the variety. Below  is a picture from the middle of December. I planted 4″ pots into these 6″ pots (after talking them out of the 4″ pot of course) because I want a nice large flowing pot for the Lewis County Home and Garden Show at Centralia in March. There’s a hint, if you want to see a 10′x20′ greenhouse I will have one set up there. Some plant sales too. You could even buy one of these.

Next is the Angel Wing Begonia. Buy two and shift on up to a huge pot. That way you can let it grow for a year before you start taking cuttings. These Begonias are a house plant and very easy to start and grow. I have a couple of pics I will add below.  The most often heard comment I get on these is  “Oh my mom/ grandma/Aunt Sadie  always had one of these in her house” If a plant brings back memories it sells, period. Same  with the lowly Marigold.

A little on your market display tomorrow.