Home business: growing and selling violets. Cultivation of the uzambara violet Violet business where to start

It is difficult to imagine any apartment without at least one plant. Of course, not every hostess will make mini gardens with her own hands, but everyone wants to admire the lush flowering of indoor flowers.

This leads us to the possibility of earning money through the sale of saintpaulias (Uzambar violets), because it is impossible to imagine a more grateful flower for breeding.

The fact is that Saintpaulia can be propagated with a leaf cutting, and part of it, and a stepson, and even a peduncle (this method is used to breed real rarities - chimeras)!

It should also be noted that anyone will find something of their own among the lovely violets: someone likes the lush flowering and huge petals of the standard varieties of the selection of Korshunova and Repkina, and someone admires the modest charm of mini violets.

And what colors are not in the range of colors: there are white, and pink, and purple, and blue. There are even yellow-flowered (Warm Sunshine, Moon Gold) and green-flowered varieties (Emerald Love, Green Gragon)!

In addition, you can see that with proper care, Saintpaulia can be attributed to unpretentious plants.

And for growing children and adult saintpaulias, you don’t need a lot: you just need to purchase a peat substrate, some kind of baking powder (you can use vermiculite, or you can use perlite), disposable plastic cups and pots (for growing miniature saintpaulias, their diameter should be 5- 6 cm, for growing standards 9-10 cm).

By the way, you can sell not only adult flowering plants, starters are suitable for sale - almost adult rosettes that are preparing for their first flowering, as well as leafy cuttings.

For each type of green material, it is necessary to master the intricacies of pre-sale packaging.

For example, you need to take a stalk cut at an oblique angle with a rather long stem, wrap it in moistened cotton wool, wrap the fleece on top in a layer of foil, and pack the stalk itself in a plastic bag with a latch.

Now it remains to put the cuttings packed in this way in a box and you can even send them by mail, even in a few days nothing will happen to them.

And finally, some useful tips that will allow you to establish sales:

1. Blooming uzambara violets can be taken to flower shops and stalls, but it is still better to focus on sales via the Internet. Post sales announcements on social networks, on thematic forums.

2. Be sure to create a colorful catalog that contains photos of your plants, as well as all the information you need to care for your violets. You can create your own blog, or you can try your hand at being the founder of a group in any social network.

3. Be willing to answer all the questions of potential buyers, do not forget to make nice presentations in the form of bonus cuttings and babies when selling - this will help you create an extensive audience of regular customers.

The Money for Lady website wishes you the pleasure of making money on your favorite hobby!

For such a business, you will need a separate room or a basement - there you will begin to plant flowers. At the initial stage, you can get by with the area of ​​\u200b\u200bfree window sills. Uzambara violets do not require special care, they are extremely unpretentious. The main and only prerequisite is to water three times a week.

disadvantages

Of course, you should not immediately rush to plant flowers in the hope that they will bring you millions. Are there many flower growers in your city? You can go to flower shops, casually find out how many violets they sell per month. It is sometimes difficult to sell more than fifteen flowers in a month. It is easy to calculate that the revenue will be only a couple of thousand per month, because you will sell them for two hundred rubles.

Even in a big city it will be difficult to make a profit, because the most profitable places there have long been occupied. But you shouldn’t get upset ahead of time - you can earn money on violets, many have proven this from their own experience. You just need to buy once, and then plant flowers yourself. But the main rule is impressive volumes, an abundance of sales channels. Without this, it will not be possible to make a successful business out of the flower business.

cultivation

The flower growers make the soil for growing Uzambara violets themselves. For him, buy a bag of soil, a glass of washed sand, a glass of sphagnum moss, a glass of foam. You will also need a spoonful of charcoal, dolomite flour.

For planting, take plastic pots. Do not compact the soil too much - it should absorb moisture well. From fertilizers it is better to choose Gerbasmin. But remember about fungal diseases of violets. Twice a month, water the flowers with a solution of foundationazole.

Plant the "babies" of the cuttings when they reach a height of five centimeters. Pull out the cutting directly from the ground, separate the "kids".

Finance

It is advisable to take cuttings from breeders. Let's calculate costs and benefits. The first batch will cost you about two hundred dollars. Lamps for light can be taken second-hand, and shelving is easy to make from boards on your own. Seedlings will bloom after a month and a half. The plucked leaves bloom after four to five months, giving you three to six "babies". With directional light, violets will bloom earlier. On the eve of the holidays, you can sell a very large number of violets. Example: You are selling a flower for five dollars. On the eve of March 8, you manage to sell up to a thousand pieces. As you can see, the profit will be quite tangible.

Sales locations

You can sell violets online. To do this, it is better to create your own website. You can try selling plants to flower shops. And you can open a small shop in the city. By the way, you can open a point of sale on the roar. And someone sells violets from the track - at the same time they have a very good profit.

And if things go well, you can start planting other flowers. After all, buyers are attracted by a large assortment. Sell ​​plants in beautiful pots - this will also increase demand. Do not be upset if things do not work out right away - study the market, the psychology of people. then you will be able to earn good money on a home plant!

My first violet


The first saintpaulia appeared in my life at school age. Then I watered it, admired the flowers - but nothing more. Even the transplant was done by my grandmother. I remember the flowers of this violet were purple. What was the name of her variety - then it was of little interest to me.

Then I lived with my aunt for several years. She had many flowers of various kinds, but for some reason not a single violet. I wanted to bring a pot of Saintpaulia from a friend, but I was told briefly and clearly: “No. And there is so little space!

Hobbies and source of income

When I began to live separately, I immediately started several Saintpaulias. And one day I thought: what if my hobby (floriculture) can be made a source of income. Let it be small, but this is a chance to combine business with pleasure. At that time I did not know about the possible difficulties. Own business is always a risk, although in my case the “business” was small, and the risk, accordingly, was not too big.

Before that, I read a lot of literature in books and on specialized sites on the Internet. I found out who breeders and collectors are. Breeders bring out new varieties of violets. I didn't intend to do this.

I decided to become a collector. They grow violets of various varieties, sell and exchange them. I also realized that only varietal plants have value. And I went to an exhibition of violets for varietal plants.

Exhibition at the House of Nature

When I entered the hall where the exhibition was held, I gasped. I have never seen so many blooming violets. Real wealth! I went from table to table, admired this splendor and chose which plants to buy for myself.

As you probably know, violets are propagated by leafy cuttings. I could buy about twenty cuttings and slowly start breeding. But I wanted to speed up the process and therefore purchased two adult violets. Their varieties were called Arctic Frost and Rebels Carnation Splash. Violets were very expensive!

These varieties are bred by foreign breeders, therefore they have names in English. The first one is translated as “arctic frost”, and the second one I decided to translate only now and it turned out “bright pink splashes”. This violet had a huge hat of pink flowers, here is her photo.

Care Secrets

It turned out that the sellers of these chic flowers were not eager to talk in detail about caring for them. But I became a regular at violet exhibitions and met Alexander there, who shared a lot of secrets with me. Perhaps I will write a separate topic about this.

Where to place flowers

Since I was going to breed a lot of flowers, I purchased a shelving unit with lighting. I had two shelves full of violets of different ages: from leaves and babies to adult, flowering plants.

In a separate cabinet, I placed everything you need for violets: soil, vermiculite and perlite, sphagnum moss, special fertilizer for violets, flowerpots, etc. The violets took up a lot of space, and it took a long time to grow them for sale. After all, only until the moment when the leaf gives birth and becomes ready for planting in the ground, a whole month passes.

Sales market

When I acquired a large number of plants, I did not think about where I would sell them. So far, I could not compete with the well-known collectors of the city, who had several tables of flowering plants. There was no time to stand in the market and wait for someone to buy something.

I found ads on the Internet to be a good way out. And they really called me, but it turned out that people asked for some other varieties that I didn’t have. My enthusiasm faded immediately. I began to give away Saintpaulias to my friends, to take my mother to another city.

sad ending

My mother no longer took floriculture as seriously as I did. There was no backlight (she refused to take the rack), she often flooded them, and violets are very afraid of excessive watering. Gradually, the violet rows began to thin out. Some of my favorite varieties remained only in the photo. I'm sorry for the missing plants.

And I also concluded: when organizing any business, even micro, you need to have a clear business plan. I just didn't have it. But this is not surprising, because for me violets are not a source of enrichment. For me, they are wonderful plants that delight with their flowering and even harmonize the space, according to Feng Shui experts.

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Until relatively recently, small bouquets of delicate quivering violets could be seen in the spring on sale at every corner. Recently, you will not see these flowers for sale, they are listed in the Red Book...

But not everything is so sad. In nature, there are flowers very similar to those small violets - saintpaulias or they are also called the uzambar violet. Unlike field purple violets, they can have a different color and can be grown at home in the same way as.

Plan. With relatively low costs, ease of cultivation, and most importantly, the ability to bloom with good care for up to 7-10 months a year, this flower can become the main business for enterprising people.

So what is this amazing saintpaulia flower that can bloom so many times a year? Saintpaulia is also called the African or Uzambara violet of the Gesneriaceae family, whose homeland is tropical Africa, the Usambara Mountains. The most famous forms of color and variety are white, pink, lilac, purple, double or with wavy edges. Uzambara violet is a low-growing herbaceous plant with a rosette of rounded, softly pubescent leaves and petioles.

For growing and propagating violets for commercial purposes, it is better to allocate one of the rooms in your house with an area of ​​\u200b\u200babout 15 square meters. m, but you can also use a specially equipped utility room or a winter greenhouse. For intensive cultivation, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of + 20-25 ° C in summer, + 18-22 ° C in winter.
The room can be equipped on the model of a special farm, which was equipped for growing amazing violets by the Sanders wife from America.

Amazing violets can be grown using a special substrate (suggested by the Sanders): peat moss (sphagnum) - 16.7 liters, vermiculite - 16.7 liters, perlite - 8.33 liters and 2 cups of activated carbon. All components are mixed, 0.5 cups of dolomite flour are added to the mixture, and 2 teaspoons of trace elements (special fertilizers). 3.3 liters of water are poured into this substrate and mixed thoroughly again.

In the farm premises, the Sanders spouses equipped racks with 4-5 shelves with artificial lighting (at a distance of 25-30 cm from the plants), since violets require additional lighting in winter. They consider 10 light hours sufficient (from 8 to 18). To get a more lush bush with a large number of flowers, the daylight hours must be increased to 12 hours. In summer, to maintain the optimum temperature (20-25°C), an air conditioner is installed. And to moisten the substrate in pots, the “Texas method” (a kind of wick moistening) is used - before planting the plant, a nylon cord is inserted into the drainage hole of the pot at one end, its other end is lowered into a bowl of water, the pot with the plant is placed on a plastic grid. With this method, uniform watering is obtained as it dries. Simultaneously with irrigation, complex mineral fertilizers can be applied with a ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium 12:36:14 and 20:20:20, alternately. The racks are equipped with a timer to automatically maintain the duration of lighting, so violets can be left unattended for up to 3 weeks.

Leaf cuttings of Saintpaulias of the best, newest, unusual varieties from leading US breeders are offered by I. L. Danilina from Moscow. In particular, cuttings of varieties of violets bred by the famous Sanders couple in America are offered: variegated, with green, orange, coral, bronze flowers, very miniature, semi-miniature and even with flowers up to 7 cm in diameter.

Saintpaulia does not require special care. It grows well in an apartment with diffused light and an air temperature of 18-25 ° C. Violet benefits from moist air, which can be created by placing plant pots on a large tray of moist river sand, small pebbles, or expanded clay, but should not be sprayed. You can put jars of water between the pots.

Pots for planting are usually used in a small volume; broken shards, expanded clay, sand are placed on the bottom for drainage. The soil mixture should consist of leaf, peat soil and sand (4:1:1). Watering requires moderate, warm settled water, it can even be boiled, 2o above room temperature. Periodically, it is necessary to fertilize with a weak solution of liquid fertilizers ("Uniflor"), using the appropriate solution ("Uniflor-growth" or "Uniflor-buton") at different periods of plant growth.

It is not difficult to propagate Saintpaulia. It can be propagated by leaf cuttings, peduncles or side rosettes, more often propagated by leaf cuttings.

In principle, it is possible to propagate by leaf cuttings at any time of the year, but it is better in spring and summer, when there is more light and heat. For reproduction, healthy leaves are separated at the base from the middle part of the rosette, which have reached at least 3/4 of the normal length, with a petiole no more than 4 cm (many experts allow up to 7 cm). The cut is made with a sharp razor and air-dried for 30 minutes. Then the leaf cutting is placed in settled water at room temperature in an opaque cup for rooting in a bright, warm place, immersing it 2-2.5 cm. .

Roots will appear in 3-4 weeks. When the roots reach 2 cm, the cuttings must be planted in small pots to a depth of no more than 2 cm, preferably obliquely. After about 3 sometimes 4 weeks, young leaves will appear. From cutting to flowering will take up to 6 months.

Saintpaulia is also propagated by side rosettes, for which they are separated from the main plant and planted in a pot with a prepared soil mixture. With this reproduction, violets bloom faster.

To make flowering long and abundant, when planting a young plant or dividing an adult, add a little AVA long-acting complex fertilizer to the bottom of the pot, but not under the roots. Then only nitrogen supplements will be needed later, since there is no nitrogen in AVA, but it supplies the plant with the necessary macro- and microelements for 2-3 years at once.

In general, you should follow the usual rule - during growth, feed with nitrogen-containing mineral or organic fertilizer, and during budding and flowering - with potassium-phosphorus.

Violets will bloom well in winter if you use additional lighting with fluorescent lamps (40 or 60 W) for up to 12 hours and maintain the air temperature around 25 ° C. At the same time, they must be regularly watered and fed with Uniflor-buton mineral fertilizer with an increased proportion of potassium (0.5 cap per 2 liters of warm water).

From time to time, it is necessary to remove dust from the leaves of plants with a soft brush; it is not recommended to pour water from the shower. Saintpaulia varietal can be purchased at almost any nursery.

With a small investment (mainly for pots), you can make a good profit. If you grow not any kind of violets, but only varietal ones, then the profit will be greater, however, this will require large initial investments (up to 8 thousand rubles).

Recommendations. Start this business by purchasing a small number of flowers. Separate as many leaves as possible, plant cuttings, after six months you will already have lush bouquets of violets in bloom. Purchased flowers, when they bloom, can be immediately sold, with the proceeds to buy pots. Perhaps you can ask your friends and neighbors for some of the leaf cuttings. Take cuttings only from beautiful or unusual varieties.


Breeding and selling violets is quite an interesting business. And not too costly. In addition, they can be engaged in addition to the main work.



Why it's worth doing
People have always loved flowers and tried to grow them at home. Luxury flower shops provide a wide selection of green favorites, however, not everyone can afford to buy a lush hydrangea, curly azalea or capricious alocasia. They are demanding to care for, and they cost a lot of money. Yes, and potted flowers do not take root well at the buyer's house - not such watering, not that humidity, not that light. But violets are very familiar flowers. They are extremely unpretentious, everyone knows how to care for them, and if suddenly the flower is “naughty”, you can always ask your friend “how she heals”.


At the same time, Russian, Ukrainian and foreign breeders have bred such varieties that will overshadow any rose in beauty, surpass the most magnificent begonia in size and volume, and the combination of colors will enchant anyone. In a small pot, a whole bouquet constantly flaunts. Now flower growers bring out violets not only with magnificent flowers, but also with beautiful foliage. There are violets with dark green leaves, along the edges of which there is a white border, with tricolor leaves, with variegated ones. The choice is great. And the names of breeding violets simply cannot let go of themselves. "Bride's Bouquet", "Beloved Son", "Dear Friend"...


The prices for these plants are very high. Any woman or man can afford such a purchase. Violet propagates easily - both by cuttings, and by cutting a leaf, and even by seeds. True, breeding specimens from seeds are very difficult to grow. Yes, this is not necessary. One cutting can produce from one to ten new plants.


Where to get varietal violets
Modest little white, pink or blue violets that grandmothers sell are not a problem to buy. But this is not quite the product that will be willingly snapped up. A flower should be bright, beautiful, the whole market should not be littered with such flowers, it should surprise, delight and cause a desire to buy.


Previously, there were violets on almost every window, but then flower growers considered that this was a “grandmother's” flower and interest in these prudes disappeared. But some lovers of the Gesneriaceae decided not only to revive this flower, but also to make it more beautiful. They succeeded. Now there are so many varieties that it is easy to bring new varieties to the market without fear of repetition. And lovers of violets, even having a solid collection at home, will not be able to pass by.


It is better to buy violets in online stores. In St. Petersburg, Balashikha and other cities, there are entire specialized stores that offer goods at very competitive prices. Some breeders have their own websites where you can order a flower not only of amazing beauty, but also a recently bred, exclusive one. And for buyers - collectors, such a flower is of particular value. On the websites of shops and breeders, you can calmly look at photos of the proposed flowers, choose thoughtfully and, slowly, calculate the price.


What are the expected costs


1. The product itself. It can be bought in leaflets - their cost fluctuates quite significantly, from 15 rubles to 200, 300 rubles. You can take sockets. They cost a little more, but they will be ready for sale much faster, and they will give material for further breeding (the same leaves). You can buy an already adult flower. Here the price will be even higher, but by selling it and pinching off the leaves, you can immediately restore the money spent. However, as a rule, adult plants are sold with a minimum number of leaves; such a product does not arrive in the best possible condition by postal trade and it is unlikely that it will be possible to sell it quickly. It is better to order a rosette and a leaf of the same plant.


While your leaf takes root and grows, the rosette will already bloom and will pay off the costs. Another tip - do not choose the cheapest sheet, its quality will be excellent (violets sellers value their reputation very much), but its beauty and originality may not be the highest. In addition, the same leaf, if it has a long stalk, can be used twice, or even thrice (the leaf is dug in, gives rosettes, they grow a little and the old stalk is cut off. Then it can be planted again).


2. Pots for flowers. The smaller the pot, the faster the violet will bloom. The well-known breeder Makuni tried to grow flowers in a matchbox for the experiment, and the plants felt wonderful. True, in this case, the grower himself adds trouble - such plantings have to be watered much more often. The pots should be small, it is worth buying seedling pots, and their price is low - from 1.5 rubles to 3.


3. Ground. Ready soil for violets can be bought at any flower shop. But it’s not at all difficult to make this soil yourself. Violets require loose, breathable soil, the specific composition of the soil can be easily found on the Internet.


4. Shelving (perhaps the most expensive thing in this business). Of course, at the initial stage, such a device may not be needed, but over time it is still worth purchasing. It is convenient to place a large number of plants on the shelves, it is easy to bring lighting to it (there may not be enough space for everyone on the windowsill, but in another place, in winter, there will not be enough light).


5. Other. This includes sphagnum moss, which is worth buying for better rooting of leaves, watering cans, top dressing ... Every flower lover has this, it is not necessary to buy it, and large investments are not required here. Here, for starters, that's all.


Who buys violets
Violets are the kind of flowers that want quite a few buyers. First of all, these are the so-called one-time buyers. That is, they saw - liked - bought. Therefore, the goods must be attractive, in brand new, better, identical pots, and the seller himself, too, must be friendly, correct and pleasant to look at. The seller must know what he is selling - give advice, draw the attention of the buyer to the best aspects of the product, offer related products.


The seller should take into account that each "one-time" buyer can become a regular customer. Often, when buying one pot with a flower and after talking with a competent seller, the “one-time” buyer takes more and more. For these purposes, you need to have packages - T-shirts, for the convenience of the buyer. It also happens that the inability to take a lot of goods serves as a refusal to purchase.


There are buyers "donors", that is, those who want to give a live bouquet for some kind of celebration. For these purposes, you can have a gift box with you. She will take up little space, and add extra money.


And, of course, it is especially worth mentioning about collectors. These people are eager to buy those copies that they do not have. And they take not one or two flowers, but several at once. It is for such buyers that you should definitely stick a beautiful, neat sticker with the name of the flower, with the name of the one who brought it to the pots. For example, "E. Korshunova "Brazilian Topaz", etc. These buyers need to be handed their business cards or just phone numbers, you need to keep in touch with them.
Again, it should be said that any buyer can become a collector or a regular buyer.


Where to look for a market
You can sell violets even without leaving your home - go to any groups of violet growers (and there are quite a lot of such groups now), put photos of your flowers there and wait for buyers. However, it is worth considering that trade will go much faster if people see the product live, they can examine it in detail and immediately receive it. Therefore, along with working on the Internet, you should offer your flowers live.


Owners of flower pavilions buy violets well. They, of course, buy violets in wholesale stores, but the choice there is limited to 2-5 types (maybe more in big cities). The assortment of a private individual is beyond compare. Of course, here you will have to cut yourself in price, but a big gain in time - you will not have to sit on the market yourself. In addition, if you arrange delivery to the pavilions, flowers can be sold even in cold weather, when the open market is no longer suitable for sales.
Most of all you can earn on the open market. Here it is easy to set your price and vary it, depending on the competition and the influx of buyers. Here you can also find buyers who will take flowers from you already under the order.


On such holidays as September 1, New Year, March 8, you can arrange your own, small exhibitions. To do this, you will need to rent a small corner in the store, at the post office, in food pavilions - in any passageway where you can agree. In this case, you will have to spend money on rent, but the profit is worth it. True, it is worth deploying if there is a lot of goods.


Advantages and disadvantages
The violet business is interesting, exciting, does not require huge expenses, it can be easily handled by both a woman, an elderly lady who needs additional income, and a young, energetic man - his capabilities will allow the business to unfold much wider, and therefore get more income. There are downsides to this as well. Having bought several leaves or rosettes at once, you cannot immediately enter the market with them, it takes time. Even if you buy ready-made plants and sell them, it will take time for new marketable material to grow.


Unless indoor or Internet sales are established, sales will have to be suspended until the warmer months. Perhaps that's all. But this business will bring not only profit, but also great pleasure.

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