Need Advice on Selling Collection of Large Plants

[Dan Lawyer]

We are retired and trying to downsize so we can travel, which means getting
rid of lots of plants which we have raised for the last 20+ years. A couple
of years ago, I tried to sell a couple of huge Fica trees in the paper, but
it seems nobody wants big plants, or expects you to give them away. I got a
manager of a nursery to give me estimates on what they might be worth if
sold in his place, so I have an idea of fair prices, but not a clue how to
get it. I thought about trying a local auction on eBay, but plants just
don't seem to sell well there.

These are beautiful but large plants, including a Plumeria tree about 7' x
6' wide with about 40 branch tips, 7' Hibiscus trees(3), one tri-color has
about a 6' circumference, 7' False Aralia, 3' Ming Aralia, 7' Pony Tail
Palm, 5' Mediterranean Fan Palm w/six pups and more.

Does anyone have any ideas how to get something decent for large plants?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Dan

[gribbee]

"Dan Lawyer" > wrote in message
.. .
> We are retired and trying to downsize so we can travel, which means
getting
> rid of lots of plants which we have raised for the last 20+ years. A
couple
> of years ago, I tried to sell a couple of huge Fica trees in the paper,
but
> it seems nobody wants big plants, or expects you to give them away. I got
a
> manager of a nursery to give me estimates on what they might be worth if
> sold in his place, so I have an idea of fair prices, but not a clue how to
> get it. I thought about trying a local auction on eBay, but plants just
> don't seem to sell well there.
>
> These are beautiful but large plants, including a Plumeria tree about 7' x
> 6' wide with about 40 branch tips, 7' Hibiscus trees(3), one tri-color has
> about a 6' circumference, 7' False Aralia, 3' Ming Aralia, 7' Pony Tail
> Palm, 5' Mediterranean Fan Palm w/six pups and more.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas how to get something decent for large plants?
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Dan
>
>

You could ask that nursery manager to sell on consignment for a healthy
percentage of the sales price.

[Hope Munro Smith]

"gribbee" > wrote in
:

> "Dan Lawyer" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> We are retired and trying to downsize so we can travel, which means
> getting
>> rid of lots of plants which we have raised for the last 20+ years. A
> couple
>> of years ago, I tried to sell a couple of huge Fica trees in the
>> paper,
> but
>> it seems nobody wants big plants, or expects you to give them away.
>> I got
> a
>> manager of a nursery to give me estimates on what they might be worth
>> if sold in his place, so I have an idea of fair prices, but not a
>> clue how to get it. I thought about trying a local auction on eBay,
>> but plants just don't seem to sell well there.
>>
>> These are beautiful but large plants, including a Plumeria tree about
>> 7' x 6' wide with about 40 branch tips, 7' Hibiscus trees(3), one
>> tri-color has about a 6' circumference, 7' False Aralia, 3' Ming
>> Aralia, 7' Pony Tail Palm, 5' Mediterranean Fan Palm w/six pups and
>> more.
>>
>> Does anyone have any ideas how to get something decent for large
>> plants? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
>>
>> Dan
>>
>>
>
> You could ask that nursery manager to sell on consignment for a
> healthy percentage of the sales price.
>
>
>

Maybe you could have a yard sale and advertise in the paper the types of
plants that you have?

[Dan Lawyer]

I may try that again, but when you put a $150 price on a $200+ Fica tree
that's 8' tall, 3" diameter trunk, that you can sit under in the shade, and
get not even one call, it's kind of discouraging. You can find these plants
in some nurseries and the prices are huge so one would think they are that
valuable, but very few folks want to pay for plants this big.

As I get older, I know why, because you have to deal with them in the
winter. The older you get, the bigger they get, and the heavier they get;>)

Dan

"Hope Munro Smith" > wrote in message
. 83...
> "gribbee" > wrote in
> :
>
> > "Dan Lawyer" > wrote in message
> > .. .
> >> We are retired and trying to downsize so we can travel, which means
> > getting
> >> rid of lots of plants which we have raised for the last 20+ years. A
> > couple
> >> of years ago, I tried to sell a couple of huge Fica trees in the
> >> paper,
> > but
> >> it seems nobody wants big plants, or expects you to give them away.
> >> I got
> > a
> >> manager of a nursery to give me estimates on what they might be worth
> >> if sold in his place, so I have an idea of fair prices, but not a
> >> clue how to get it. I thought about trying a local auction on eBay,
> >> but plants just don't seem to sell well there.
> >>
> >> These are beautiful but large plants, including a Plumeria tree about
> >> 7' x 6' wide with about 40 branch tips, 7' Hibiscus trees(3), one
> >> tri-color has about a 6' circumference, 7' False Aralia, 3' Ming
> >> Aralia, 7' Pony Tail Palm, 5' Mediterranean Fan Palm w/six pups and
> >> more.
> >>
> >> Does anyone have any ideas how to get something decent for large
> >> plants? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
> >>
> >> Dan
> >>
> >>
> >
> > You could ask that nursery manager to sell on consignment for a
> > healthy percentage of the sales price.
> >
> >
> >
>
> Maybe you could have a yard sale and advertise in the paper the types of
> plants that you have?

[Steve Coyle]

Howdy folks,
As far as checking the value of a specimen plant by asking at a
nursery. A lot depends on which nursery you ask. The mark up for the
same plant ( often from the same grower ) can vary a great deal from
nursery to nursery.
When I worked in a retail setting folks would come in to find a
'value' on their plants for insurance purposes, after some sort of
accident, ( painters trashing their gardens, cars out of control) and
of course they would get quotes from the poshest places in town and
avoid Home Depot.

Most nurseries are not interested in consignment plants, for one
thing a certain percentage of plants is just not going to make it long
enough to be sold, and you don't want to take an eight foot fica on
consignment and then have to explain to the owner why it suddenly lost
all it's leaves. For there to be an economic incentive for the nursery
owners the plant owner would have to match wholesale prices, and the
plant owner would likely be shocked as to the the difference between
the wholesale price and the 'value' of the plant.

Finally if you are a nursery that sells $200 dollar Ficas, your
customers are either furnishing out an office, or are high end
interior designer types,or folks who are more interested in instant
gratification and appearance and are willing to pay for it ( I once
had a set of parents from Dallas who stopped into the greenhouse to
pick up $800 dollars worth of large houseplants to spruce up a dorm
room at UT for their daughter who was starting her freshmen year that
weekend.) Folks like that are hard to reach unless you have the
convience and name recognition of an established business.
I would suspect that most gardeners ( like myself, or the kind of
folks who wade through the detrius on this forum ) prefer smaller
plants that they can nurture along themselves which for me is what
gardening is all about. Part of my enjoyment of the eight foot plants
I do have, is the knowledge that I raised them from gallons, or four
inch pots, or even cuttings.

Eighteen years ago I had a house with forty houseplants, some
being Philodendrans in ten gallon containers that reached the ceiling.
When my last child was born I decided I could change diapers or take
care of houseplants but I wasn't going to do both, so that Christmas
everyone I knew got a houseplant with a red bow. In addition to
streamlining my life it helped save me a lot of money to pay for the
diapers.

take care,
Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com

[Dan Lawyer]

Thanks for the great and very true post. I also found that lots of folks
don't have a problem with big plants, when they can get them for free, or
dirt cheap. About all they want to pay is the trouble it is to come and get
them.

Dan

"Steve Coyle" > wrote in message
om...
> Howdy folks,
> As far as checking the value of a specimen plant by asking at a
> nursery. A lot depends on which nursery you ask. The mark up for the
> same plant ( often from the same grower ) can vary a great deal from
> nursery to nursery.
> When I worked in a retail setting folks would come in to find a
> 'value' on their plants for insurance purposes, after some sort of
> accident, ( painters trashing their gardens, cars out of control) and
> of course they would get quotes from the poshest places in town and
> avoid Home Depot.
>
> Most nurseries are not interested in consignment plants, for one
> thing a certain percentage of plants is just not going to make it long
> enough to be sold, and you don't want to take an eight foot fica on
> consignment and then have to explain to the owner why it suddenly lost
> all it's leaves. For there to be an economic incentive for the nursery
> owners the plant owner would have to match wholesale prices, and the
> plant owner would likely be shocked as to the the difference between
> the wholesale price and the 'value' of the plant.
>
> Finally if you are a nursery that sells $200 dollar Ficas, your
> customers are either furnishing out an office, or are high end
> interior designer types,or folks who are more interested in instant
> gratification and appearance and are willing to pay for it ( I once
> had a set of parents from Dallas who stopped into the greenhouse to
> pick up $800 dollars worth of large houseplants to spruce up a dorm
> room at UT for their daughter who was starting her freshmen year that
> weekend.) Folks like that are hard to reach unless you have the
> convience and name recognition of an established business.
> I would suspect that most gardeners ( like myself, or the kind of
> folks who wade through the detrius on this forum ) prefer smaller
> plants that they can nurture along themselves which for me is what
> gardening is all about. Part of my enjoyment of the eight foot plants
> I do have, is the knowledge that I raised them from gallons, or four
> inch pots, or even cuttings.
>
> Eighteen years ago I had a house with forty houseplants, some
> being Philodendrans in ten gallon containers that reached the ceiling.
> When my last child was born I decided I could change diapers or take
> care of houseplants but I wasn't going to do both, so that Christmas
> everyone I knew got a houseplant with a red bow. In addition to
> streamlining my life it helped save me a lot of money to pay for the
> diapers.
>
> take care,
> Steve Coyle
> www.austingardencenter.com

[John T. Jarrett]

Since I killed my 8' Ficus, I would just about kill to get another. Income
level being what it is, my wife would then kill me when I walked in the door
with a plant that costs more than an insurance payment :>) That puts me in
the group of guys that want them free.

So I guess you are right. Probably not the best year to be trying it either.
A couple years ago before the kid got Diabetes and I was making $50K+ --
well, I'd have already asked you what your inventory was.

But nostalgia just withers on the vine.

I could trade computer consulting, deck building, design work, gardening,
tree limb removal, a website with your own email server and domain name and
photo album...

But then again, I was given three six foot citrus trees in 20 & 30 gallon
pots...and missed last Thanksgiving in Dallas after I threw my back out
getting them to the garage before some mid-November freeze. Tell yah, that's
pretty bad missing a whole weekend of fresh food someone else cooked!

I would suggest posting a list to the group with or without prices...you
might get some offers. There's the austin.forsale newsgroup as well where
that would be more appropriate, but not sure if you would get any results
there.

Good luck,
John


"Dan Lawyer" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks for the great and very true post. I also found that lots of folks
> don't have a problem with big plants, when they can get them for free, or
> dirt cheap. About all they want to pay is the trouble it is to come and
get
> them.
>
> Dan

[Tom Mato]

Not quite the same thing but perhaps armed with value from the nursery
man you could donate them to a botanical garden or historic home
society where they could display specimen plants and give you a tax
credit and perhaps a little notice of your donation.