How to Start a Backyard Bamboo Nursery for $800 – Profitable Plants

Growing bamboo for profit is a fun way to make good money. It’s fairly easy too. Best of all, it doesn’t have high start-up costs. In fact, you can start a bamboo business for around $800. Here’s how:

Bamboo is one of the most-used plants. Over half the population uses it in one way or another. It’s also the world’s fastest-growing plant. The record for one bamboo plant was 47.6 inches in 24 hours! Plus, it has thousands of uses. Scaffolding, garden art, bird stands, fencing, flooring and more. That’s why it’s in such high demand. So many people use it, and there are so many uses for it.

Your start-up costs will mainly be the cost of the plant starts. Try buying 20 different popular varieties to start out. How can you find out what’s popular? Visit your local garden center and find out what their top sellers are, what they keep a high number of in stock. Talk to landscapers and commercial growers, and see what they’re typically buying and using. Grow what sells. Follow that advice, and you’ll stand a greater chance at big profits.

Once you’ve found 20 varieties you’d like to grow, you’re ready to purchase your starting stock. Many nurseries don’t carry a huge selection, so you might have to try wholesale growers. If you don’t know of any in your area, our new bamboo book has resources to help you with that.

After you’ve planted your starting stock, be patient. Add organic slow-release fertilizer as necessary. During the spring of the second year, you should now be able to divide your plants to triple or quadruple your stock of bamboo plants. Dividing your plants is how you really get your money’s worth from your plants. When you notice that new clumps are emerging from the ground, divide and re-plant. Remember to keep the rhizomes moist before and after planting.

For the bamboo plants you plan to sell, consider propagating them in containers. Container-grown plants can be sold almost any time of the year. Remember to use containers (such as pots and planters) that can “breathe,” as this will help provide for sufficient water drainage. In just a quarter acre it’s possible to fit 2400 containers. The current average price of a bamboo plant is $30 a container. That means it’s possible to make $72,000 with just a quarter acre of growing space.

One grower was able to start his bamboo business with free bamboo. He offered to do free pruning of bamboo, and then saved and repotted the rhizomes to resell the next year. He now is growing over 50 varieties and makes $80,000 a year.

Without spending thousands of dollars, you can start your own bamboo-growing business. Remember to grow what people want to buy, and to be patient. Soon you could be making the kind of income you’ve always wanted.