Here in this topic we discuss flower farming techniques and business plans so that it may help somewhat to start your flower farming business.
Flowering crops like Gerberas, Carnation, etc. are grown in greenhouses. The open field flower crops are Roses, Chrysanthemum, Gaillardia, Marigold, Aster, and Tuberose etc.
Scope of Flower Cultivation
The scope for flower cultivation is increasing due to different uses of flowers as its aesthetic sense and colour.
Several flowering plants and their products, such as bouquets, garlands etc are required in several functions and celebrations.
Landscaping has become an integral part of urbanisation, which adds aesthetic value to a place, protects the environment, reduces air and also noise pollution, and promotes ecotourism.
People now decorate their home with different flowering plants in their hanging and roof gardening etc.
Flowers and their parts are also used in different value added products like scent making, you can also go for honey bee cultivation near your floriculture area.
Requirements for Successful Flower Farming Business
Flower plants can be growing in pots, on the terrace, in open fields, greenhouse, and Polyhouse methods.
Flower plant cultivation in the greenhouse or polyhouse method is very famous and convenient.
Cut flowers are a perfect cash crop because the plants are very easy to grow, produce quickly, and can supply a good income throughout the growing season with low startup costs.
Some considerations must be required before starting a flower farming business
Grow a quality product
Sell the crop
Handling, storing and transportation
Production efficiency
Marketing
Business management
Profit making
Tips for Starting Flower Farming Business
Site Selection for flower farming
Selection of sites is important for the flower farming business. Provide a full sunlight site for flower plants that need it and shade sites for those that need shade.
Start your farming in a small space and then get bigger as you get more comfortable. If you start a garden in too big space, you might get discouraged during initial maintenance.
Find out what type of light is best for the flower plants to grow easily. If you plan on planting different types of flower plants, choose plants with similar light or shade requirements so that they grow equally well in the same site.
Land preparation for flower farming
Generally farming starts with healthy soil. Most flowering plants do best in soil that are loose and well-drained with a lot of organic material in it.
you may add some compost materials to improve the soil structure soil nutrients capacity.
Huge organic matter allows air, water, worms, and roots to move freely inside the soil.
Fertilizer requirement for flower farming
A few perennial flower plants are heavy feeders and they require more nutrients than other perennial plants to grow well. Lilies, tall phlox, and delphiniums are examples of perennial flower plants that need a little more fertilizers to grow well.
Other perennial plants don’t need much fertilizer and they may perform poorly if over-fertilized.
Generally, a single season application of a balanced fertilizer NPK works for the heavy feeders.
Adding compost material also enriches the soil's physical and nutrient capacity.
Watering Flower Plants Regularly
Water requirements of individual plants are different from each other. But water regularly to flower plants to keep them healthy and fresh.
Check regularly soil moisture and water accordingly.
Adding organic matter will improve soil water holding capacity hence water expenditure will be less.
You may install automated watering equipment like drip and sprinkler which also lowers the watering expenditure and enhances efficient watering.
Organic Cultivation
Your flower products must be natural, which means you use natural pesticides instead of chemicals to get rid of pests.
These chemicals may damage your flowers instead of helping them. So use natural pesticides instead of chemical ones.
Use natural predators like praying mantises and ladybugs. These insects prey on the different pests of the plants.
Practice of organic cultivation will lower your farm expenditure in the long run.
Choosing Of Flower Plants You Want To Cultivate
Profit is the main aim in flower farming business. Therefore, selection of the right flower is important according to market demand.
Grow plants as the needs of the market and your customer.
Most commercially cultivated flowers in India are Rose, Gerbera, Tulip, Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Orchid, Lilliam, Gladiolus, Jasmine, Anthurium, and Hydrangea, etc.
Cultivation Methods
Open Farming may be good for flower farming but requires high maintenance, labor, and the possibility of more pests attack. Also have to face problems related to weather conditions.
Controlled environment conditions can be a great way to increase profits in flower cultivation. The nature of control environment will determine the investment for your farming.
There are different options to creating a controlled environment. You could have a simple greenhouse or a greenhouse with a watering system is more helpful.
Controlled environment conditions enable you to sell your product in the right time and in fresh conditions to get more profit.
Traditional Flowers Vs Modern Flowers
The continuous and steady demand for traditional flowers comes from the use for religious purposes, and decoration purposes. This demand is mainly strong in Indian states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and West Bengal.
The demand for modern flowers comes from different institutions like hotels, guest houses, and marriage gardens. The demand is mainly in urban areas. The price of these flowers also depends on their demand and availability.
Steps to Follow for Flower Farming Business Plan
Decide the business objective first. According to the availability and demand of flowers in your location, you will need to select what types of flowers you want to cultivate.
Specify your target market and advertising strategy. You should calculate the startup budget including farm set up, employee, and raw materials and expected return on investment. A proper flower farming business plan will help you to get finance from banks also.
Visit and meet with people, who already own their flower businesses. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses and do your work accordingly.
Obtain sufficient knowledge and capital to start the flower business and operate until it makes a profit. Unless You are quite lucky, your flower farming business will not make profit the first year and may not for several years. Some major expenses include irrigation, greenhouses for production, Fertilizer ,Labour etc.
Analyse if there is a sufficient market for the products or services of your flower business. Define the location you target to reach. Direct retail will depend on people who can readily drive to your business. Close to a metropolitan area will be helpful for you.
Your potential customer base may be big enough but may not be able to support your flower business if there are too many competitors already in the market. Analyze your competition in the market and remember lower prices will not work in the long run. That strategy may works for large companies who can produce or sell large amounts of products and also services.
The primary customers are those who you expect will buy most of your products. Secondary customers are those who can purchase some of your products and services but not in large scale to support your business. You should always consider secondary customers, especially in case your primary customers fail to support your business, but do not pay so much attention to secondary customers that you lose your primary customers.
Always try to deliver quality and fresh products to customers and manage a healthy relation with them and also try to advertise about your business in local media which may help to drive potential customers for you.
Most Common Flowers grown as business in India
Most common flowers grown in India for business purposes are as follows
Ageratum
Carnations
Gerbera
Lavender
Jasmine
Orchid
Rose
Sunflowers
Peony
Tulip
Violets
Zinnias
Gladiolus
Bottom Line
Hope this article may give some ideas regarding starting your flower farming business. Flower farming has a great market potential round the year. So you may start this business with a proper plan to generate a good profit. Thank you.
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