Advice on selling plants grown under water

[evonner]

I have been thinking about selling aquarium plants that have been grown in aquarium water. Cory says this can be lucrative. He says that the plants we purchase are grown on farms from the ground. This is why they have a tendency to melt back when we first introduce them to our aquariums.

My question is: Is this worth it? Is there a demand for plants grown under water?

For an example if Aquarium Co-op sells Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus for $11.99. What do you think I could sell the same product for but that is was propagated and cultured in aquarium water, algae and snail free?

I don't want to breed and sell fish but I believe I have found a niche for growing aquarium plants in water and a way to ship them. I would ship them in aquarium water, not soil and potted. What do you all think? Should I even try this?

 

 

[Pepere]

Snail free I can see as possible.   
 

algae free?  What is your secret to keep a tank entirely Algae free?  That secret would be worth more than the plants you can sell…

 

shipping costs a lot. Materials, time to pack, bring to the shipper.  Refunding customers who kill the plant claiming you sent a dud…

And not all water is the same.  Even though it is thriving in your water, I could put it in mine and experience either stunting or serious melt nearly as bad as putting emersed grown plants in…

[gardenman]

There's a variety of ways commercial plant growers grow aquarium plants, and not all are grown emersed. Many growers in tropical areas grow plants underwater in vats or natural ponds and harvest them from there as needed. Jungle val, hornwort, anacharis/elodea, and others are often harvested from vats or ponds. Some plants still get pulled from wild stock. Stock will get pulled from a vat, pond, lake, river, etc, rinsed, the roots get wrapped in rockwool and stuffed into a pot.

The big commercial growers like Dennerle tend to grow plants emersed and in greenhouses in vast quantities. Due to the quantity of plants they sell their production cost per plant tends to be quite low. A plant you buy for $11 might have cost them fifty cents to produce and ship. Dennerle has given many tours of their greenhouses and a search on YouTube for "Dennerle greenhouse tour" will bring up multiple videos to give you an idea of the scale of your competition.

We had a little mom and pop fish store locally that had old bathtubs in their backyard where they grew plants during the warmer parts of the year. Their production costs were essentially zero as the sun provided the lighting and rain provided the water. They were given the old tubs by a plumber friend.

Sellers on places like eBay, Etsy, and Aquabid often sell stuff they grow in their tanks. (Though commercial retailers are prevalent there these days also.) It's a competitive field to enter. Could you make a profit? Maybe, but it wouldn't be easy. And shipping plants in water can be tricky as water movement can be abrupt in a bag and break more fragile plants.

[Pepere]

You might enjoy watching this video..

for myself, I export a lot of plant volume to the dumpster ever Saturday morning.   
 

It mostly falls in the category of it would take more time than it is worth to me…

 

[JettsPapa]

I sell plants grown under water, both to individuals and to stores.  You don't need to ship them in aquarium water.  That will just increase your shipping costs for no good reason.  Put them in a sealed plastic bag with a wet paper towel in the bag.  For root plants I like to wrap the paper towel around the roots, but for others just fold it up and put it in the tank.  I also like to blow some air in the bag.  It helps keep the plants from getting crushed during shipping.

If you want to sell to stores, you will get less money, but it's a lot less headaches.  If you do want to sell to stores you will do best if the plants are ready to sell.  Have stem plants in bundles of at least five, with a plant weight near the bottom, moss and similar plants in a sealed clear container with a label, etc.