Me and my Mother Are soon starting a greenhouse And would love to know what people want. Mainly we will be dealing with rare,hard to find and exotic plants/bushes and shrubs. As a child I worked in my cousin's greenhouse as did mom and since then it has been my dream to own one Right now I am just looking to see what people would Like before we start ordering stock and planting. Also If anyone has any green house equipment for sale. please let me know as we need that too.. Thanks!

Best of luck to you, that's not an easy venture these days.

I suggest reading Tony Avent's book, "So you want to start a nursery", which has a lot of good information in it.

Different and exotic seems to be a niche business, so I suggest having some of the usual boring stuff (LOL) as well. I love any plant that's different or unusual, and many of the online nurseries that specialized in them have gone out of business, I've also known people that have tried to start an exotic nursery and failed for lack of customers. You and your mom seem to have good experience, which is great!

Sign up for business gardening magazines like Greenhouse Grower, Green Profit, and Grower Talks. Good information, and a classified ad section where you might find equipment. I think Poly-Tex is in MN so you might look to them for equipment, freight costs would be lower.

You might also think about having a landscaping division down the road, or partner with a landscaper/designer. Start up costs are probably high, but it can be very profitable.

Are you planning on selling local or will you be selling online? If you are just selling local then our wants would not likely do you any good.

Whatever you sell make sure it is hardy in Minnesota your customer base will last much longer if folks are assured the plants will come back after winter also are not invasive and shrubs will at least grow for a couple of years. I live in MN and speak from many years of gardening experience. I use to purchase from a place that sold unusual plants, shrubs and trees, there are several that have survived the test of time.

Betty has an excellent point. I used to sell unusuals and exotics at our farmer's market. Most customers said the same thing: "How pretty/cool! Is it hardy?"

Horntoad said:Are you planning on selling local or will you be selling online? If you are just selling local then our wants would not likely do you any good.

Mom would be doing the local and I will be handling the online sales/packing and shipping as I have experience with shipping fragile and live items. Online is an even better way to make a profit vs just local.