Am I Allowed to Sell Plants?

[@tockalot]

Thank you for explaining. I was thinking about selling bouquets when I get growing, but just like one or two here and there. I currently have 4 bushes growing and 6 DA roses in spring, I live in zone 8b, so I'm excited. This is my 2nd year of rose growing and I'm addicted already lol 😊

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

That's a great start to your rose collection. And the nice part about selling flowers is that there's generally little in the way of licensing to be considered!

[@theoldguy1956]

Thank you I just got interested this summer and bought some roses and been watching your videos.

[@ClickinChicken]

Good Lord. Don't forget the Yellow copy, the blue Copy and the Pink copy!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Lol Brian. My thoughts exactly! And for what it's worth I'll add that my own Province doesn't require a dedicated nursery license, but still supports a thriving horticulture sector with world-class nurseries & greenhouses.

[@ClickinChicken]

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Yeah, and forgive me. It's a different bit if you hope to make a business and hope to sell. Different ball game.

[@rishtunkhwa8990]

As a Canadian backyard gardening enthusiast , I find difficulties in ordering plants from USA nurseries (plants not available in Canada). One reason is that US nurseries don't want to bother wth phyto-sanitory certificates for backyard gardeners. There needs to be some solution in place to help back-yard gardeners to procure plants from USA to avoid frustration by retiree hobby gardeners.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

I'm with you on this one - there'd be more opportunity for gardeners and growers on both sides of the border if they could find a way to make plant movement requirements easier to fulfil.

[@OakKnobFarm]

In New Hampshire, USA there is a state permit required for a small fee, and if you have small sales volume the fee is waived. There are separate permits for plant and seed sales

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks so much for filling in the blanks for New Hampshire - I know there are number of states that require a separate license for seed sales.

[@featherfreebird8083]

Wonderful video. Sharing this for sure. Thanks so much Jason. 💕

[@christiensgarden3325]

Thank you for covering this.. always wanted to know that information..

[@pintsizestories196]

Very informative.

[@dao8805]

How generous of you to tackle an issue like this for your viewers! Having some way to make a little income from my favorite hobby is a thought that has been ruminating in the back of my mind for some time. I just love propagating plants and have a decent collection to work with but selling is another matter. I also like to hybridize daylilies. Yet, I have never sold a single plant. Mostly I just keep expanding my garden beds to accommodate all my plants or I give them to friends and neighbors. Still, I think you have planted the selling seed in my mind so now I am going to think more seriously about this and look up my state's requirements. If nothing else, it would be great to make enough to support my plant collecting habit :) Much appreciation to you from Minnesota zone 4a, USA.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

It's another side benefit: pretty much all of my yard & garden expenses have become tax deductible!

[@nithyoutitham6068]

Thank you. Good info.

[@JS-mh1fh]

In the U.S. state of Indiana, I have a license to grow/propagate, and one to sell. One of them I don't need if I only grow annuals. I only sell plants at local farmers cooperatives or a farmers market, no direct sales unless by prior arrangement and with delivery since I live in a municipality and didn't want to add that sort of insurance. I have no signage, although carry a brand identity, have a website, and sometimes use social media. Since I am also starting a specialty seed business (tomatoes with added health benefits, aka functional food) there is also a state regulation for that, although an inspection is only for perennials sold, whether I propagate or not. If I resell, such as apple trees, then I must grow them for a certain length of time before I can sell them. And as for seeds, the package label must include certain information, such as germination rate. I have an unrelated question, Jason. I dug up and replanted a rose for a friend as you instructed in another video. It grew fabulously this summer, thank you! The question is, it's a red knock-out(?) rose, but it's now pink. I'm confused why the bloom color changed. Would you know why?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks for sharing the details on Indiana and the examples from your own business. I'm sure others will find it helpful as well. A color change can mean a few different things and I'll link a video with some of the explanations. Depending on how it presents, my first thought might be that seasonal changes can appear quite dramatic, and a knockout that looks red in summer might even appear pink in the cool of fall. That said, there's also the matter of own-root suckers (not usually on a Knockout, as they generally grow on their own roots) or a sport/mutation, but that usually shows up just on one stem rather then the whole shrub. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKjVd2Sifrh2gcksi=KFvNJD_PjQHfPtmh

[@judymckerrow6720]

Thank you Jason. 🎃🍁💚🙃

[@amandajones661]

Great video!!!

[@dewainkoester1026]

Thanks for your help! Much appreciated!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

You're so welcome!

[@thecakepopsistars]

Awesome video. Thank you for talking about this subject that is seldom covered yet essential for those of us considering farming / nursery business. 🇨🇦z5b

[@katlynn808]

Off topic, but that pink cleome behind you around the 5min mark is really lovely!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

They sure do keep going late into the season - just blooming further and further up the stem!

[@bjrockensock]

You forgot to mention the patents on hybrids and the sales of those clones. You must purchase the rights to propagate these, and some of those patents are controlled by corporations and other patent-holders. When you buy and propagate a plant with a hybrid name, not a general cutting of an orange rose but a cutting of a patented orange rose like "Tangerine Skies". You generally purchase a bundle of tags with the name "Tangerine Skies" to govern the propagation of patented materials. If you have an heirloom, unnamed variety (like when you collect seed from the wild, with a permit from your state's department of natural resources, or take cuttings from an established garden and grow them on), you may sell those as an orange rose, for example, but not as the tagged varietal "Tangerine Skies" without paying the royalties and purchasing name tags and other associated marketing materials like pots, stickers, and other branded products. This makes a huge difference as plant breeders rely on those branded tools to fund their efforts in introducing new varietals that are superior to heirloom varieties in specific ways like disease resistance, better or larger blooms, extended bloomtimes, or similar qualities.

[@OfftoShambala]

I’m in AZ… I spoke to the ag people… in 2020, you can sell nursery plants without a cert or lic or whatever they call it… however, it was pointed out that the credential is good to have for ‘street cred’ essentially. Now there could have been a volume limit, but I really don’t recall. But, you’d still need the tax biz lic situation for state and city… but that’s for any business.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks for the clarification on the rules in AZ. It looks like they have a Nursery Stock License, but as you say it's voluntary unless you want to be able to sell plants out of state, and yes, probably is useful for credibility as well.

[@bradcarby3765]

My favourite reg we deal with is that no worker should have to walk more than 90 metres to a toilet. So, we end up with this weird situation where we have all these portable toilets spread around the place and have to pick them up with a tractor and move them as the pickers move from field to field.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Wow. That seems a bit over the top. It's amazing the sort of things bureaucrats will see fit to write regulations about.

[@russellmz]

you can almost guarantee some business owner in the past had employees hiking half a mile to go to the bathroom.

[@halleyorion]

90 meters is pretty ridiculous, though. That's the length of a long garden hose. I live on a 2-acre block, and I couldn't legally work in parts of my own garden.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

@russellmz no doubt is came from some scenario like that. Pretty funny that regulators have to dictate common sense: no employer wants to pay for workers walking back and forth to distant washrooms (or the long disruption to work it causes) so you'd *hope* that the farm would find a reasonable balance, and it wouldn't need to come from a rule book.

[@bradcarby3765]

@@halleyorion The actual funny part is the whole place is surrounded by bushland so no one uses the toilets, they just go wherever.

[@vintagelady1]

Very interesting to hear what all you have to do & the benefits you get. I'd be curious about the laws/rules relating to propgation of "copyrighted plants---how is that managed, do you get permission from, say, David Austin for roses or Proven Winners to propagate & sell their plants, do they charge a fee, how does that work.? I know at some point, at least for roses, the exclusivity is limited to a certain # of years after introduction & the rose becomes like "public domain." Have you bred any roses that you have exclusive rights to? Etc!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

That 20 year period of exclusive propagation rights applies across a wide range of plants. After it expires, anyone can propagate the variety - and I pretty much only grow the unpatented/expired varieties. If you want to grow and sell licensed plants (still protected) you have two basic options: 1) buy the starter plants from a licensed grower (I do this for a number of newer "branded" perennials and for some Weeks, Kordes and Star roses), and 2) seek an agreement with the company that owns the patents to become a licensed propagator yourself. That agreement usually gives them some access to your business records and/or some right to inspect, and sometimes has some restrictive terms on marketing and business practices, but for the most part it's a financial agreement so that they can collect their royalties.

[@vintagelady1]

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Thanks, you are one of the most helpful & knowledgeablerose growers on KZbin & I so much appreciate the effort you make to reply to viewers while running a business, caring for such a lovely farm, & filming for KZbin. I really wish I could buy from you here in the states!

[@flowergrower1247]

Just look at what happened to the potato growers in PEI and how the Canadian Government (CFIA) threw them under the bus. Same thing when Canadian cattle producers found a single case of BSE in their herd in 2003, Canadian Government (CFIA) threw the entire beef industry under the bus. We need protection for our agriculture producers and we do not get it. They won't even give greenhouses a carbon tax break.

[@joydavis4087]

Where was the feds and their regulations when they introduced kudzu and Japanese beetles???? 😡

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Right... apparently not so effective at preventing serious problems, but most regulations say plants have to be "pest free" when sold. Which means a lot of small growers spending efforts trying to wipe out common pests (typically aphids, spider mites, thrips) when those pests are native and/or endemic.

[@donamills]

My guess is since kudzu was not introduced in the United States until 1930s and the Japanese beetle didn't arrive here until 1916 maybe the regulations weren't in place to prevent these issues. Or you can ask yourself how did these species get into the US or North America? Was it the plant transportation or was it through other goods? Just a thought.

[@joydavis4087]

@@donamills I’m sure you’re right. It’s just so annoying and destructive. The presence of kudzu significantly reduces property value in my area. Very often, property with a massive kudzu infestation is unsellable based on the near impossible task of eradication. And I have given up growing roses because of Japanese beetles. Battling this pest is tiring, expensive and all consuming.

[@nikkireigns]

What about native perennials? Do they fall under the same regulations?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Hi Nikki. The plants covered by nursery regulations varies from place to place, but generally speaking they wouldn't have a special category for native perennials but would write the laws more generally. Using Wisconsin for example, 94.10 (f) “Nursery stock” means plants and plant parts that can be propagated or grown, except that “nursery stock” does not include seeds, sod, cranberry cuttings, annuals, or cut Christmas trees. And in WI they set it at requiring a license for anything above $250 in sales, but a fee of $40 covers up to $5000 in annual sales.

[@acasburn1460]

I’am in Sydney Australia…no way I can get any live plants from you guys.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

You're right about that! I can't even take on the extra paperwork to get across the US border 15 minutes away!

[@peanutaxis]

I thought this was going to be all about patented or copywrited plants. It would be good to hear about that.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

It's a good topic and I've covered it before (a long time ago, so maybe time to address it again): kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIjMfHd3nZKDn5osi=5sDXunkxfomD_72l&t=407

[@WillWilsonII]

As someone who lives in NC, thank you for that information!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Glad you found it useful - I was happy to hear that small growers in NC get a little leeway on selling plants without a license.

[@tracer0017]

We need protection from our own governments

[@burntjohn]

who voted for any of this tyranny?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Lol John. Our "friends" in Congress, Parliament, State and Provincial Legislatures.