Nursery and Green Houses

Plants at a nursery are often grown in a green house. The green house is usually a structure made of glass or specialized plastic to help capture the sun’s rays. Green houses also protect young plants and shrubs from cold frigid weather while at the same time providing access to light and clean air. Most modern greenhouses have state of the art equipment with features like automatic temperature control, improved ventilation, alternating light and day cycles, semi computerized watering systems. Some green houses also have roofs that can open to permit “toughening” of plants without the need to manually transfer the plants outside on a regular basis.

Running a Nursery

Running a nursery is hard work and required hands on labor. Even though many equipments/systems have become efficient, a lot of other basic work still requires labor. Running a nursery is also time-consuming because not all plants can be cared for in a similar method or at the same time. Different plants require diverse conditions to grow so plant care in a nursery requires meticulous observation, sound judgment and some manual skills. To be a first rate nursery, one also requires good judgment and aptitude when it comes to selecting appropriate plants for sell.
Even when plants are ready for sell, business is seasonal, with most consumers buying in spring and autumn. One can never foretell when there will be a demand for the plant. Further, the environment (e.g. drought, frost), temperature, cheaper overseas products, and outbreaks of diseases also affect plant production. Running a nursery is always linked with certain risks and nothing is guaranteed.

When plants are ready, they are sold in several ways. Nurseries may sell some annuals in large trays, flat trays, peat pots, porcelain, or plastic pots. Each tray may contain only one or several plants. Most perennials, shrubs and woody plants may be sold in either pots, bare root or balled and in several sizes, varying from liners to mature trees.