The nursery stock business playbook: where exactly do the profits come from, and where do you win?

“This year Xu Yaopeng made money. While others worry about how to sell their nursery stock, he worries that he doesn't have enough to sell!” Zhang Jiachao, a veteran nursery stock broker in Dingzhou, Hebei, told a special correspondent for China Landscape Web that his old friend Xu Yaopeng has a real head for business, and that his deals reliably turn a profit. What is it that earns Xu Yaopeng such high praise? Recently, a special correspondent for China Landscape Web interviewed him.

Meeting Xu Yaopeng for the first time, he has a fair complexion, bright piercing eyes, and speaks in a gentle, unhurried way. “Actually, I haven't been in this trade long, only about ten years, and my biggest gain hasn't been money, but the experience summed up by the old-timers.” When talking about his nursery stock business, Xu Yaopeng always comes across as modest and low-key. Xu Yaopeng said that when he first entered the trade he was very lost, and simply grew whatever others grew. Later, he realized he couldn't always be a follower. Because when he first started out, he had only a few dozen mu of land, and when selling saplings he always hitched a ride on other people's sales, so the prices were often squeezed very low, which made him feel that standing out with his own unique strengths was the key.

According to Xu Yaopeng, in his fifth year of running the nursery stock business, he handed the family's nursery stock over to his own brothers to manage, and drove around the country himself to inspect nursery-growing areas. “At the time some people said I was neglecting my proper work and just going off to have fun. Actually that's not so. I think nursery stock is a kind of commodity, and you can't just keep your head down and farm; it's time to look up and see the road, to broaden your horizons. Why can't nursery stock sell for a high price? Quality is one aspect, but the most important thing is that the variety doesn't match the market. I traveled everywhere and looked around, with two goals: first, to find varieties that sell well and match demand; second, to learn nursery management know-how. After a year of inspection, I had a solid foundation in my mind; it really was a case of sharpening the axe not delaying the woodcutting. So the next year, I cleared out all the nursery stock I had on hand. Then I began adjusting the nursery's planting structure and optimizing the planting varieties. Having only a few dozen mu of land was very unfavorable for development, so I rented more than one hundred mu more, giving the whole nursery a total of 200 mu of land, which gave much more room to grow. That year, I planted only one variety, Chinese ash, and by the third year I got a good return; later, willows came into favor again for urban greening, so I switched to growing willows, and the harvest was predictably good. The Quyang County where I am is not a main nursery stock production area, but it borders Dingzhou so I can borrow its momentum, so I have to take the “specialized” path, choosing varieties that are different from everyone else's, and be a leader in the industry. This approach has never failed me! Three years ago, amid a chorus of doubts, I planted all 200 mu of my land with Chinese arborvitae, and looking at it now, that move was right again. The market for Chinese arborvitae saplings this year is especially good, one could say demand exceeds supply.” Xu Yaopeng said happily.

The reporter asked Xu Yaopeng what his successful experience in running a nursery is. He said, first, you must study and grasp national policies and keep closely in step with them; second, you must study supply and demand relationships, keep your eyes and ears open on all sides, and constantly collect and organize information. At the same time, you must also think calmly, and be sure not to be impatient and restless, carefully tending and protecting the nursery stock, and you must have the spirit to be the first to take the lead and to press on despite difficulties, only then can you reap abundant rewards.