Succulent plants become a new entrepreneurial choice for a post-90s young man
“I never expected that the more than 700,000 yuan invested in April last year would already be paid back.” Early in the morning on June 27, the young couple Feng Zixuan and Zhuang Lijun were already busy. One is 28 and the other 23. In popular slang, they are two “young hunks,” and what helped them get rich quickly is “little succulents.”
The “little succulents” they refer to are a type of succulent plant with a cute appearance, diverse colors and a petite form. They have now not only taken over the desks of many urban white-collar workers, but have also become the new favorite of some veteran enthusiasts, and are very popular on the market.
“That is exactly why the two of us set our sights on thisentrepreneurial project.” Feng Zixuan said. Being young means not being afraid of failure; once you are sure, just do it! Last year, the couple postponed their wedding, sold the newly purchased marital home, invested more than 700,000 yuan, rented two 1000 sq m greenhouses at the Luxin Flowers and Horticulture Base in Shenbei New District, Shenyang, taught themselves the techniques, and began growing “little succulents.”
In their greenhouses grow more than 100 varieties of “little succulents.” Feng Zixuan said, “Succulent plants are quite easy to care for, as long as the temperature and moisture are controlled well. Propagation mostly uses leaf cuttings, the technical threshold is not high, and they can reach salable standard in four or five months. Now ‘little succulents’ are especially popular online. Generally one pot can sell for 20 to 30 yuan, and the most expensive ones can reach tens of thousands of yuan.”
Feng Zixuan showed this reporter a succulent plant called “Cat Claw Variegata.” “You see there is a yellow stripe on it. This is produced by natural mutation, with a probability of only one in ten thousand, so the price is also high.”
This reporter learned that there are 770 greenhouses at the Luxin Flowers and Horticulture Base, of which more than 300 are used for growing succulent plants. Base manager Pan Lianxiang said: “There are more than 2000 succulent varieties grown at the base, and it has become the largest succulent plant production base in Northeast China. Now the base offers a preferential policy of ‘free use of greenhouses for two years,’ attracting many post-80s and post-90s ‘young hunks’ to start businesses here.”
Most of the growers of “little succulents” are young people born in the 1980s and 1990s. Besides being willing to endure hardship, they also dare to innovate and are happy to share. In a greenhouse called “Rou Huo Duo Jiang,” post-80s returnee Liu Xiaochi keeps trying to cultivate new varieties. He said: “To make the succulent industry bigger, we must take the long view. Simple copying definitely will not work. Only by innovating varieties can we remain invincible.” Mu Xili has 3 greenhouses and is the most senior succulent plant grower at the base. His family has the most and most complete varieties, and he does not hesitate to share them with other “succulent friends.” He said: “As the base continues to grow in scale, only by growers ‘forming groups’ can everyone benefit.”
Yao Xinyou, a relevant person in charge of Yinjia Subdistrict, said: “At present, the flowers and horticulture base has become an innovation and entrepreneurship base for young people. The succulent plants they produce are sold through the internet to all parts of the country, and the output value has exceeded 100 million yuan. In the next step, through scientific management, we will realize a new pattern of enterprise scale, industrial chain development and market networking, and develop ‘little succulents’ into a big industry.”