Growing Daylilies Together

Daylilies can be be an investment and if you pick the right one, you can make some money.  Daylily prices are determined by demand.  A new introduction can range from $75 to $450 or even higher in some cases.  Some excellent daylillies are in limited supply and demand the highest price.  You may be a collector, or Hybridizer or just an addict like me.  When you purchase more expensive plants they are from more modern breeding and are often more prolific bloomers, with more disease resistant foliage, beautiful flowers that stand up to sun and weather better, and have more reblooming traits.

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Debra Scott said:

All products have a pricing "lifecycle" All products, daylilies or otherwise, have a lifecycle which consists of phases of value. The peak value will be at the introduction time. Relatively few cutomers buy at this stage. As the availability rises the demand may also rise for a few years as the plant price begins to adjust downward to reach a broader, more general consumer base. Eventually it reaches the "volume" market where the pricing is based purely upon the cost of operations, the profit margin sought by the seller, and the price set by competing sellers. It may remain in this stage indefinitely until there is no further demand for the plant. Some plants have enough value that collectors and hybridizers will find renewed interest in them even once they have reached the historic stage. At this point the price may again rise slightly due to limited availability. A product's monetary "value" during a given phase is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it at that time in the product's lifecycle. Each phase has an acceptable range of pricing and in most cases a different customer group. For example, new daylily introductions typically range from $50-$250 in the first year of introduction. A few with exceptional breakthrough characteristics may go for higher prices. In general, the reputation of the hybridizer (based on past works), the amount of the plant available, and the value of the plant to the "early adopter" customer base (ie. its uniqueness, beauty, sales value, or hybridizing value) determine this initial price offering. How long the plant retains this pricing is more than just a factor of time. For a very unique or valuable breakthrough plant, over time, the demand grows through increased awareness of its virtue. If, 3 years out, the amount of the plant available is still below the volume of those desiring it, the price may remain high. If a competing introduction comes in that is more available or more "valuable" in terms of traits, some of the customers who were waiting for the price to drop will begin to move on and thus with lowered demand the price will finally begin to drop on this favored daylily.

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December 26, 2009
Votes: +2

Carol (Seajay) Mock said:

Daylilies as a business? Phillip Sims' comment makes sense, especially the issue of availability. The 'older' a cultivar is, generally speaking, the more fans it has produced, thus making it more available for being shared. In other words, the supply goes up. Meanwhile (or eventually) the demand for it goes down, no matter how available it has become, because many people only like to buy what's new. This leads to an 'over-supply' of the cultivar and bottom-of-the-barrel prices. As my husband has said many times, growing daylilies for sale is not a very great business plan!

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December 09, 2009
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Phillip Sims said:

	Price or Cost Three factors determine Price. Complexity of bloom, Availability of cultivar, & often, peer approval.
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November 18, 2009
Votes: +4

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