Rooftop gardening started as a hobby, now selling trees worth 2 lakh rupees a month

• Ranges include Purple Delight, Murasaki, Hakuho, Crassula, Jade Plant, etc.
• The price of each tree is 100 to 30 thousand taka.
• Rented a roof for five thousand taka per month for commercial tree production.
• Apart from Dhaka, trees are sent by courier to various districts of the country including Chittagong-Sylhet.

It started as a hobby. And the hobby was to have some exceptional plants in my collection. So he made a garden on the roof. This fondness for trees once turned into a business. For that, Yasmin Khan is now very focused on the production of tree seedlings by renting the roof. Through a Facebook page called 'Ranguli', he sells various types of ornamental plants.

During the conversation, Yasmin Khan told Prothom Alo that Ranguli means the use of colors. Various colored flowers and foliage plants are available on this page. At present, trees are being sold for about two lakh rupees per month.

Her husband KM Moinuddin joined this initiative of Yasmin Khan. While growing a hobby garden, they realize that people have a lot of interest in exceptional plants. Smaller plants and hanging tub plants are in high demand especially for house and balcony decoration. By exploiting that interest, they commercialize the hobby garden.

They built a collection of trees on the roof of their house in Rampura of the capital during Corona. But due to space crunch and sharing the roof with others, complications arose. Then he rented the roof of a nearby building. The monthly rent is five thousand rupees. Now that's where the planting, care, taking photos and videos for sale online, and shipping the trees to buyers takes place. Two people are also kept for work convenience. Yasmin Khan said, 'Hobby once turned into addiction. Finally I turned the addiction into a profession.

New seedling from the tree

One of the tricks of the Ranguli business is to cut the branches or branches of the tree to make new seedlings. Yasmin Khan said that the branches of many trees can be cut into small parts and planted in the tub. New plants are formed from there with proper care. Thus it is possible to create multiple trees from one tree.

In this case, he gave an example of a tree named 'Ruby Necklace'. The plant looks beautiful when placed in a hanging tub. Its color takes on a purple hue when exposed to sunlight. He said that the demand for the tree is also good. Depending on the size and bushiness, the price of such a tree can be 900 to 1000 taka including the tub.

According to Yasmin, production can be increased if new seedlings are made by taking regular cuttings from a tree. As a result, there is no need to increase the collection by buying new plants every time. Production and sales volume depends on plant variety, growth rate and care.

Variety of plants including succulents, cactus

There are various types of ornamental plants including succulents, cactuses in the garden. According to Yasmin, there are varieties of succulents like Purple Delight, Murasaki, Hakuho, Crassula, Arun Pei, Rose, Mountain Rose, Anonium and Jade Plant. In total, they currently have about 300 varieties of succulents in their collection.

The price is determined according to the type, size and maturity of the tree. Usually the price of small succulents is 100 rupees. Large and rare varieties of succulents can cost between Tk 20,000 and Tk 30,000. On the other hand, the price of cactus starts from 150 rupees. Depending on the size and variety, the price of some cactus is 5 thousand to 8 and a half thousand taka.

Yasmin also showed another method of plant propagation. Some of the succulents in his collection grow new plants from the leaves. When a seedling starts growing from a leaf, it can be grown separately. Yasmin Khan said, these trees grow relatively fast. Seedlings made from suitable cuttings can be marketable within two to three months.

SOLD ONLINE

Online is the main medium for selling colors. Buyers placed orders after pictures and videos of the trees were published on social media. Immediate parcel delivery services are taken to deliver trees to different areas of Dhaka city.

Yasmin Khan said that care should be taken that the tree is not broken or damaged during transportation. For this, trees are packed in cartons. In many cases within Dhaka, trees are delivered to the customer within a few hours or a day of receiving the order.

They sent trees to different districts of the country outside of Dhaka. Relatively more orders come from Chittagong and Sylhet. But in many cases the plants are packed separately from the tubs to avoid damage to the plants during shipping to distant districts. Apart from online, they also participate in some tree fair twice a year.

Low Maintenance

Customer care is also important in the hobby plant business. Yasmin said that the leaves of succulents and cactus have the ability to retain water. As a result, they do not require frequent watering like some other plants.

According to Yasmin, some varieties of these plants can survive without water for 10 to 15 days. However, care requirements depend on plant variety, soil mix, light and weather.

For plants, instead of normal soil, they make a special medium by mixing sand, vermicompost, rice husk and brick chips. Change the tub and soil mix after one to two years depending on plant growth and root condition.

KM Moinuddin, who works in a multinational organization, is now looking at this initiative as an alternative career. He said that if there is any problem in the job, he will give full time here.