I suppose you could talk to a plant broker to see if someone would take you on. I mostly buy things THROUGH brokers because it saves me a lot of time. If it's something my broker can't get then I do google search for wholesale nurseries that might have what I want. I don't know if other people do that, but if they do, then having a web presence is a must.

I don't see anything wrong with contacting nurseries directly to let them know you exist and see what they'd be interested in buying and whether they'd be interested in buying from you. If this is a project you can't jump right into if you get immediate interest, then you could talk to nurseries in a market analysis sort of way. This helps you gauge interest, prices, product demands, quantities, etc. so you can plan your business accordingly.

Might I suggest something, based on your description of your operation being small? Rachael has a good point in that most of us use brokers. But there is a large population of small growers as well who sometimes have problems meeting the minimums on cuttings and liners, but would still like to be able to offer good variety in their product line. It could be your niche. Having a niche is a good thing.

Where are these small growers? You have to find them, or make it easy for them to find you. Most of them in this area end up at a Farmer's Market. Go there with flyers in hand and chat them up.

thanks, calliope, for bringing up the issue of minimums. for small growers, that's a huge issue. I often end up with lots of extras that sometimes get sold, and sometimes don't. So if you had lower minimums than others, that would be a great niche! Just be careful that you set practical limits that won't waste your time or incur you unnecessary costs. Minimums are there for a reason.

Another idea for finding the small grower: In my state when I applied for the growers license there was a tick box for whether I wanted my name to appear in the directory of growers in MD. Since every state requires licensing of some sort, perhaps OH keeps a list of all the nurseries as well. If you're close to a border, check with the state nearby too. Heck, even drop ME an email when you get started :)