Specialty Cut Flower Production and Marketing - UC Agriculture and ...

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pleased to have an opportunity topurchase starts of the same.• Potted plants. Consider puttingsome of those bulbs in pots, growingthem, and selling them asblooming plants.• Bedding plants. If you start yourown cut flowers from seed, youmight save a few of the same foryour customers so they can havetheir own cutting garden. It mayseem strange, but some of the bestfl ower customers at a farmers’ marketalso have fl ower gardens. Theyjust don’t want to cut from them.• Garlic braids, swags, wreaths, driedfl owers—and ornamental peppers,grasses, grains, and okra—are naturalsfor crafting. For ideas andinstructions, look for books in yourlocal public library, or go on-line.• Organically or naturally grown.Customers concerned about ournatural environment will appreciateknowing that you use farming practicesthat protect it. Organic certification may be a way to add valueto your fl owers. For local markets,talking with your customers aboutyour production practices may beeven more valuable.Production BasicsPlan for Season-SpanningBloomsDo you want year-round fl ower production?Or frost to frost? Or just one big splash?Planning is important regardless of yourchoice, and especially critical if you wantyear-round blooms.Steve and Susan Bender of HomesteadFlower Farm near Warrenton, North Carolina,presented their planting and harvestchart at the 2002 Southern SustainableAgriculture Working Groupconference and trade show. It is presentedon the opposite page as an example. Differencesin location and climate, market,and personal choices will result in differentschedules.Consider sequential planting and use ofcultivars that have different lengths of timeto maturity to get a continuous supply ofyour most popular cuts. Gladioli, for example,are ready to cut about 80 days fromplanting. You can make your fi rst plantingin mid-spring, and sequential plantings atintervals of a week or a month, ending atleast 80 days before the fi rst frost in thefall. Sunflowers, which are usually harvestedas one cut stem, also need sequentialplantings for a continuous supply. Check theinformation provided by your seed supplierfor length of time needed from planting toharvest; the time varies by cultivar.Soil-FertilityIf at all possible, fi nd a location with welldrained,sandy loam soil, high in organic matter,and with a neutral pH. If you don’t haveperfect soil, you can improve it with covercrops, compost, and mulching with organicmatter. Soil preparation is the most importantjob you will do in the flower garden.Alex and Betsy Hitt of Peregrine Farm inNorth Carolina have spent more than 10years developing a system that maintainsor improves soil organic matter content bythe conscientious use of summer and wintercover crops combined with minimal tillage.Their planting rotation, which includesvegetables, fl owers, and cover crops, is presentedin the ATTRA publication MarketGardening: A Start-Up Guide. The Hitts useseveral tools and concepts to make the systemwork:• Soil testing is done on each rotationalunit every late summer/earlyfall.• Organic matter is grown in placerather than imported.• The 10-year rotation is designedboth for maximum diversity fordisease and insect management,and, as much as practical, toalternate heavy feeders with lightfeeders, deep-rooted crops withPage 10 ATTRA Specialty Cut Flower Production and Marketing
Homestead Flower Farm Cut Flower Schedules1st Seeding or Planting Varieties Transplant HarvestAugustTray SeedCentuarea macrocephala, NE Asters October AprilSwt Wm biennial, Hesperis, Foxglove October May-JuneCanterbury Bells, Trachelium, Delphinium October May-JuneYellow Yarrow, Baptisia October May-JuneOct-NovTray SeedFeverfew, Gyp, Stock, Larkspur Dec-Jan April-JuneSwt Wm Annual, Godetia, Calendula Dec-Jan April-JuneOct-NovDirect SeedNovemberTransplants,Root DivisionsNigella, Ammi majus, Heliopsis Dec-Jan May-JuneBupleurum, Bells of Ireland, Snaps Dec-Jan May-JuneSaponaria, Campanula, Clary Sage Dec-Jan June-JulyColorado Yarrow Dec-Jan June-JulyLisianthus Feb-Mar June-AugLarkspurMay-JuneTulip, Dutch Iris, AlliumApril-MayBarley, Tritcale, Rye-Clover*April-MayCrocosmia, Monarda, Mtn MintJune-AugSilver King Artemesia, TansyJune-AugPysostegia, Red Hot PokerJune-AugPlanning isimportantregardless of yourchoice, and especiallycritical if youwant year-roundblooms.Phlox, Peonies, Lamb’s Ear, Salvia PerennialMay-JuneJanuaryTray SeedAgastache, Buddleia. Monarda lambado April May-JulyRudbeckia, Scabiosa, Annual Salvias, Helenium April June-AugSafflower March JuneStatice, Snaps April June-JulyLobelia May Aug-SeptJanuary Direct Seed Sweet Pea, Lupine April-MayFebruary Direct Seed Asiatic Lilies June-JulyMarchTray SeedPeppers, Eucalyptus May Sept-OctAgeratum, BasilJuly-OctCaryopteris, Globes, Sweet AnnieSunset FlowerDill, AstersSept-OctJuly-SeptJune-JulyApril Tray Seed Celosia, Cosmos, Marigolds, Zinnias May July-OctApril Direct Seed Gladiolus, Sunflowers June-JulyMayDirect SeedJuneDirect SeedGladiolus, SunflowersDahliasGladiolus, Sunflowers, Buckwheat*Sorghum Sudangrass*July-AugJuly-OctAug-SepAug-OctJuly Direct Seed Sunflowers Sep-Oct*Grown as cover crops for soil improvement. For each bed planted in flowers, an adjoining bed is planted in a cover crop.This is mowed with a brush hog to provide mulch.www.attra.ncat.orgATTRAPage 11
Page 1 and 2: ATTRASpecialty Cut Flower Productio
Page 7: The following tips for selling to f
Page 12 and 13: shallow-rooted ones, and cool-seaso
Page 14 and 15: The Benders of Homestead Flower Far
Page 16 and 17: Postharvestsuccess beginswith provi
Page 18 and 19: By far the mostimportanttool availa
Page 20 and 21: table height is halfway betweenthe
Page 22 and 23: ReferencesArnosky, Pamela, and Fran
Page 24 and 25: First printed in 1922, this book wa
Page 26 and 27: An informative garden book on growi
Page 28 and 29: Smith, Gay. 2003. Postharvest: Summ
Page 30 and 31: F-6426 The Care and Handling of Cut
Page 32 and 33: Extensive selection of perennials,
Page 34 and 35: Supplies and EquipmentBarr, Inc.142
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