Evaluating Local Cut Flowers for the December Holidays: Horticultural Best Practices, Marketability, and Profitability

Commodities

• Additional Plants: ornamentals

Practices

• Crop Production: greenhouses, varieties and cultivars
• Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research
• Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns, market study, new enterprise development
• Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities

Nearly all cut flowers sold in
the United States are imported from other countries. Especially
from December through March few local flowers are available. Most
cut flower farmers in the Northeast region have limited income
from growing cut flowers during this winter season. However,
consumer demand for fresh flowers is especially high in the
winter months, when there are multiple holidays, including
Christmas. Even with access to heated greenhouse space, timing
flowers for the Christmas season and other December holidays can
be difficult for farmers to optimize.

This project intends to test
which cut flower varieties can be grown most successfully by
local growers for December. We will evaluate nine different
species and identify key horticultural best practices like
planting dates, optimal temperatures, best varieties, and need
for supplemental light. We will analyze profitability of each
crop by tracking plant yields, crop inputs, and labor. We will
then identify the marketability to both local retail and
wholesale-to-florist markets by tracking farmers market sales and
sending a survey to local florists. 

To share results with other
growers, we will write articles for relevant publications (e.g.,
Growing for Market Magazine and/or the Cut Flower Quarterly) and
host a webinar about the trials for cut flower farmers through an
organization such as the Association of Specialty Cut Flower
Growers (ASCFG).

Our project intends to evaluate
whether cut flowers in December can be a profitable crop for
farmers in the Northeast. This project will:

• Determine whether nine specific
  cut flower species can be forced to bloom in December in the
  Northeast 
• Determine ideal horticultural
  practices to achieve December blooms including planting dates,
  supplemental lighting schedules, and optimal temperatures for
  each crop
• Observe the performance of
  multiple varieties of each species by measuring qualities such
  as stem length, bloom count, and bud size, to determine which
  are best suited for December harvests
• Calculate profitability for
  each crop by tracking input costs, labor, and sales
• Determine interest of retail
  and wholesale flower buyers by measuring sales, tracking
  farmers market feedback, and conducting surveys
• Educate other cut flower
  farmers on maximizing December profitability by publishing
  articles and hosting a webinar