Crop Selection
An important concept to keep in mind with field grown cut flowers is that your
crop selection and yield must be market driven, not production driven.
Unless you are near a large population centre, like the Fraser Valley, most
cut flowers are sold through niche markets, and therefore have a limited
demand. Excess volumes will only serve to lower prices. Determine a
flower's end-use to decide whether it’s an industry staple or a specialty-niche
market item. For example, is it used as a filler, or is it only used as a focal
point in wedding work? Another consideration is whether you want to sell
your crop as fresh or as dried flowers, or a combination of both. These
factors will help in your plans to settle on a crop mix, marketing venue, and
on the volumes the market might bear. There are many market options
available: the United Flower Growers’ Co-op, farmer’s markets, supermarkets,
garden centres, roadside or city stands, hotels, restaurants, craft stores,
florists, or as a pick-your-own. Depending upon your location and crop
choice, you may sell your product through one or more market outlets.
When deciding your crop mix, don’t overlook some of the more common
money makers. Novelty and specialty flowers are great, but the crop mix
should include some traditional items, even if they’re predominantly used as
fillers. Traditional crops and named cultivars are often easier to grow because
there is more production information available. On the other hand, if a
flower is found in most home gardens there may not be a high demand for it
in the regular growing season. Always be on the lookout for new and unusual
flowers. Spend your winters reading North American, European, and Japanese
seed catalogues and books on gardening and perennials. Remember to
introduce new species gradually to the market
place. Just because you think it’s the perfect flower
don’t expect Joe and Josephine Consumer to want
it in large volumes. Evaluate varieties not just by
their appearance, but also for other important
criteria like vase life, fragrance, hardiness and
drought tolerance.
Production factors to consider include:
• cost of production
• production per square metre
• the length and ease of extending the
production season
• resistence to pests
• stem length
• ease of harvesting
One final important consideration; be sure that you
can manage the cultural requirements of a new
crop. Local climate, the length of the growing
season, the number of frost-free days, and rainfall
will constrain your crop choice. Crops must not only
be able to grow in your climate, but they must also
suit your production techniques and anticipated
selling window. By growing a combination of annuals,
biennials, perennials, bulbs, woody cuts, and
ornamental grasses many growers try to achieve
staggered production and cash-flow. Table 2 examines
some of the advantages and disadvantages of
the various crop types and provides a partial list of
plants that can be used as cut flowers. More than
one botanical name appears for some plants due to
reclassification. If you plan to market the cuts as
fresh cut flower bouquets, there should be a broad
selection of species to provide a good mix of
colour, forms, and shapes throughout your marketing
period. But don’t overextend yourself by trying
to grow too many species. Start off slow and as
your knowledge and expertise expands, you can
then increase your crop selection.
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