Overview

Based on farm cash receipts, greenhouse and nursery crops are the fourth largest crop group. Leading floriculture states in value are California, Florida, Michigan, Texas and New York. Floriculture includes crops such as cut flowers, cut cultivated greens, potted flowering plants and potted foliage plants, as well as bedding and garden plants.  December 2007 . . . Floriculture and Nursery Crops

Floriculture Crops, Briefing Room, Economic Research Service, USDA.

Floriculture Charts & Maps, National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

Marketing

• Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers - This site lists resources, publications, flower guides, conferences, etc. of interest to flower producers.
• California Commodity Profile: Flowers and Nursery, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, 2002.
• Cut Florals As Specialty Crops In Iowa: Assessing Local Market Needs and Producers of Floral Products in Central Iowa, Iowa State University, 2003 - Survey results and summary from growers, wholesalers and retailers in the cut flower industry.
• Economic Issues with Sunflowers, Kansas State University, 2002.
• Edible Flowers, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), 2004 - Used to complement existing flower operation. Gives guidelines on growing and marketing edible flowers.
• Floriculture Information Center, North Carolina State University - Specific flower and crop information, as well as research reports, software, disease and pest information and more.
• Southeast Greenhouse Conference - Educational program and trade show.
• Statistical Marketing Research, American Floral Endowment - Numbers on floral production and marketing.
• Wholesale Cut Flower Price Reports, AMS, USDA.
• Woody Ornamentals for Cut Flower Growers, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), 2002 - This publication discusses how cut flower growers can extend the growing season and fill arrangements with ornamentals - marketing their flowers in a different arrangement.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Agricultural Permits – Cut Flowers, USDA - Importers of cut flowers are no longer required to have permits.
• Dried and Fresh - Cut Flowers, North Dakota State University Extension Service - This research covers types of flowers, as well as the planting and harvesting of different varieties.
• Post Harvest Handling of Cut Flowers, Central Maryland Research and Education Center, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service - This research covers preserving the life of cut flowers, vases, refrigerator storage and dry storage methods for the flower producer.
• Regulating the Importation of Cut Flowers and Greenery, USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), 2003.

Production

• Assessing the Market Potential of Specialty Forest Products in Local Food Systems, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, 2005 - This project evaluated the interest in and obstacles to the production and marketing of non-timber specialty forest products.
• Commercial Horticulture Fact Sheets - Cut Flowers, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension - This site lists fact sheets for individual flowers, including sunflowers, lillies, celosia, yarrow, purple coneflower, anemone and larkspur.
• Economic Contributions of the California Nursery Industry, Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, Information Series No. 04-1, University of California, 2004.
• Floriculture, Integrated Pest Management guidelines, University of California, Davis. 
• Floriculture, University of Massachusetts - Information on business management, greenhouse management, pest control and specific crop information.
• Getting Started in the Production of Field-Grown Cut Flowers, Virginia Cooperative Extension.
• Greenhouse Costs of Production Budgets, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service.  
• Greenhouse Production, West Virginia University Extension Service. This fact sheet explains the steps to follow and the decisions to make before starting a greenhouse business.
• Guide to Production Information for Commercial Floriculture Growers, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service - A reference list of informative publications for experienced and new commercial producers of floricultural crops.
• Phenology Web Links: (1) Sequence of Bloom, Floral Calendars, What’s in Bloom; (2) Birds, Bees, Insects and Weeds, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), 2002 - Phenology is the study of the annual cycles of plants and animals and how they respond to seasonal changes in their environment. Links include the timing of flower emergence, sequence of bloom, fruiting, and leaf drop in autumn.
• PlantFacts, Ohio State University - This Web site provides a full-text search engine of all extension and academic department information from all land-grant universities in the United States. Additionally, there are significant image and video databases, a FAQ database and a glossary.
• Purdue University Floriculture Extension - Includes perennial, bedding plant, potted flowering and cut flower guidesheets, as well as greenhouse management guidesheets.
• Specialty Cut Flower Production and Marketing, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), 2006 - This site covers production basics, harvest and post-harvest handling and several marketing channels for specialty cut flowers.

Businesses/Case Studies

• American Daylily and Perennials - This Missouri operation produces daylilies and other perennials.
• Dried Flowers Direct - Located in western New York, this operation’s site contains resources for those wishing to market dried flowers.
• Nixon Flower Farm of Jacksonville, Arkansas, will rent their gardens, house and even the entire farm for weddings and parties. The 200-acre fourth-generation farm is located about 15 miles north of downtown Little Rock.
• The Sunflower Farm, a division of Turpin Farms near Cincinnati, Ohio, offers cut sunflowers shipped anywhere in the United States.
• White Flower Farm - This local nursery also has an extensive presence on the Internet and is based near Litchfield, Connecticut.
• Woodburn Nursery and Azaleas - This family-run business near Portland, Oregon, is one of the country's leading azalea growers, dedicating more than 65 acres of greenhouse space to azalea production. Outside the greenhouses, Woodburn produces 250 acres of ornamental nursery stock and 2,500 acres of row crops. 

Links checked February 2008.