by Malinda Geisler, content specialist, AgMRC, Iowa State University, malindag@iastate.edu.
Profile updated December 2007.
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.
Floriculture sales from 15 major states were nearly $4 billion in 2006. USDA now surveys the top 15 states, down from 36 states in 2005. The 15 states--California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Washington--accounted for 75 percent of cash receipts received by U.S. greenhouse and nursery growers in 2006.
Supply
Top states with the most acreage under greenhouse cover include California, Florida, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Texas. Glass is the traditional greenhouse cover. Other products used include fiberglass and plastic film. Greenhouses are still expensive to build and maintain. States with the most acres of open ground include California, Florida, Michigan and New Jersey.
Large U.S. floriculture growers (with more than $100,000 in annual sales) averaged $88,698 per acre in 2006. Average sales per large grower were estimated at $1.3 million.
Demand
Consumer spending on floriculture was $20 billion in 2006, up from $19.7 billion in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The 1998 Census of Horticultural Specialties breaks down where the U.S. horticultural crop is marketed. Re-wholesalers account for 25.3 percent; retail garden centers and nurseries, 17.9; landscape contractors, 13.9; other mass marketers, 13.4; direct sales, 13.0; supermarkets and groceries, 7.6; retail florists, 2.5; and other avenues at 6.4 percent.
Per household spending on floriculture was $45. Spending on nursery and greenhouse products averaged $161 per household in 2006. Total retail sales for floriculture products in the United States was $20 billion in 2006.
Sector Profiles
Cut Flowers
Fresh cut flower production continues to shift from the highly imported flowers to those with less competition. The wholesale value of domestically grown cut flowers was $411 million in 2006. Flowers with an increase in sales were gerbera daisy, lilies, tulips, mums, irises, roses and snapdragons.
Potted Flowering and Foliage Plants
Flowering plants in pots totaled $619.9 million in 2006. Of that, poinsettias accounted for $169 million in 2006. Sales of orchids totaled $122.9 million. Sales of potted foliage plants were $480.8 million.
Bedding and Garden Plants
Bedding and garden plant sales were $1.8 billion. Of that, perennial plants accounted for $507 million. Products contributing the most value to growers were potted geraniums, pansy/viola flats and impatiens.
Exports
Exports are roughly one fourth of the value of imports. In 2006, U.S. floriculture exports were $348 million. Exports have climbed steadily, largely to Canada and Mexico.
Imports
U.S. imports of cut flowers and nursery stock were $1.45 billion in 2006. Cut flower imports were $768 million. Imported roses, valued at $300.7 million, accounted for nearly 40 percent of the total cut flower imports. Imports of bulbs and tubers accounted for $208 million. Live trees and plant imports totaled $357.6 million.
Roses lead U.S. cut flower imports, mainly from Colombia and followed by Ecuador. Because of restrictions on the shipment of plants with soil attached to their roots from other countries, Canada is the biggest importer of live plants and trees. Unrooted cuttings and slips of plants are imported from Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico. Orchid plants are supplied by Taiwan, the Netherlands and Thailand. Flower bulbs, such as tulips and lilies, are supplied by the Netherlands.
Imports of fresh cut flowers accounted for nearly 67 percent of U.S. consumption in 2006, up from 58 percent in 2002. Total floriculture crops have a much smaller share of total U.S. consumption, at only 14 percent.
Sources
Floriculture and Nursery Crops, ERS, USDA, 2007.
Floriculture Crops, NASS, USDA, 2007.
Personal Consumption Expenditures by Type of Product, Table 2.4.5, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. Select underlying detail tables, list of underlying detail tables.