Specialty cut flowers: the production of annuals, perennials, bulbs, and woody plants for fresh and dried cut flowers

868 Pages·1993·12.3 MB·English

by  Allan M. Armitage

Specialty Cut Flowers : The Production of
title: Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Woody
Plants for Fresh and Dried Cut Flowers
author: Armitage, A. M.
publisher: Timber Press, Inc.
isbn10 | asin: 0881922250
print isbn13: 9780881922257
ebook isbn13: 9780585349190
language: English
Floriculture, Cut flower industry, Cut
flowers, Cut flowers--Postharvest
subject
technology, Floriculture--United States, Cut
flower industry--United States.
publication date: 1993
lcc: SB405.A68 1993eb
ddc: 635.9/66
Floriculture, Cut flower industry, Cut
subject: flowers, Cut flowers--Postharvest
technology, Floriculture--United States, Cut
flower industry--United States.
Page 3
Specialty Cut Flowers
The Production of Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs and Woody
Plants for Fresh and Dried Cut Flowers
Allan M. Armitage
Illustrations by Rachel Theis
Page 4
Illustrations by
Rachel Theis
1346 Village Lane
Chester Springs, PA 19425
[phone]
Photograph of Carthamus tinctorius 'Lasting Orange' courtesy Park
Seed Co.; photograph of Zinnia elegans Ruffles mix courtesy Bodger
Seed Co. All other photographs are either by Dr. Michael Dirr or the
author.
Copyright © 1993 by Allan M. Armitage
All rights reserved.
Reprinted 1995, 1998, 2000
ISBN 0-88192-225-0
Printed in Hong Kong
Varsity Press, Inc./Timber Press, Inc.
The Haseltine Building
133 S.W. Second Ave., Suite 450
Portland, Oregon 97204, U.S.A.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Armitage, A. M. (Allan M.)
Specialty cut flowers : the production of annuals, perennials,
bulbs, and woody plants for fresh and dried cut flowers / Allan
M. Armitage ; illustrations by Rachel Theis.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-88192-225-0
1. Floriculture. 2. Cut flower industry. 3. Cut flowers. 4. Cut
flowersPostharvest technology. 5. FloricultureUnited States.
6. Cut flower industryUnited States. I. Title.
SB405.A68 1993
635.9'66dc20 92-34463
CIP
Page 5
Table of Contents
Preface 7
Acknowledgments 9
Introduction 11
Postharvest Care 19
Drying and Preserving 31
Annuals for Cut Flowers 35
Ageratum to Zinnia 36
Additional Annual Species Suitable for Cut 141
Flower Production
Perennials for Cut Flowers 143
Achillea to Veronicastrum 144
Additional Perennial Species Suitable for Cut 248
Flower Production
Bulbous Species for Cut Flowers 250
Acidanthera to Zantedeschia 251
Additional Bulbous Species Suitable for Cut 323
Flower Production
Woody Species for Cut Flowers, Fruit and 324
Foliage
Buddleia to Salix 325
Additional Woody Species Suitable for Cut 340
Flower Production
References 343
Appendix I 349
Stage of Harvest
Appendix II 354
Useful Conversions
Appendix III 355
Hardiness Map
Index to Botanical Names 357
Index to Common Names 370
Color Photographs Follow Page
272
Page 6
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my wife, Susan, who constantly strives for
perfection in everything she attempts. She is my role model.
Page 7
Preface
This book is an attempt to put the business of specialty cut flower
production in perspective and to provide growers with updated
information on the production and handling of specialty cut flowers.
Of all aspects of floriculture, the marketing of cut flowers is the most
global; flowers routinely cross borders. The most common and rarest
flowers may share the same cooler in Bangkok or Baltimore. The
demand for specialty cut flowersessentially all flowers but roses,
carnations and chrysanthemumscontinues to increase and with it, there
will be a parallel increase in production. The American cut flower
grower must compete for the leisure dollar not only with other
growers, but with movie theaters, wine merchants and restaurants. The
ability to compete often revolves around the accessibility of pertinent
information and the ability to use that information to make decisions.
Little information has been available in the past, and this book brings
together details about the production and handling of specialty cut
flowers and tries to distill them into useful knowledge.
Potential cut flower species have been grouped together as annuals,
perennials, bulbs or woody plants. Each plant entry provides a
common name, height and spread in feet, flower color, country or
region of origin, family and hardiness adaptation, if applicable. Also
included are means of propagation and growing-on techniques. An in-
depth section on how the environment affects growth and flowering is
also included to provide readers with more detail and background
information than normally found in catalogs. When data are available
on field culture, they are included. Greenhouse production techniques
have also been outlined for most species and pertinent postharvest
information is included. Cultivars and additional species suitable for
cutting and further reading, if available, may be found with each
species. Reference to a particular article in the species entry or