The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers held its annual conference in San Diego in early September. One of the best features of the national conference each year is the tour of local flower businesses that takes place the day before the educational sessions begin. This year, three busloads of flower growers visited two flower farms, a wholesale flower market, and a plug producer.
A flower farm in southern California is much different than the small-scale, seasonal farms operated by most Growing for Market readers. But there was plenty to learn from these operations, and much more that was just interesting to know.
Here is commentary about those San Diego flower businesses.

   Sea Coast Greenhouses produces specialty cut flowers in 12 acres of greenhouses and 30 acres of field production.  Top crops in the greenhouses include Asiatic and Oriental lilies, lisianthus, and asters. The system includes: 4-foot raised beds, seven lines of drip tape, and wire support mesh. Lights hanging above the plants are turned on for seven minutes each hour during the night to keep the plants in vegetative growth so that they get adequate stem length. Without night lighting, the plants would flower on short stems.
   Oriental lilies are grown in bulb crates. To increase stem length, two layers of 60% shade cloth are used above the Orientals until bud development, when one layer is removed. With the crate system: 18 to 24 bulbs are planted per crate, and the crates are lined up bumper-to-bumper. Three lines of drip tape are laid across the top of the crates, and stakes are inserted for tags that identify variety, bulb size (12-14 cm), and planting date.
   Asiatic lilies get too spindly in crates, so they are grown in ground beds. Lisianthus are grown in a similar system, but drip tape is buried rather than laid on top of the lissie beds.

   Mellano and Company has 450 acres of field-grown flowers and foliage that are shipped nationwide. In an area with 10 inches of rain a year, fields are irrigated with municipal water and the farm’s own wells. The land is hilly, with a 1 to 2% drop per 100 feet. Beds are made on the contour, and ditches are lined with plastic or sod to alleviate erosion. Most flowers are grown on raised beds with drip tape and wire support mesh.
    In many fields, incandescent light bulbs are strung above the rows to provide night lighting. Lights are used on mums, liatris, solidago and Monte Casino asters. Alan Armitage, the author of Specialty Cut Flowers, who was on the tour, explained the purpose of night lighting: When photoperiod response in flowering plants was first discovered, plants that bloomed under the short days of spring, fall and winter were named “short-day” plants. But it would have been more accurate to call them “long night” plants because the length of the night is what actually triggers bloom. By breaking up the long nights with lights, the plants remain in vegetative growth rather than blooming. That allows them to get sufficient stem length before they are allowed to bloom.
   Hoophouses cover about 20 acres. The hoophouses have no endwalls or sidewalls. Because of the warm climate, the hoophouses aren’t needed for frost protection as much as for improved flower quality.  Mellano and Company also sells dried flowers that are preserved in shade-covered hoophouses, but a field foreman told us “the dried market is pretty much dead.”

Flower prices
   At the San Diego Floral Trade Center, 38 vendors offer flowers to retail florists. There is also a trucking terminal for growers who ship flowers.
   The flowers at the Floral Trade Center were drop-dead gorgeous. Most were well-grown and fresh with exceptionally long stems. The biggest surprise to most growers from other parts of the country were the low prices: $1.50 for a bunch of 5 perfect ‘Sunbright’ sunflowers; $3.50 for 10 tuberose or freesia; $6 for a mixed bouquet with three lilies and a half-dozen other species. Apparently, in the places where it’s easy to grow flowers, abundant production keeps prices low.
   Many growers from other parts of the country commented that they would go out of business if they were forced to accept such low prices for their flowers. Fortunately, shipping costs keep California flowers comparable to the prices we charge in our own communities.

New plants
   Another big attraction of the ASCFG national conference is to learn what’s new in cut flowers. You know how important it is to stay out there on the cutting edge in cut flowers. Several new varieties generated excitement at this conference.
   The most unusual offerings came from Here & Now Gardens in Oregon, where owner Paul Sansone has been working with breeders in Holland and Germany to introduce new varieties to the United States.
   The coolest plant was Leycesteria formosa ‘Red Shuttle’ from Holland. The species of this plant is from the Himalayans, and it’s not particularly attractive. But this cultivar is very showy, with drooping clusters of red bracts that surround purple berries. Paul says that ‘Red Shuttle’ is hardy to Zone 5, whereas some other cultivars  are hardy only to Zone 8. It should be planted as a rooted cutting in summer, either in a gallon pot or in a nursery bed. The second year it can be planted out in the field, and the third year it should grow to about 6 feet and produce 50 to 60 stems per plant, Paul says.
   Here & Now has several roses to be grown for rose hips, which are increasingly popular with floral designers. Rosa ‘Pumpkin’ is a patented variety hardy to Zone 3. In its third year, it will be up to 4 feet tall. Each stem will have 20 to 40 one-inch round orange hips. Paul says the hips color up in October, making them perfect for fall and Halloween designs.
   Two Rosa varieties with smaller hips are ‘Sensational Fantasy’ with orange-red hips and ‘Triumph Fantasy’ with deep red hips.
   One more berried branch that is selling well on the wholesale market (it was available at the San Diego Floral Trade Center) is Symphoricarpos, snowberry. Paul is selling Doorenbosii hybrids that have not previously been available in the U.S. There are four berry colors  – Pink Pearl, Red Pearl and Scarlet Pearl, which are varying shades of pink; and Green Pearl, which is a light, glowing chartreuse. It is available as rooted cuttings, so should be treated the same way as the Leycesteria mentioned above. Here & Now Gardens has pictures of these plants on its web site; see the ad below for contact information.
   Dr. John Dole from North Carolina State University presented information about many new or newish varieties that were included in the ASCFG trials this year.
   Asclepias curassavica ‘Deep Red’ is similar to the older varieties of annual butterfly weed, but the outer petals are a bright red, a wonderful contrast with the gold centers of the flowers.
   Delphinium ‘Aurora Lavender’ and ‘Aurora Blue’ produced nice 3-foot to 3.5-foot spikes in good colors. They were sown in February, and they flowered in June.
   Finally, there are lots of new sunflowers. ‘Extra Early Cream Yellow’ was transplanted in early May and flowered two to three weeks later. ‘Earthwalker’ was a nice orange-bronze color. ‘Orange Mahogany’ is a bronze and yellow bi-color.