The 2011 ASHS Annual Conference

Flowers sold in West Virginia are almost entirely brought in from other states and countries, thus commercial cut flower production is a venture that could increase the profitability and diversify a small family-owned farming operation.  Funds were obtained in 2008 to start a demonstration project to investigate the potential of cut flower production in southern West Virginia.  Six growers in five counties were selected after site visits for this project.  Two of our growers were experienced master gardeners wanting to add a new income opportunity.  The other four growers had an ongoing farm enterprise with varying levels of production experience.  Four of the six farms reported sales in their first year of operation with one reporting almost $1,000, which was amazing given the poor weather conditions in 2009.  Zinnias were successful for all of the growers and most had success to varying degrees with lilies, celosia, sunflowers, and ageratum.  Some of the growers found markets/florists were very excited about obtaining local cut flowers for products that were either high dollar value or shipped poorly.  In one case, the florist harvests what she wants at the farm, thereby eliminating harvest labor and transportation costs for the grower as well as increasing sales by being available on weekends and providing exactly what the florist wants.  However, not all of the plants used in the project did well for our growers either in production or as a product for sale.  One example, were daffodils which grew well, but no one has been able to sell the flowers locally.  In addition, we should have eliminated or scaled back the perennial and woody crops included in the project given the amount of time necessary before the first harvest for a demonstration project and the cost to procure the plants.  With two years of mixed success, we are expanding the horizons of our growers by visiting successful growers to learn how they plant, manage and harvest their flower crops and how to market through direct and wholesale opportunities.  Lessons learned from this trip are being translated into an individualized research plan for each grower based on their site, market(s) and abilities.