FLOWER FARMING. Flower growing for the wholesale market has become a great industry in many countries with the development of wealthy urban populations of cultured taste. England, the United States, France and Holland have important flower outputs.
In 1925 the Ministry of Agriculture estimated that the area devoted to flower production in England in the open fields was about 5,25o acres. Daffodils and narcissi accounted for about I,400ac., tulips 3ooac., violets 15oac., and other flowers 3.400 acres. The value of flowers grown in the open was estimated at about £400,000.
In addition, flowers are produced in glasshouses, the source of the very choicest and early forced blooms. Daffodils, tulips, iris, lilies, etc. are forced in advance of the outdoor crop, roses and carnations are kept cropping both winter and summer, while choice chrysanthemums are produced long after the outdoor varieties have been cut down by frost. The value of the glasshouse blooms far exceeds those from the fields. In 1925 the outputs of glasshouse grown chrysanthemums, roses and carnations were valued at £250,000, £250,000 and £85,000 respectively. Cut flowers and flowering plants in pots produced in glasshouses were valued at £1,350,000. Thus the output of flowers from open fields and from glasshouses was in all £1,i50,000.
In various parts of France, and notably around Paris, there are glasshouses devoted to roses and cut flowers. Nevertheless the greater part of the industry is carried on in the open fields of the Riviera district. During rough or cold weather some kinds are protected with rush mats or glass lights, but in the main the French flower production is that of the open field. The flower area extends from Toulon beyond the bor der into the Italian Riviera. Toulon is important for narcissi, Hyeres for violets, Cannes for mimosa, and Nice for carnations and roses. Ranunculus, anemones, alliums and Spanish iris are also grown.
Flower culture in Holland is mainly devoted to the ends of the bulb industry. In the spring the fields of narcissi, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths give a blaze of colour not seen anywhere else in the world. These fields are the main source of the world's bulbs, and large quanti ties are exported annually to all parts. The area of cultivation is estimated to be about 15,000ac. and lies mainly between Amster dam and Leyden; tulips predominate at Haarlem, hyacinths at Lisse and daffodils and narcissi at Sassenheim, though much gen eral planting of all kinds occurs at each centre. Bulbs are also forced in glasshouses to produce cut flowers, and with the flowers gathered from the open fields the cut flower industry is consider able, large quantities, especially of tulips, being exported to England, Germany and France.
Floriculture has made great progress in the United States and to a lesser extent in Canada, and, beginning in the large centre round Boston, New York, Philadelphia, etc., has spread on some scale everywhere. American floriculture is carried on in specially built glasshouses, some of which are of a scale bigger than any yet built elsewhere. In 1Q00, the industry was said to occupy 9,3o7ac., in 1910 18,248ac., and in 1928 it is more than twice as large as in 191o. The principal flowers grown in their order of importance are roses, carnations, violets, chrysanthemums, sweet peas, lilies of the valley, bulb-flowers and orchids. Sweet peas are becoming very popular and in importance will soon rank before violets, if they have not yet done so. Whilst glasshouses of great size are built for mass production, good culture has not been sacrificed, and American roses are not surpassed elsewhere.
While flowers such as mimosa, lilac, freezia, daffodils, narcissi, snowdrops, anemones, violets and iris come to herald the spring, and are usually spoken of as spring flowers, even before Christmas European markets are supplied with violets and mimosa from the French Riviera and with the white narcissi (Paper white or Mediterranean white) from Toulon. These are followed early in January by daffodils and narcissi from the Scilly isles. By Easter time supplies are general in all countries. The Scilly isles function as a spring flower garden for Great Britain. The flowers are grown mostly on the islands of St. Mary's and Tresco. Pickings commence in the open fields with daffodils (Henry Irving, Emperor, Golden Spur), and with narcissi (Soleil d'or) soon after Christmas. For the first bunches prices rule high, but quickly fall as the daily supplies increase.
All these spring flowers are also grown in England near Pen zance, in Middlesex and in Lincolnshire. The Lincolnshire area which is situated around Spalding follows closely the Dutch methods of culture, emigrants from the Netherlands having settled in Lincolnshire and done much to stimulate flower farm ing there. Here also are grown in the open fields the vast majority of tulips produced in England.
Forcing is done in the Scilly isles, Cornwall, Lincolnshire and Guernsey; the largest forcers are centred about Uxbridge, Cheshunt, Hampton and other dis tricts near London. When bulbs have grown in the open field to a large size they are suitable for forcing, and large quantities of these "forcers" are sold each autumn. Golden Spur, Emperor, Empress, Ornatus and Horace are popular daffodils for this pur pose. Of tulips a good many varieties are used, Duc van Hols, Diana, King of the Yellows, for Christmas flowers; Salvator Rosa, Thomas Moore, Prince of Austria and Ionricesall Flamingo, Wm. Pitt and Wm. Copeland for January use; and Franz Hals, King Harold, Himese for February.
Forcing tulips requires much care ; the bulbs must be in the boxes by August or early September, the soil must be light virgin loam containing much bone meal. The boxes covered with earth should stand in a cool and shady spot for a time for root develop ment, before being taken to forcing rooms maintained at 6o° F.
The violets of the florist's shop are the product of special culture in selected places; one very suitable spot is the French Riviera, especially in the region of Hyeres, in which region very large quantities are produced every winter. In Eng land violets are grown in open field culture in the Scilly isles, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hants, Sussex and Kent. Violets grow exceedingly well in the south-west of Ireland, where in county Cork important commercial violet farms exist. In America violets are grown in specially constructed glasshouses.
The violet is a sensitive plant, very exacting in its require ments. It needs much sunshine but will not tolerate heat or dry ness; it must be sheltered from winds and in some instances pro tected from frost. Clay lands are too cold and wet, whilst sandy soils become too hot and dry.
There are a large number of varieties in cultivation, but nearly 90% of the shop blooms are of the variety Princess of Wales, which yields best under commercial conditions. The plants of this variety should commence flowering in October and continue to give crops till March; Baroness Rothschild and California are blue of a similar type with long stems. Double violets are grown in smaller quantities, the best being Marie Louise (mauve) and Comte de Brazza (double white). These are the "Parma" violets of the shops.
In open field culture the plants are grown in beds 9ft. wide to take io plants I2in. apart with i4in. between the rows, thus giving about 30,00o plants to the acre. An acre of good plants should produce not less than 45,000 bunches and the selling price varies from 2s.6d. per dozen bunches in the early part of the season to 9d. per dozen later when blooms are plentiful.
These lovely flowers are much grown. In dis tricts which are favourable, sowing should begin during the autumn on well cultivated land richly manured with rotten dung. The seeds must be sown very thinly, so that the plants are at least Sin. apart. In districts where autumn sowing is not safe, the seeds should be sown during October in small pots—two or three seeds in size 6o pots—and these should be kept in a house or frame free from frost during the winter, though no forcing must be attempted. If little heat is used and the plants are given plenty of ventilation, good sturdy plants should be ready by April, when they may be planted out during good weather to bloom in June.
Sweet peas also are grown under glass for early blooms, and these crops yield the choicest blooms. The seeds are autumn grown in pots and planted out about March into beds specially prepared in the houses and kept growing, so that by April they are two to three feet high. All tendrils and side growths are removed and the plant kept upright by being twisted around string hung from the roof. Ventilation must be given at all times, and plenty of tepid water. In May, when the flower spikes are showing, feeding with liquid manure may commence.
The English sweet pea industry is expanding, but is still very much smaller than that of the United States, where sweet peas are grown in immense quantities.
The area of carnation houses has greatly in creased; supplies of the flowers have more than trebled in recent years; yet there seems to be a market for all and especially for the best grown blooms. Formerly glasshouses of small size were used, but some of the new houses are i ooyd. long and hold as many as 15,00o plants.
The carnation plants are grown in prepared beds of soil, a good loam enriched with well rotted manure and some bone meal, four to six inches deep, preferably raised to provide good drainage and aeration. Regular water and fortnightly feeding is necessary. A high temperature in the house is harmful; one of 46° F to 50° F during dry weather is sufficient for the growth, and this is best attained by running hot water pipes above the plants rather than low down as in tomato houses.
The following list gives a selection of the best varieties of each colour:— Pink. Mayday, Mrs. Walter Hemis, Enchantress Supreme. Salmon Pink. Lady Northcliffe, Bona, Cupid, Laddie. Scarlet. Aviator, Tarzan, Beacon, Edward Alwood. Crimson. Triumph, Nigger. White. White Wonder, Wivelsfield White, White Mayday. Cerise. Peerless. Mauve. Mikado, Eastern Maid, Wivelsfield Claret. Yellow. Saffron, Sunshine.
Rose culture under glass is essentially different from that of the open gardens, for by special pruning and manuring the indoor rose plant is made to give blooms almost continuously. Few varieties are grown, Richmond (red-scarlet), Ophelia (salmon), Madame Butterfly (salmon to rose), and Lady Hillingdon (orange yellow) being the chief kinds. Three-year bushes budded on manetti stock are planted in beds of loam, heavily manured with dung and fertilizers. The plants are kept cut hard back and the rich soil forces out new strong growths which develop blooms on the tips. If the bloom com mences before the stern is of sufficient length, the bud must be licked out and the shoot allowed to make further growth before flowering, for long straight stems are essential. Roses are grown in this way in Holland, North America and England. The English roses are all needed at home. The Dutch roses are mainly ex ported to England and Germany. Rose growing under glass has attained its greatest measure of development in the United States; the plants seem to appreciate the bright American sun shine, for the roses are exceedingly fine and have very long stems.
There are now many thousands of acres of land in the United States, England, Holland and Germany de voted to the production, not of the flowers but of the crowns (roots) of this flower. In October these crowns are packed an inch apart into boxes with the crown flush with top and covered with any light sandy soil. The boxes are well watered and covered with moss or coconut fibre to a depth of three or four inches. When placed in houses heated to
F growth soon corn mences, and when the shoots are two to three inches long the moss is removed and light gradually admitted. Heavy daily watering must be made until the blossoms appear. Boxes of crowns placed in refrigerated chambers having a temperature of 28° to 30° F remain dormant. These may be taken out at any required time and forced into flower in greenhouses.
In all countries the chief lily of the market gardener is the White Trumpet—(Lilium longiflorum)—the bulbs of which are raised in Japan and Bermuda. By forcing some bulbs, growing others in natural heat, and retarding the growth of yet others by keeping the bulbs in refrigerated chambers, the grower produces these tall White Lilies at all seasons of the year, though the greatest demand comes at Easter and Christmas. Fine bulbs are put into a 6-in. pot provided with much drainage, and covered with good medium loamy soil, leaf mould or rotten manure. The flowers are cut with long stems in the bud stage, packed firmly in very long shallow boxes and despatched to the markets.
Lilium speciosum also is much used in making wreaths and bouquets. It is smaller and of a different shape. The colours vary from deep red and rose spots on white to white without spots. The culture is similar to that described for longiflorum.
Some few varieties of chrysanthemums flower very early and yield their market crop before the frost comes. Varieties which do this are grown out of doors in beds r 2 f t. by 4f t. 6in. in rows r 8in. apart and with i8in. from plant to plant. The following are the most desirable kinds for grow ing :—Framfield Early Primrose (white) : Holicot Yellow (yellow) ; Golden Almirante (orange yellow) ; Mrs. Jack Pearson, Bronze Goacher (bronze) ; Almirante (chestnut) ; Normandie (pink) ; Lighfield Purple (purple).
In indoor culture, cuttings are placed in pots in November; when rooted the plants should be potted on and receive no check from the commencement until they have flowered. The indoor plants need training, i.e., the stems are stopped by pinching out the tops, so that the plant "breaks" into fresh growths and the cultivator is able to flower as many of these as he desires. Those who aim at large choice blooms must thin off all except the terminal bud ; energy is concentrated into a few stems and the flowers grow to a large size. Grown naturally, chrysanthemums would develop into a bush, producing flowers in sprays, and although "Spray Chrysanthemums" are sold in the market the price paid is often low. The greenhouse during the winter months should have just sufficient heat to keep out frost, but any attempt at forcing should be avoided for chrysanthemums do not respond well to such treatment. Periodic spraying with nicotine and soft soap (r oz. nicotine, r lb. soft soap and i 2gal. rain water) should be practised to kill aphis.
Holicot (yellow), Alcaldo (bronze) and Debutante (white) are early blooms, Norman (single yellow), Ada Brookes, Chieftains, Mary Morris, Mrs. N. C. Cotlow, Mrs. J. Bassell, Pioneer, Bal comb Beauty, K. C. Pulling and Majestic are popular varieties. Each grower has his own particular fancy, which matters little, for in the market the flowers are sold as whites, yellows, bronze, etc. • Flowering Plants in Pots.—At special seasons of the year flowering plants in pots are much in demand. At Christmas time, and in America also at Easter time, the flower markets and shops are full of flowering hyacinths in bowls and pots of azaleas, cyclamens, spireas, hydrangeas and heaths, which are readily sold at good prices.
The Belgian growers have specialized in azaleas, and their special culture in pots of small bushy plants full of flowers may be had about Christmas time. Large quantities are exported from Belgium during the autumn, and these are forced into bloom by Christmas. They need a good deal of water. After flowering, the plants should be pruned and allowed to make new growths which should be ripened off by standing the plants out of doors during July and August.
The market grower raises his cyclamen corms from seed. These are grown in shallow pans of leaf mould and sand in July or August. The seeds take some time to germinate and come up very irregularly. When large enough to handle, each seedling should be potted to rich loam and leaf mould and grown in houses at 60° F to 65° F. As the plants grow they are shifted into larger pots, finally being placed into those of size 48 in about r 2 months' time from the date of sowing the seed. The plants may now receive bone meal, Guano liquid manure and then go into a house heated to about 50° F, where they develop their blooms. These pots of cyclamen in full bloom find a ready sale during December and January.
The public to-day appreciates flowers so much that those in the industry are surprised at the great expansion of the cut-flower trade. The volume of trade has grown enormously together with an increased variety of flowers. A grower may now send to market any kind of choice flowers and secure a sale. Dahlias, delphiniums, zinneas, gladioli, etc., are welcome and find buyers no less than the sorts which have been mentioned above. The public taste is for large well grown blooms of bright colours, sweet scented, if possible ; but there is little demand for poorly grown specimens, and indifferently developed blooms are almost unsaleable. Flower growing, to be successful, must be the work of a specialist. (H. V. T.) United States.—So far as flowers are concerned there appears to be little difference between the kinds of plants grown in the United States, in England and on the Continent. Since the enforcement of Quarantine No. 3 7 which prohibits the introduc tion into the United States, except by special permit, of all plants with soil on the roots and certain bulbs, there has been less inter change of plants between Europe and America than in the earlier days. The United States is now dependent on its own nursery men for its supply of azaleas, araucarias, bay trees and many other species formerly imported in large numbers from European countries. Greenhouse establishments in America are considerably more numerous than in England and variations in climatic con ditions make it necessary to pay considerably more attention to heating problems. Steam is more generally used for heating than hot water.
Roses are without doubt the most important cut-flower crop produced in America. Extensive areas of glass are devoted ex clusively to their culture in the eastern and central States. Within recent years there has been a decided change in the varieties grown. Bud variations and seedlings of American, German, French, Irish, Dutch and English varieties are widely grown; such varieties as Briarcliff, Mme. Butterfly, Rapture, Premier, Rose Hill, Mrs. F. R. Pierson and the offsprings of Souvenir de Claudius Pernet, Fontanelle, Gaiety and others, have replaced, in the American trade, Killarney, Ophelia and other European varieties. White Killarney, however, still continues as the best white rose in the American market. Carnations are now less generally grown in America and the large numbers of other species, such as calen dulas, snapdragons, lupines, delphiniums, stocks and many annual plants which are now being grown for winter cut-flowers under glass have taken the place of carnations to a considerable degree. Orchids are rapidly becoming an important commercial cut-flower crop. Among potted plants semi-tuberous begonias, cyclamen, primroses, cinerarias, calceblarias and many other species are grown. In America there is also a considerable trade in outdoor flowers such as sweet peas, asters, dahlias, gladioli and others. Many seedling palms are now being propagated and grown, especially in California, to supply the American trade.
(E. A. W.)
