Specialty Cut Flowers

Whole Earth, Spring, 1998

Specialty Cut Flowers

The Production of Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Woody Plants for Fresh and Dried Cut Flowers

Allan M. Armitage. 1993; 372 pp. $39.95. Timber Press, Inc., The Haseltine Building, 133 SW Second Ave., Suite 450, Portland, OR 9720/4; 800/327-5680, 503/227-2878, www.timber-press.com.

Allan Armitage has assembled extremely valuable information about propagating and growing from a myriad of sources (which he cites). For a wide variety of blooms, he furnishes specifics which you will not find anywhere else. Field performance, postharvest treatment, pest problems, and environmental factors of flower production are detailed for hundreds of flower-producing plants.

"Stem plugging: Air bubbles, which restrict the upward flow of water, occur after harvesting with many types of flower stems. Recutting stems (approx. 1") under water reduces the blockages. Warm water (approx. 110 [degrees] F) and acidic (pH 3.0-4.0) conditions reduce the effect of air bubbles. This is a particularly effective and simple means of treating limp and droopy flowers.