Producers are seeking information on how to schedule flowering of new and current cut flower varieties for year-round production. With this information, they will be able to successfully inhibit or induce flowering to schedule crops for specific market dates, increase yield, grow consistent and high-quality cut flowers year-round, and subsequently satisfy consumer demand for locally produced stems. In addition to this research, funded by the American Floral Endowment, Dr. Roberto Lopez recently hosted a Grow Pro Webinar covering Cut Flower Production in the Northern US, which can be viewed here.
Once completed, this research will provide growers with well-defined recommendations for vegetative and reproductive growth to increase cut flower production efficiency and profitability. Specifically, we are quantifying how several new and commercially important cut flower varieties respond to day length and/or vernalization temperature and duration to ultimately determine how these environmental parameters should be managed to hasten flower initiation and induction without negatively impacting stem quality and yield. This information is especially crucial for cut flower growers located in northern latitudes as they transition to year-round greenhouse production.
Bluebeard (Caryopteris ×clandonensis) and Billy button (Pycnosorus globosus) are both crops that have been recently introduced as cut flowers, however, there is very little production and flower induction information available. These crops have the potential to be high-value fillers as their morphology complements and is distinct from traditional cut flowers. Our research with bluebeard and Billy button has determined the critical daylengths for floral initiation. Additionally, we have determined the day length (s) that will hasten flower induction and lead to a consistent supply of high-quality stems.
