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This book is a great resource if you want to grow flowers for a living. I have to warn you, if you love flowers as much as I do, you may have a problem cutting and selling them. Oh, well. I still do sell tomatoes.
Lynn Byczynski's book is terrific. It has all the information that you need to pursue a career as a flower farmer. It has given me the information that I was seeking to make a career change and become a farmer's market flower grower. Especially appreciated the "Source and references" section.
The Ball RedBook would be a better reference for plant-specific growing advice. "Proper contitioning" tips go no farther than adding sugar or asprin, or buying commercial (and expensive). Surely, anyone interested in selling flowers already knows how to grow them. The author spends a great deal of time telling you how to plant, transplant, fertilize, etc. For example: Poppies and Cleome are dismissed as lasting a day or two, but using certain methods my Cleome lasted 2 WEEKS in the vase and won a blue ribbon at the county fair, and poppies can fetch $5 a stem and last 7-10 days if you do it right. This book is true to form.
Just as top chefs will alter recipes so that no one can duplicate their materpieces exactly, most flower growers are very tight-lipped about their secrets and will write pages and pages without giving specifics.
This book has extensive information about marketing and field yields, but I would take her advice with a grain of salt.
My greatest complaint has to do with her guide to cut flowers at the end of the book.
She spends way too much space on basics of horticulture.
potions.
I do not agree with some of her calculations and her other information is so far off the mark that I do not trust her opinions in this regard either.The best info in this book is from her "case studies".
The farmers she interviews give good information about their methods and mistakes, but very few specifics about the most important topic: preservation.
Some flowers that keep beautifully (after conditioning) are dismissed as having "no vase life".
"Flowers for Sale" by Lee Sturdivant has much better conditioning and plant selection information.
My daughter picked this book out over every one she could find on this subject, after an extensive library search.
If you are just starting out, looking for a business or just love cut flowers, this book will get you off to the right start. What to plant and how much, for getting started. Highly recommended.
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