Flower Cultivation, Management and Evaluation

Variety traits and selection

Flower varieties are chosen for the product. A pot plant should stay short and bushy. A cut flower needs a long, straight stem. A garden or loose flower (marigold, jasmine) needs many flowers and a strong smell. Also compare flower colour, vase life (days the cut flower stays fresh), how early the plant flowers, and resistance to disease and heat. Buy seed or cuttings from a trusted nursery.

Cropping types and cultivation plans

Flowers sell best on special days: festivals, weddings, Valentine's Day. The cropping type is the time of sowing so the flowers open on the right day. Many flowers open a fixed number of weeks after sowing. Cool nights slow the plant, warm nights speed it up. So the grower counts back from the selling day: bloom week minus growing weeks equals sowing week.

A cultivation plan lists variety, sowing dates in batches (so flowers do not all open together), spacing, water, feeding and expected number of stems.

Crop management

Flower crops are shaped by hand.

• Pinching: nip off the top tip when the plant is young. Side shoots grow, so you get a bushy plant with more flowers.
• Disbudding: remove small side buds so one big flower gets all the food (used for roses, chrysanthemum, carnation).
• Support: a net or strings keep tall stems straight.
• Watering: drip pipes give water at the root and keep petals dry, which cuts disease.
• Light and feeding: some flowers need long nights to bloom; give balanced feed and watch for pests every week.

Commercialisation and product management

Cut flowers are very delicate. Cut at the right bud stage in the cool morning. Put the stems straight into clean water and move them to a cool room. Fresh flowers lose quality in hours, so work fast. Grade by stem length, bud size and colour; bundle in tens or dozens; wrap and label. Keep cold during transport. Flowers kept in water last about four times longer than flowers kept dry in this model.

To evaluate, record the number of good stems, the price on the selling day and the loss. Compare with the plan.

Using machinery and facilities

A polyhouse or glasshouse protects flowers from rain and cold. In summer it can become too hot, so use a shade net, vents and fans. Drip irrigation and fogging control water and humidity. Cold rooms keep cut flowers fresh. Grading and bunching tables and sleeving machines save time. Follow safety rules with fans, sprayers and electrical parts.

Try it

Take two cut flowers or two sprigs of a leafy plant of the same kind. Put one in a glass of water and leave the other on the table. Look every few hours and note when each droops. Predict first, then compare with the Hours slider in the 3D.

Key formulas and definitions

• Bloom week = sowing week + weeks to bloom (about 10 with cool nights, 8 with warm nights in this model)
• Sowing week = target bloom week - weeks to bloom
• Freshness (%) = (1 - hours / vase-life hours) x 100
• Under the shade net in this model, inside = outside - 8 degrees C
• Good flowering: about 15 to 28 degrees C

Worked examples

Common mistakes

• Counting weeks wrongly and sowing so late that flowers miss the festival.
• Pinching late. Pinch while the plant is young, otherwise it loses time.
• Leaving cut flowers on a dry table in the sun instead of putting them straight in water.
• Thinking a closed polyhouse is always good. It can overheat in summer.