Commercial Cut Flowers: Types of Operations

For over 20 years, University of Maryland Extension has been conducting tours of Maryland cut flower operations to highlight different production systems, labor options, marketing methods and a wide variety of locally grown flowers. Growers produce cut flowers on traditional family farms, in suburban landscapes, greenhouses, and high tunnels in Maryland.

 

At Wise Acres Farm (Calvert County) they use a tobacco barn
for drying cut flowers. This farm land owned by the Prouty family
since 1850 now grows cut flowers for sale at local farmers'
markets and on-site sales. John Prouty and Roxana Whitt hosted
a tour in 2006.

 

Suttler Post Farm (St. Mary's County) is another farm that
went from traditional agriculture to growing cut flowers around
2000. Like many growers, Judy and John Mast produce flowers
such as zinnia, sunflower, purple coneflower, and liatris on black
plastic with trickle irrigation.

At Plantmasters, Inc., Carol and Leon Carrier produce a variety
of cut flowers for sale in their Montgomery County suburban
landscape...and in some of their neighbors’ yards too!

In 2008, we visited Harman's Farm, owned by Paula and
Tom Harman, while they were still growing cut flowers. Their
site is an example of having an on-site market for selling their
produce in Harford County. Farmers' markets is another way
growers sell their flowers. In Southern Maryland, there is the
Loveville Auction Market that provides a convenient outlet
for Southern Maryland growers to to sell their vegetables,
fruits, and flowers.