Specialty Cut Flowers: The Production of Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Woody Plants for Fresh and Dried Cut Flowers [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Allan M. Armitage (Author), Judy M. Laushman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2003

This greatly revised and expanded edition of Specialty Cut Flowers offers a unique perspective on cut flower production, bringing together in one place the information growers need to propagate and cultivate their eye-catching plants. Introductory chapters offer a discussion of domestic and foreign production, a brief overview of trends, and general comments and techniques for the postharvest care of flowers, including drying and preserving. The main body of the book gives extensive coverage of annual, perennial, bulbous, and woody species for commercial cut flower production, including propagation and growing-on methods, environmental factors, yield in the field, greenhouse forcing, stage of harvest, postharvest handling, and pests and diseases. For easier reference, plants now appear in single, straightforward A-to-Z order. Reflecting decades of research and writing by two distinguished horticulturists, Specialty Cut Flowers, Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged will be an indispensable reference for the nursery bookshelf.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Although written for the professional grower, their book offers revelations for the home gardener."
—Suzy Bales, New York Times, August 3, 2003 (The New York Times )

"A very inclusive work created with the feedback of many professional growers." Stephanie M. Boehmer, Journal of Agricultural and Food Information, August 2005 (Journal of Agricultural and Food Information )

"This will be especially useful to those with cutting gardens."
—Connie Krochmal, BellaOnline, December 10, 2004 (BellaOnline )

Book Description

This greatly revised and expanded edition brings together in one place the information growers need to propagate and cultivate these eye-catching plants. Introductory chapters offer a discussion of domestic and foreign production, a brief overview of trends, and general comments and techniques for the postharvest care of flowers.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 636 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press; 2nd edition (July 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881925799
• ISBN-13: 978-0881925791
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,466,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Reference for the Cut Flower Grower, July 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Specialty Cut Flowers: The Production of Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs and Woody Plants for Fresh and Dried Cut Flowers (Hardcover)

Everyone interested in cut flower growing must have this text in his library. Allan Armitage is a renound researcher in herbaceous plants, who's earlier work was in specialty cut flowers. This is a serious text, not a "gardening" book.

Introductory sections give basics of cut flower growing, but the bulk of the book is devoted to discussing individual species. Chapters include annuals, perennials, bulbs, and woody species. Within each chapter, species are discussed in great detail. Everything you need to know to grow each cut flower is here: propagation, greenhouse and field performance, harvest and postharvest, pests and diseases, and lists of varieties are all given for each species.

This book is very well organized. Text is concise, but written with personality. There are line drawings for many species, but there are few color photographs.

This book is specificaly for cut flower growers. Lynn Bycznski's The Flower Farmer is another book not be missed by those interested in cut flower growing. Her book is an overview of the business and process of cut flower growing, also with some information on individual species. Another excellent Armitage text, Herbaceous Perennial Plants, is better suited for the serious gardener.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greenhouse performance, pests and diseases, and more, October 10, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Specialty Cut Flowers: The Production of Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Woody Plants for Fresh and Dried Cut Flowers (Hardcover)

Horticultural experts Allan M. Armitage (Professor of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Athens) and Judy M. Laushman (Executive Director of the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers Growers, Inc.) collaborate to offer gardening enthusiasts an exhaustive compilation of everything professionals and novice gardeners need to know about growing annuals, perennials, bulbs, and woody plants for fresh and dried cut flowers. Specialty Cut Flowers, now in a substantially revised and enlarged second edition, is an instructional reference which details the field analysis, greenhouse performance, pests and diseases, and more, of a tremendous list of flowers ranging from Achillea to Zinnia. 100 color photos, 84 line drawings, and a map, enhance the text of this solid, practical, 636 page guide for flower gardeners of any and all skill and experience levels.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now in a substantially revised and enlarged second edition, October 10, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Specialty Cut Flowers: The Production of Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, and Woody Plants for Fresh and Dried Cut Flowers (Hardcover)

Horticultural experts Allan M. Armitage (Professor of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Athens) and Judy M. Laushman (Executive Director of the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers Growers, Inc.) collaborate to offer gardening enthusiasts an exhaustive compilation of everything professionals and novice gardeners need to know about growing annuals, perennials, bulbs, and woody plants for fresh and dried cut flowers. Specialty Cut Flowers, now in a substantially revised and enlarged second edition, is an instructional reference which details the field analysis, greenhouse performance, pests and diseases, and more, of a tremendous list of flowers ranging from Achillea to Zinnia. 100 color photos, 84 line drawings, and a map, enhance the text of this solid, practical, 636 page guide for flower gardeners of any and all skill and experience levels.