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

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.

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.