Late April Farm Update
One of our incredible van loads of flowers last week.
We are rounding the final turn of the Mother’s Day marathon. To be honest, I am sweating bullets. What makes me laugh is that last Mother’s Day was about the same date as this year’s. We had a great crop of all of our spring offerings last year, but this year’s warm spring is bringing some flowers on early.
Spring in Michigan has been incredibly mild; some of the snapdragon crop for Mother’s Day is two weeks ahead, the final batch of ranunculus is about a week behind, and they are all in the same greenhouse. It’s tough to force one without compromising the other. Not to mention the Mother’s Day preorders from our florist friends keep rolling into our inbox. Pro Tip: presell your Mother’s Day crop every year. Don’t wait until the week of to sell inventory!
I am incredibly grateful for the insatiable demand for local flowers. But I hope and pray we will have enough in spite of some early flowering sow dates. This season I can appreciate the logic of having one crop per greenhouse. But our farm is only a half an acre under cover, and we have to sell multiple crops for our business model to work. But it would be a ton easier if we had just one crop per house! As I get more seasons under my belt, I hope this will get easier. But some of the veterans in the bedding plant industry tell me that every season is a crap shoot—you just get better at rolling with the punches.
The wild thing is, Mother’s Day will be over in a blink of an eye and then it’s right into field planting and peak flower season. Tater and I have some exciting topics on tap for this edition of Bloom Beat. We’re talking lilies, some new varieties from spring trials, Sustinabloom from AFE and more.
With all that being said, let’s talk shop!
Sustainabloom- An Awesome New Industry Resource!
The American Floral Endowment launched their new website Sustainabloom last week. As the “sustain” in the name implies, this site is chock full of resources for the floral industry to make their businesses more “green.” The goal of sustinabloom is to make it easier for floral businesses of all sizes to reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable. These resources are research driven; AFE partnered with NC State University to compile over 800 documents, reports and editorials about sustainability in floriculture production and sales.
Tater and I are excited to dive in and explore their library. Their industry guides cover topics like plastics use, water conservation and living employee wages. Each guide is printable, and each web page has links to peer-reviewed articles and additional resources to expand your understanding of a given topic. We can all glean something and strive to make our businesses as sustainable as possible.
According to Debi Chedester, executive director of AFE, “We envision a floriculture industry that thrives while respecting our planet and its people. Sustinabloom is not just about providing resources; it’s about connecting a community committed to driving sustainable change.”
Check out the website
HERE.
Dutch Lily Days Sneak Peak
Asiatic lilies from Zabo Plant
Our Friends at
Zabo Plant sent Tater and I a sneak peek of some impressive lilies from the upcoming
Duch Lily Days event this year, scheduled for June 4 - 7. Every year, lily breeders and exporters in the Netherlands open their doors to growers, distributors and horticulturalists from all over the world to showcase the newest lily varieties and upcoming innovations in lily production (both cut and potted). Some trends include pollen-free varieties, disease resistance and even unscented lilies.
It’s exciting to see the local flower movement expand, with more specialty cut flower farms in the U.S. adding lilies to their crop mix. And for good reason—lilies rank No. 4 among the top cut flowers purchased in the U.S. each year. Lilies are versatile, come in a range of colors and have been bred for year-round production. Lilies are a staple flower for florists and flower farmers alike.
Below are some fun varieties that caught the attention of the lily experts at Zabo, and Tater and I found them breathtaking, as well.
First off, let’s start with some Asiatics. Below are three outstanding varieties. To be honest, seeing these pictures makes me nostalgic—immediately after graduating from Michigan State University, I worked at a small cut lily farm and some of these varieties strike a familiar chord.
'Nashville' Asiatic lily. Photos by Ben Kneppers, Zabo Plant
'Nashville' is an outstanding yellow Asiatic lily, a tried and true variety. I cut hundreds of bunches of these beauties at the previous farm I worked at. According to our friends at Zabo Plant, this is still one of the best yellow Asiatics in the business.
‘Brianza’ is a fire-engine red Asiatic with a high bud count. Medium in stature, this lily is manageable and less prone to lodging (falling open in the center) in greenhouse production. I think this would be a great fall and even Christmas lily.
This is ‘Tirreno’, a vivacious bubblegum-pink Asiatic. I have not grown this one, but from what I’ve been told this is a workhorse pink variety with strong petal attachment. For those of you who grow Asiatics, know that toothless open lilies are hard to sell. If Tater and I were in the market for pink Asiatic lilies this season, this would be one on our list.
From Dutch Lily Days (continued)
'Homerus'
'Homerus' is a hot pink Oriental with high bud count. This beauty came highly reccomended by Zabo Plant. She is worth considering for your lily program.
'Zambesi'
'Zambesi' is another tried and true OT (Oriental/trumpet cross) lily. To be frank, this is the best white lily I have ever seen and grown. Illustrious crisp white petals exude elegance, grace and sophistication.
'Kaveri'
'Kaveri' is one of the most unique bicolor Oriental lilies I have ever seen. This is one I have grown—it is a must for fall bouquets. I have only seen these lilies offered by a local farm; I have not seen these at the wholesaler, which means they are incredibly novel!
'Eldoret'
'Eldoret' is a new Oriental lily, and the best part is she's a vibrant yellow! It's refreshing to see new colors in Oriental lilies. I am excited to try this one in 2025.
New Roselilies
Roselilies are one of my favorite innovations in cut lilies. Roselillies are pollenless, double-petal varieties that are relatively new to the market. Commercial breeding and production started in the early 2010s. There is a lot of opportunity for breeders to continue to introduce new colors and variations. If you are interested in learning about the history of roselilies, check out this LINK. Here are some stunning varieties to consider growing.
'Samantha'. Photos by Ben Kneppers, Zabo Plant
'Samantha' Roselily is a striking deep pink rose lily with white margins. The deep pink speckles add to the presentation. The upward facing blooms make them easy to arrange with.
'Ramona' is a crisp white roselily. Tater and I are excited to expand our crop plan to roselilies for 2025 and we look forward to seeing her in person.
'Anouska'
'Anouska' a white roselily with soft pink-kissed edges. I think this would be striking in wedding bouquets, and growing a smaller bulb size with one ot two blooms per stem would make them more bouquet friendly. I think this is a strategy worth considering.
New Cuts from Takii
New cut kale from Takii. Photo by Bossman Beytes
The Ball Publishing team was in California for the Spring Trials last month, and Bossman Chris Beytes sent over some pics from the cut flower gurus at Takii. Takii is a Japanese breeder that is well known for its cuts—especially cut brassicas (cabbage/kale).
In this class, their popular Crane series gets two new Cranes—Early Red and Early White. They say “early” means seven to 10 days faster to harvest than regular Crane, and they also have longer stems. (Pro tip: Cooler temperatures give more vivid color.) A lot of our florist clients asked us to grow cabbage for fall harvest this season. Although not the flashiest flower on our farm, it will sell and it is very novel.
Also new in brassica: Feather Crane Snow, a white partner to Feather Crane King and Feather Crane Queen. That’s it in the lower left of the photo above.
Nina Plus Asters
In calistephus (aster), the Nina Plus series is a spray aster series with small but plentiful flowers, strong stems and good resistance to fusarium. Tater and I prefer asters with more petal fill and softer colors, but the disease resistance is a major benefit. Four colors: Blue, Pink, Purple and White.
Are you trying any of these new varieties this season?
Let us know what you think!
Enthusiastically!
Lindsay Daschner (and Tater)
Editor-at-Large—Bloom Beat
Owner—Forget-Me-Not Farms
This email was received by 6,312 of your fellow fresh-cut flower growers!
If you're interested in advertising in Bloom Beat, contact Kim Brown and she will hook you up!