- Post published:February 14, 2017
Fresh-cut flowers are available year-round at the grocery store, retail florists, farmers markets and anywhere else they sell flowers. Some of these flowers are grown in open fields and others are grown in greenhouses. Just like with fresh produce, there is a lot of work that goes into growing, harvesting, packing and storing flowers. This includes the postharvest handling of cut flowers. There is a short shelf-life period in which flowers stay fresh, and therefore, flowers need to be stored and transported under proper temperature levels and not around certain produce (those that emit ethylene), as ethylene has the same effect on flowers as it does on climacteric produce.
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How Flowers are Sold
With flowers, just as with produce, growers can supply directly to the consumer (e.g., farmers markets), direct-to-retail (e.g., think of Costco with produce) or to wholesalers (the “middle-men” between growers and retail). Continuing with the same idea as produce, when growers sell directly to consumers, they can sell the product as is, while when selling to retailers, they need to meet the buyer requirements for the flowers. The company featured in this post, Neve Bros., sells direct-to-retail.
Why Do Cut Flowers Cost So Much More Around the Holidays?
There are multiple factors that come into play here, including:
- Seasonality of Flowers– If you consider when holidays occur during the year, it is not always optimal flower growing season. For example, Valentine’s Day takes place in February. At this time of the year, outdoor growing conditions are not desirable to produce successful crops in certain growing regions (especially in the U.S. during wintertime). So, the options then move towards indoor grown flowers (more costly) or flowers grown in other countries.
- Supply vs. Demand–There are added costs along the supply chain, including transportation and labor. The most expensive cost is transportation. This includes transporting flowers by truck, as well as by air, depending on where the flowers are grown. Relying heavily on those transportation methods for only short periods of time around the holidays adds to the higher cost of transportation.
- Added Costs–There are added costs along the supply chain, including transportation and labor. The most expensive cost is transportation. This includes transporting flowers by truck, as well as by air, depending on where the flowers are grown. Relying heavily on those transportation methods for only short periods of time around the holidays adds to the higher cost of transportation.
What Does it Take to Bring Cut Flowers to the Market?
There are multiple steps that flowers go through before making it to the market, including:
- Growing– Either indoors or outdoors
- Harvesting– Workers go through the rows and harvest the flowers that are ready
- Fungicide Application (optional) – This step is performed when weather conditions are not optimal to make sure the shelf-life of the cut flowers is not affected
- Packing– Including trimming and forming bouquets
- Cold Storage– Cut flowers need to be kept as cold as possible. In most cases, this is near 0°C / 32°F.
- Transport– The cold chain needs to be maintained and cut flowers need to be separated from other produce items that could harm their shelf-life (e.g.,ethylene producing fruit).
Postharvest Handling of Cut Flowers
After harvest, flowers are packed, can be deleafed, can have fungicides applied, are stored under cool temperatures and transported to the customer.
In the video below, you can see the steps in which a flower takes from harvest to transport.
Harvesting Roses
The harvesters go through each row of roses to select flowers that are ready to harvest. Harvesting is most successful when done early in the morning, after any dew has evaporated to help prevent any postharvest pathogen issues. It is important that the flowers are harvested when they are ready, instead of harvesting based on orders, in order for the plant to properly allocate its resources. Once the roses are harvested, they are brought to a separate building for packing.
Packing Cut Flowers
When packing for retail customers, which include floral shops and event planners, roses are placed into bouquets using a mold, cut off at the bottom and tied together. These bouquets are then packaged into plastic wrap. The leaves and thorns are not removed, as they are sent off to be made into arrangements for events.
There is also the option of running the roses through a deleafing machine to remove all of the leaves and thorns from the rose stems. The end result is the pretty, long-stemmed rose that you are used to seeing in a grocery store bouquet.
Fungicides Applied to Cut Flowers
Neve Bros. was experiencing a rainy period during my visit. As a result, the flowers were experiencing issues due to the weather and some had to be treated with fungicides. When doing this treatment, the flowers are dipped into a liquid fungicide, and left out to dry. Once they have dried, they are grouped into bouquets with the rest of the flowers.
Storing Cut Flowers
Flowers need to be placed into cold storage after harvest. Just like with fresh produce, flowers continue respiring after harvest. By putting them in the cooler, growers are able to prolong their shelf-life.
Transporting Cut Flowers
The sooner fresh-cut flowers leave the grower’s facility, the longer they will be able to last on the retail shelf. When transported, they need to be in a temperature controlled truck in order to prolong the shelf-life. They also cannot be transported with any climacteric fruit, or high ethylene producing produce, as ethylene speeds up the “ripening” of flowers, just as it does with climacteric fruit, and will cause the shelf-life of the flowers to decrease.
I would like to thank Neve Bros. for allowing me to come for a tour and to share the gathered content. Neve Bros. is a hydroponic flower grower, located in Petaluma, California.
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Other articles that might be of interest:
- How to Make Cut Flowers Last Longer
- Visiting the Flower Fields in Carlsbad!
