Potted Plant Cultivation
Do you grow cut flower crops in pots or other containers?
We fell backward into cut flower cultivation in pots because of our heavy wet soil and extreme climate.
Container growing is a way for us to grow some plants that have a difficult time growing in our heavy wet soil, extend our short growing season, make efficient use of our growing areas, and allow us to grow plants that can’t typically grow well here.
Potted asiatic and ornamental lily cultivation
Soil amendment:
We use our own farm’s compost and/or a sterile soilless mix as our potted plant mediums, depending on the type of plant we’re working with. Both of these mediums are well-draining and porous, allowing for healthy root development.
GROWING SEASON:
Container grown plants that are started or over wintered in pots are established earlier in our minimally heated / indoor growing spaces than they would be outdoors.
Efficient Crop Planning:
Container-grown plants give us the flexibility of movement. We can move an entire crop out of a propagation space and into another area, like a space outdoors, allowing a new crop to make use of the priority growing room. For example, our dahlias over winter in containers below our growing benches in our greenhouse. As the temperatures start to warm, they begin to wake up and often have leaves and sprouts showing in the early spring. We move them to the top of the benches for some light and then move them again outdoors after all danger of frost has passed.
Crop Diversity:
We grow several crops in containers that otherwise may fail to thrive in our climate. These container plants are kept in spaces that support their tropical climate preference, etc. For example, we have a crop if ornamental curcuma (native to Southeast Asia) growing in pots in our basement grow room. In the winter this space is used for hydroponic tulips, then pot grown lilies in the spring. It also hosts our fern collection and has grown lily of the valley, anemone, calla lilies, and more over time. In the summer it is warm and humid - exactly the kind of environment that curcuma (tumeric) thrives in.
Potted ‘Honey Dijon’ bare root rose
Favorite Container Grown Cut Flower Varieties:
Agapanthus
Amaryllis
Anemone
Calla Lilies
Chrysanthemums
Curcuma
Daffodils
Dahlias
Eucalyptus
Ferns
Gladiolus
Hyacinth
Lilies
Lily of the Valley
Lisianthus
Peonies
Ranunculus
Roses
Tulips
Each of these varieties has a different soil medium preference, fertilizer preference, temperature and light preferences, and pot/container size/shape preference. Phew! There is a lot to learn and keep track of.
Agapanthus in container cultivation
We document and share our potted plant cultivation practices on the Pro Platform. It’s where you can learn how we grow many of the crops listed above in pots and containers, along with pretty much everything else that powers our farmer-florist business. Not sure if it’s right for you? Have a look at what our members say here. We aim to provide an ever-growing resource of practical video tutorials and other materials to help others save time and money on their flower farming journeys. We test tools and practices and plants so you don’t have to.
