Flower Farming
Tend a successful cut flower farm with tips from our farmer writers lending advice on everything from cultivation to arranging bouquets.
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Flower Farming 101
Are you interested in growing cut flowers for profit? In this article, we will cover what flower farming is, what tools and supplies are needed to get started, and strategies for starting where you are.
Flower Farming 101
Finding Your Cut Flower Market
As a flower farmer, it's important to find the right market for selling your cut flowers. Learn why local blooms are superior and discover various methods of marketing cut flowers in this article.
Finding Your Cut Flower Market
Season Extension on a Flower Farm
In certain areas, hoop houses offer a significant market advantage for flower growers. These simple structures allow for earlier blooms and longer seasons, giving you a competitive edge in the market.
Season Extension on a Flower Farm
Soil Blocking 101
Soil blocking is an eco-friendly, lower-waste method of seed starting that, when done right, can establish healthy seedlings that quickly acclimate after transplanting due to limited shock.
Soil Blocking 101
Walking the Walk
Ashley Vail
Ashley is owner and operator of Vail Family Farm, a specialty cut flower farm in North Central Kansas. Together with her husband, Matt and their two children, they cultivate half an acre of cut flowers including ¼ of annual flowers and ¼ acre of peonies. Vail Family Farm specializes in season extension to grow ranunculus and lisianthus using high tunnels to bring hard to find varieties to Kansas customers.
The Vail family has recently begun shipping flowers nationwide to share their flowers with as many folks as possible! Ashley and the team can also be found at local farmer’s markets and small businesses in their hometown of Salina, Kansas. Finally, Ashley advises budding flower farmers through online classes and consultations.
Hosting Flower Events
Learn from Vail Family Farm how to offer flower arranging workshops on your farm. Important logistical concerns and pricing are all covered in this article.
Hosting Flower Events
Seed Starting Efficiencies with Ashley Vail
From Ashley Vail, owner and operator of Vail Family Farm, a 5-acre specialty cut flower farm in the heart of the Midwest. We learn about efficient planning and flower math.
Seed Starting Efficiencies with Ashley Vail
Growing Sunflowers for Cut Flowers
Sunflowers are hardy and perfect for the beginning grower. Learn all about growing sunflowers for cut flowers, making bouquets, and keeping them in bloom all season.
Growing Sunflowers for Cut Flowers
How to Install Plastic Trellis Netting
Flower growers and vegetable gardeners alike use trellis support netting to maximize the plant yields they can get from a single planting. Learn how to trellis your plants in this quick tutorial.
How to Install Plastic Trellis Netting
Farmer Florist
Sierra Flower Farm
Jessica and Graham Chase are the owners, farmers and visionaries behind Sierra Flower Farm. Sierra Flower Farm is a micro flower farm nestled in the Carson Valley of Nevada located a stone’s throw from Lake Tahoe. Sierra Flower Farm began as a mere dream of Jessica’s, then turned into a reality in 2015 with a 2500 square foot plot. The flower farm has grown to an intensely planted half acre field. Providing locally grown blooms in the Northern Nevada area with the primary focus of field to centerpiece for couples getting married in the Lake Tahoe area. Along with growing and designing specialty cut flowers, Jessica and Graham have also been passionate about sharing their knowledge and nearly decade’s worth of experiences with avid gardeners and aspiring flower farmers through blogging.
Structuring a Flower CSA
Flower CSAs are a great value-added product line to start on your flower farm and with the right structure, you can tailor it exactly to your and your customers' needs.
Structuring a Flower CSA
Pricing and Selling a Flower CSA
Sierra Flower Farm shares their insights into providing a lovely experience to Flower CSA members so they will sign up and return for years to come.
Pricing and Selling a Flower CSA
Marketing Your Flower CSA
Sierra Flower Farm walks you through various approaches to successfully marketing your flower CSA!
Marketing Your Flower CSA
Flower Pop-Up Sales for Increased Profits
Ready to start your own flower pop-up sales? Learn from the experts at Sierra Flower Farm. Increase you profits and make use of extra stems as you get your self and your farm in front of more potential customers.
Flower Pop-Up Sales for Increased Profits
Recent Blogs
From Setup to Bloom: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Hydroponic Tulips
Hydroponic tulip cultivation offers a lot of benefits for flower farmers.
Top Cut Flowers for Each USDA Zone [Updated for 2025]
Learn how to embrace your growing zone to grow the best cut flowers for your area.
Read More
Easy Guide to Splitting Dahlia Tubers | Step-by-Step Tutorial
Here, you’ll learn how to split tubers, cure them, and store them properly for Spring success.
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5 Signs Flower Farming is Right for You (and How to Start!)
Explore five signs that flower farming is right for you, and how you can start a flower farm!
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Best Time to Plant Lavender: Seasonal Pros and Cons for Flower Farmers
Lavender is an excellent addition to any flower farm. While it can thrive across zones, when you plant it will determine how it performs and when it blooms.
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Sweet Pea Cultivation for Flower Farmers
Learn to grow sweet peas on your flower farm from Jessica at Sierra Flower Farm.
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Poppy Cultivation for Flower Farmers
Poppies are prolific, tough, and beautiful cut flowers that will delight your customers whether for a Flower CSA, a compote arrangement or to sell wholesale.
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Cosmos Cultivation for Flower Farmers
Cosmos have been a vital flower for Sierra's flower farming business. They add a lovely movement to designs and fill out summer bouquets.
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Calendula Cultivation for Flower Farmers
Calendula was one of the first varieties Jessica from Sierra Flower Farm grew as a cut flower farmer for its ease, short number of days to maturity, and toughness. Learn how to get it from seed to bouquet.
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Marigold Cultivation for Flower Farmers
Learn from Sierra Flower Farm how to grow gorgeous marigolds for cut flower bouquets.
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Larkspur Cultivation for Flower Farmers
There are some important tricks to growing a successful larkspur crop, which Jessica from Sierra Flower Farm shares here!
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Running a Successful U-Pick Flower Farm
We had the opportunity to sit down with Stephanie Chow of Poppies and Petals Farm, a cut your own flower farm in Santa Rosa, CA. She offered us a chance to see what running a farm designed from the soil up to have customers on site looks like.
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Extending Spring Blooms
Spring blooming bulbs are some of the season's most beautiful and refreshing flowers. Learn more about extending your harvest from early spring on.
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Growing Tulips for Cut Flower Production
From the types of bulbs you choose to how you plant, we’ll show you how to successfully grow tulips for cutting.
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Guide to the Farmer Florist Model for Selling Cut Flowers
If you have a passion for growing and a love for design, the farmer florist model would be an excellent fit for you and your flower farm. Discover the versatili...
How to Forage Free Winter Decor
This guide written by flower farming contributor, Lindsey Hofman of 605 Flowers, will walk you through some common winter foraging materials and how you can use them to create value added products for your flower farm.
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How to Propagate Roses From Cuttings: The Best Way to Grow New Roses From Stem Cuttings
Learn how to propagate roses from cuttings the easiest and most effective way! Share your roses with others or just plant more of your favorites at home.
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How I Started Flower Farming: Top Tips For Starting a Flower Farm with Lindsey at Willow Tree Flower Market
Are you interested in starting your own flower farm? Gain insight from Lindsey of Willow Tree Flower Market about the process based on real world experience.
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10 Best Flowers to Add to Your Vegetable Garden
If you’ve ever dreamed of adding cut flowers to your vegetable garden setup, this article is for you. Learn about our top 10 picks for easy flowers to add.
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Tips For Dried Flower Farming Success
Fresh bouquets are a favorite product among market-goers but they are only seasonally available. Learning to craft and offer dried floral bouquets allows you and your customers to continue to enjoy that beauty in the off-seasons.
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How to Grow and Care for Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are easy to grow from seed and adaptable to almost any growing zone, nasturtiums can be a beginning gardener's best friend. Learn how to grow them with these tips.
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FAQ
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There are many ways to be a flower farmer and many sizes that can work. You can start a flower farm with a quarter of an acre of growing space if your goals are modest and focused on annual flowers.
Most of the flower farmers we know are working in the one to five-acre range with space dedicated to annuals, perennials, and habitat for beneficial insects and birds.
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Cut flower farming is the cultivation of flowers for sale at farmers’ markets, direct to florists, through co-ops, or to wholesalers. There are many sales avenues where farmers sell flowers in bouquets or wholesale by the bucket.
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When starting a flower farm you will need some basic equipment and can scale up as needed.
- LANDSCAPE FABRIC
- Muck boots
- Seed Starting Equipment
- Sturdy harvest buckets
- A durable wagon, tractor, or golf cart to haul buckets of flowers from the field to your post-harvest location
- Reliable water hoses
- Snips and then some extra snips. Things get lost. It is always nice to have a backup.
- Medium-sized rubber bands.
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A farmer florist is a person who grows many or all of the flowers they use in their design work. Farmer florists are both the designer and the farmer for their business. Many specialize in selling bouquets directly to consumers through markets or subscriptions, while others focus on events like weddings.