Floriculture Flourishes

Floriculture Flourishes. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

From tulips to irises, spring in the NW owes much of its color to floriculture. There have been enough sunny days recently to cause blossoms and blooming sales of flowering plants from growers throughout the region. April showers bring May flowers. For Oregon, there is plenty of both. Recent statistics show Oregon ranked tenth in the nation in value of floriculture, with 299 growers responsible for about 145 million dollars in wholesale value. That's just a part of the states near one billion dollar greenhouse and nursery industry.

MCANINCH:  The floriculture industry here in Oregon is important. It is not a major part of the nursery or horticulture industry in the state. But for those businesses that are involved in it, it generates quite a bit of dollars for them.

Gary McAninch is supervisor of the nursery and Christmas tree program for the Oregon Department of Agriculture. He says floriculture is one of the more visible parts of Oregon's ag industry this time of year.

MCANINCH:  All you've got to do is drive up and down the highways in Oregon this time of year and you can see the diversity. Right now, the irises are coming into bloom south of Woodburn on I-5. You can't miss them. Previous to that, we had tulips and daffodils in bloom. A little later in summer, the dahlias will come in.

In addition, several growers and communities in the Willamette Valley hold festivals this time of year that attract customers. It shouldn't be hard for anyone in Oregon right now to see and simply smell the flowers. McAnich says flower lovers in Oregon have many opportunities to enjoy the blooming color of a very visible part of the state's agriculture.

MCANINCH: Each one of these types of flowers seems to have a festival associated with it. So you can go to the tulip festival, the dahlia festival, or the iris festival. It's a great public event. Great for the family to come out and enjoy the colors of the flowers themselves and usually some other activities.

McAnich says Oregon ranks 10th in the nation in terms of wholesale value of floriculture production, according to new statistics released by the US Department of Agriculture.

MCANINCH: The climate here is not as conducive as some of the other larger- California and Florida would be the largest states that produce this type of product. But Oregon is certainly ranked up pretty high and we do grow some very nice flowers here.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.