What’s New At Your Local Florist

Your local florist shop…that is often the first place you think of when gifting something green and flowery to an ailing friend. Besides the standard florist shops, most supermarkets contain a florist department. Check out the recently published USDA Floriculture Crops Report. It lists most of the potted plants and cutflowers available for purchase at florist shops.

Let’s start with the winter holiday gift giving market. Poinsettias are still the the most popular item, available in lots more colors and size categories, followed by kalanchoes, Christmas (Zygocactus) and Thanksgiving (Schlumbergia) cacti, cyclamen, and assorted tropical foliage, all wrapped in decorative ribbon and foil are popular. Shoppes are stocked during the Easter season and Mother’s Day with traditional items–lilies, florist azaleas, begonias, florist potted roses, and hydrangeas, plus spring flowering bulbs (tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, crocus and others).

In the orchid world moth orchids (Phalaenopsis), lady slipper (Paphiopedilum), Dendrobium, Cattleya, Oncidium, and others are available year-round. Next up are seasonal potted items such as spring flowering bulbs (tulips, hyacinths, lilies, daffodils, crocus and others), Easter lilies, combination planters, florist hydrangeas (non-hardy), tropical hibiscus, potted mums, begonias, and florist potted roses.

Other notables flowering plants, more seasonal in nature, are florist azaleas, gardenias, kalanchoe, Gerbera daisy, anthurium and cyclamen. Several potted crops are niches in the florist industry like African violets, cacti, sedums, and mini begonias. Summer sales are taking off with potted sunflower, regal pelargonium, primula and alstroemeria. Notable inventory items include some perennials — dianthus, lavender, salvia, and sedum.

Depending in what region of the country you live in, winter items may include cineraria, exacum, gloxinia, and streptocarpus (cape primrose), calceolaria, Christmas cherry and Christmas pepper, and Fuchsia have moved to the bedding/garden plant segment. Bromeliad, cacti, and succulents, and snake plants (Sansieveria) are now a part of the foliage plant segment.

The cut flower list has recently expanded. It already includes pompon mums, dahlias, gerbera daisies, gladioli, irises, orchids, peonies, roses, snapdragons, sunflowers and tulips, but lisianthus (Eustoma), aster, delphinium/larkspur, protea and wax flowers have been added.

Finally, miscellaneous florist items now include campanula, celosia, and ranunculus. Popular bedding plants also make decorative potted plants: calendula, crossandra, dianthus, gomphrena, ornamental oregano, osteospermum, torenia, and zinnias– complete with foil and bows for gift giving.