Last year was mixed for US floriculture. While the value of wholesale production rose by two per cent to $4.9 billion, compared with $4.8bn the year before, there was a decline in the area involved to 911m sq ft, particularly under polythene.

There was also an eight per cent fall in the number of growers to 11,081, with those with sales of $100,000 or more down to 4,612 as against 4,738.

But there was very little change on the distribution front. California continued to account for the lion's share of wholesale value with $962m, followed by Florida on $877m. Combined these two states held a 38 per cent share overall, though this jumped to 54 per cent when Michigan, Texas and Ohio were added into the equation.

In terms of varietal mix, bedding and garden plants remained the biggest contributor, with sales worth $2.28bn, up five per cent on the 2001 figure. Next came flowering pot plants on $822m and foliage $663m.

Cut flowers represented a further $410m, a fall of two per cent on the previous year but the lowest level since the mid 1980s. Of this, California represented 68 per cent with $279m. The top three cut flowers were lilies at $57.7m, roses, $56.2m and tulips, $28.3m.

Meanwhile the value of cut foliage dropped marginally to $111m, of which Florida accounted for $86m (Source: USDA).

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