---

---

ANNUALS
Annual flowers are a group of herbaceous plants, which grow from seeds, produce flowers, set seeds and complete their life-cycle within one year or one season. But in their brief sojourn on earth, they exude the joy of life, putting forth a great profusion of flowers in a spectacular range of colours. They provide a beautiful display of colours in the garden. Therefore, more people prefer annuals to other plants for growing in pots, beds, borders, window boxes, hanging baskets or as cut flower for interior decoration. Whether it is a small home garden or a big public garden, it is incomplete without beds of annual flowers. They enhance the decorative value of a garden within a short span of time. At their blooming time, one feels elated when a rain of beauty drizzles in the garden.

Flowering annuals are grown in beds and pots. They are used for various purposes in the garden. In beds, they are grown individually with or without perennial plants in borders. They are grown in hanging baskets, window boxes or rock gardens, for training on walls and trellises and for planting in the form of edges, borders or ground covers. Some annuals—marigold, china aster, gypsophila, statice, gaillardia, annual carnation, annual chrysanthemum, cornflower, sweet sultan, bells-of-Ireland, piminella and larkspur—are grown commercially for cut flowers for interior decoration or for loose flower purpose in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. Dried flowers of some annuals are also used for interior decoration. Some annuals provide sweet fragrance.

Read Here

Annuals : Production and Product Information

Seed Production in Flowers

ANTHURIUM
Anthurium (Anthurium species) assumes significant position on account of its beauty. It is grown for its showy cut flowers and attractive foliage. These are very popular with flower arrangers because of the bold effect and lasting qualities of flowers when cut. The long shelf-life of anthurium symbolizes a long, healthy life. The major countries importing anthurium are USA, Germany and Japan. In India, a few growers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal have started growing anthurium on a large scale. The awareness of its export potential is fast growing in Kerala. Cultivation of anthurium both in homesteads and commercially is fast catching up. Moreover, it requires less labour. The same infrastructure can be used for the cultivation of anthuriums and orchids together, difference being in shade.

Anthurium : Production Practices

CARNATION
Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) flower is valued for its excellent keeping quality, wide array of colours and forms, and ability to rehydrate after continuous transportation. Carnation is indigenous to the Mediterranean areas. Due to high cost of production inside greenhouses in Europe and USA, its cultivation is shifting to more naturally-growing regions where they are being produced at lesser cost. In India, carnation culture is in a budding stage. Very few commercial varieties are seen in the market. The Sim race of carnation was first introduced in India in 1980. In India, it is cultivated in 50ha including annual types. Moderate climatic control measures that are economical can deliver quality carnations at the internationally competitive prices year round. Carnations are now being grown commercially in Solan, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Bangalore and Kalimpong. A few private growers are also exporting carnations. The midhills of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Nilgiri hills, Bangalore and Nasik are potential areas for its commercial cultivation.

Carnation : Production Practices
CHRYSANTHEMUM
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum species) has earned tremendous popularity as an ornamental flower. Its present-day colourful varieties have arisen through indiscriminate intervarietal hybridization, spontaneous and induced mutations and selection. Two kinds of florets are present in a bloom. The small florets which are present at the centre of the bloom are called disc florets.The outer broad florets are called ray florets. In some cases the disc is visible and well-developed, whereas in others it is covered with florets. Ray florets may have different directions of growth and be arranged on the receptacle in distinctive patterns. Some of the florets may curve upwards and inwards. The chrysanthemum bloom type depends mainly upon the relative number of 2 kinds of florets, their shapes and directions of growth. They are mainly classified as large-flowered and small-flowered. Its commercial cultivation is being done in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Its cultivation in Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Kanpur and Allahabad is, however, mainly for the sake of decoration of surroundings and participating in flower shows, with the help of pot grown plants.

Chrysanthemum : Production Practices

GLADIOLUS
Gladiolus (Gladiolus species) is very much liked for its majestic spikes containing attractive, elegant and delicate florets. These florets open in sequence over a longer duration and hence has a good keeping quality of cut spikes. There is a wide range of colours—self or bicolour with or without central mark varying from white to darkest crimson. The spikes of gladiolus are mainly used for garden and interior decoration, and for making bouquets. West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh are the major gladiolus-growing states.

Gladiolus : Production Practices

JASMINE
Jasmine (Jasminum species) is one of the leading traditional flowers of India. Its flowers are used for making garlands, adorning hairs of women, in religious and ceremonial functions, and for producing perfumery oil. Its commercial cultivation is confined to Coimbatore, Madurai, Dindigul, Athoor, Nilakottai, Tirumangalam, Kallupalli and Thiruparankundrum (Tamil Nadu); Bangalore, Ballary, Mysore and Kolar (Karnataka); Pune, Aurangabad and Ahmednagar (Maharashtra); Ahmedabad, Anand and Vadodara (Gujarat); Ambala, Gurgaon and Faridabad (Haryana); Kannauj, Jaunpur and Gazipur (Uttar Pradesh); Delhi; Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Amritsar (Punjab); Ranaghat, Kolaghat, Panskura and 24-Parganas (West Bengal); Udaipur, Ajmer, Jaipur and Kota (Rajasthan); Hoja, Jorhat, Alnugarh (Assam). However, largest chunk of areas under jasmine flower production is in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The annual production of flowers is worth more than Rs 120 million. Apart from internal trade, fresh flowers of jasmine are exported to Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Jasmine : Production Practices

ORCHIDS
Orchids are valued for their long spikes, which display a variety of colours and long-lasting flowers. They occupy a prime position among cut flowers. The family, Orchidaceae, consists of 600–800 genera and 30,000–35,000 species, distributed throughout the world. In India, about 1,300 species are scattered all over India, North-east Himalayas and 600 species are in north west Himalayas of these 300 species are in Maharashtra 130 species in Andaman and Nicobar Islands 70 species and Western Ghats 200 species. Eversince the creation of the first man-made hybrid in 1956, several have been added, totalling to over a lakh.
Genus Cymbidium is now among the top 10 cut flowers of the world market, whereas Dendrobium, the most widely cultivated tropical orchid, is also marching ahead to find a better place in the export market. The Cymbidium is mainly grown in the north-eastern Himalayan region, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Tropical orchids are mainly confined to Kerala and some parts of Tamil Nadu. North-eastern Himalayan region and the west-coast of Kerala are the main centres of production of orchids. The commercial orchids are both terrestrial and epiphytic, with an abundance in epiphytic. Monopodial (having single-stemmed growth) and sympodial (having the appearance of multi-stemmed growth) are equally preferred for commercial cultivation. Sympodial types (Cymbidium and Dendrobium) rank high in the export market. Among the sympodial ones, a major share or the area in Kerala is occupied by Dendrobium hybrids. They can be successfully tried in the foothills of north-eastern states. Other sympodial genera suitable for Kerala are Cymbidium (at high altitudes), Oncidium and Cattleya. Vanda, Arachnis and Phalaenopsis are the monopodial genera that flourish under our conditions. Intergeneric monopodial hybrids—Aranda, Assocenda and Mokara—also perform well.

Orchids : Production Practices

ROSE
Rose (Rosa species) is the most ancient and popular flower grown the world over. It is a versatile plant adapted to varying climatic conditions. In India, it is cultivated commercially for cut flowers, both for traditional flower market and contemporary florist shops. Rose flowers without stem and loose flower petals are used in traditional markets for making garlands, for offering in temples, while the florist shops sell cut roses with stems mainly for bouquets and floral arrangements. In recent times, about 60 units have been established under joint ventures around Bangalore, Pune, Nasik, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Gurgaon (Haryana), Chandigarh and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) for growing roses in greenhouses for export of flowers to Japan, Holland, Germany and other European countries. Besides, the Damask rose (R. damascena) and Edouard rose (R. bourboniana) are cultivated for rose attar and other products, gulkand, gulabjal and pankhurj. The rose is grown in about 6,000 ha area. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are major rose-growing states.