Commercial Floriculture

Optimum stages of harvesting for important flowers

Sl. No.	Name of the flower	Purpose	Stage of Harvest
1	Rose	Cut flower	1-2 petals beginning to unfold. At tight bud stage.
2	Jasmine	Loose flower	Matured, unopened bud stage
		Oil extraction	Fully opened flowers
3	Anthurium	Cut flower	Spadix almost fully developed 1/3rd of flowers on spadix mature. Change of colour from base to top.
4	Antirrhinum	Cut flower	1/3rd florets open
5	Cattleya spp.	Cut flower	4-5 days after opening.
6	Chrysanthemum	Standard	When outer florets fully expanded
		Spray	Flowers open but before shedding of pollens
		Pompons and decorative	Centre of the oldest flower fully open
		Anemones	Open but before central disc florets begin to elongate.
7	Dahlia	Cut flower	Fully open flower
8	Carnation	Standard	Paint brush stage when flowers are half open
		Spray	At least two flowers fully open
9	Gerbera	Cut flower	Flowers open but outer two rows show shedding of pollens (fully mature)
10	Gladiolus	Cut flower	1-5 florets show colour
11	Bird of Paradise	Cut flower	First flower open
12	China aster	Cut flower	Fully opened flower with long stalk
		Loose flower and oil extraction	Fully opened with short or no stem
13	Tube rose	Cut flower	When few flowers open at the base
		Loose flower and oil extraction	When all the flowers are fully opened
14	Tulip	Cut flower	At half coloured buds
15	Lilium (lily)	Cut flower	Coloured buds
16	Cymbidium sp.	Cut flower	3-4 days after opening of all flowers
17	Dendrobium sp.	Cut flower	Fully opened flowers.

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