Learn how to use Florida ferns in your floral arrangements.
Florida's cut-foliage industry started near the turn of the 20th century, when growers of asparagus fern started shipping iced fern sprays by train to florists in the Northeast.
By the 1920s, the city of Apopka adopted the slogan of "The Fern City." Growers sold millions of ferns to dime-store chains, which soon asked for other plants to sell also, launching the foliage industry. By the 1950s, there were over 2,000 acres of cut-foliage production in Florida, most in Volusia County, with asparagus fern being the predominant crop. By the 1980s, production acreage had increased to over 3,300 acres, with more than 90% of the acreage devoted to leatherleaf fern.
Volusia County continues as the leading producer, followed by Putnam and Lake counties.
Florida is the national leader in sales of domestic cut, cultivated greens, producing 75% of the value of all cut greens sold.
