Winter is over, according to the calendar, and there is one sure sign of a change in the seasons — spring flowers are starting to bloom.
More and more flowers blossom as spring progresses, including forget-me-nots and peonies. These have often been planted and cared for by devoted gardeners, requiring an investment of time and money.
In fact, gardening and flowers are big business. Sales at U.S. nursery and garden stores were estimated at $47.8 billion in 2018, according to Garden Research, which provides data on the consumer lawn and garden market. A recent survey showed more American households, 77% are gardening than ever before.
It’s clear that Americans like to grow and give and get flowers. But which flowers do they like the best? Like official state trees and official pets or animals in each state, now that spring is here, 24/7 Wall St. has identified the most popular flowers, including the state official flowers, in every state.
While flowers such as the rose — the U.S. national flower — have fans everywhere, there are differences in taste related to geography and climate, with flowers growing at the lowest and highest points in the United States. We also decided to identify the most popular flowers, including the state official flowers, in every state.
To identify the most popular flowers in each state, 24/7 Wall St. used the United States Department of Agriculture’s 2014 Census of Horticultural Specialties to find in each state the cut and planted flowers with the highest annual sales. Cuts can pertain to any part of the flower, including blooms, stems, and spikes.
Click here to see the most popular flowers in every state.
Source: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
1. Alabama
> Most popular cut flower: N/A
> Most popular planted flower: Pansies (violas)
> Official state flower: Camellia
Pansies, the most popular planted flower in Alabama with sales of $3.8 million, are usually the first annuals to bloom. They flower in a variety of colors such as blue, lavender, purple and white in early spring and through most of the summer. Gardeners tend to plant pansies in the shade in places like Alabama to withstand the higher temperatures of the dog days of summer
Goldenrod, a flower native to much of the U.S., was Alabama’s state flower for almost 30 years, but it was bumped from this position by the more exotic camellia in 1959. The camellia is originally from Asia. Sometimes called the rose of winter, it is easy to grow and has large flowers that come in a range of colors, including white, red, and yellow.
See all stories featuring: Alabama
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
