For decades, it seemed that San Mateo County’s cut flower industry would never stop growing. Each year, statistics released by the county showed more and more expansion: in 1950, 2.8 million square feet of greenhouse flowers; in 1960, 3.2 million square feet; in 1970, 9.6 million square feet.
“Most [cut] flowers in the United States were grown in California” during those years, said Michael Reid, a University of California at Davis researcher who specializes in horticulture. By 1979, these crops — grown to be cut for floral sales — represented a nearly $15 million a year business in San Mateo County, especially in coastal areas.
Those days are gone. Reid estimates that less than 10 percent of cut flowers sold in the U.S. now come from California, much of the trade having shifted to Colombia and Ecuador. The state continues to be the leading domestic producer of the crop.
The story is a familiar one to many struggling U.S. industries, as rising production costs, changing consumer habits and increased foreign competition gradually undercut producers. For California flower farmers, add to that rising prices for real estate, energy and labor, Reid said.
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