Nursery Production, Management and Marketing

Palm Beach County is home to 550 wholesale nurseries on about 5400 acres in 2004. Approximately half this acreage is planted as “field” or in-ground production. The other half is broken down to approximately 60 percent woody container or landscape plant production, 30 percent foliage or interior plant production, and 10 percent miscellaneous production including bedding plants, orchids, herbs, fruit trees and other specialty crops.

Annual sales from the industry are about $164 million making it the third largest agricultural commodity produced in Palm Beach County (behind sugar and vegetables) and the third largest nursery production county in the state. It is also among the top 10 nursery production counties in the United States.

Retail nurseries generate about $279 million in annual sales and florists generate about $35 million to help meet the green thumb and floral interests of local residents and visitors.