Table 1. Historical Highlights: 2014 and Earlier Census Years 
[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text.] 
Item 
2014 
2009 
1998 
1988 
1979 
1970 
1959 18 
1949 19 
1929 
1889 
All horticultural specialty crops 1 
operations 
23,221 
21,585 
23,758 
21,088 
22,347 
12,962 
17,999 
17,400 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
13,789,048 
11,687,323 
10,599,298 
4,791,893 
3,212,010 
960,919 
515,681 
300,638 
192,105 
26,212 
Floriculture 2 
operations 
12,415 
12,009 
13,809 
(NA) 
(NA) 
7,969 
11,772 
12,427 
14,982 
4,659 
sales ($1 ,000) 
5,879,685 
5,018,449 
4,462,860 
2,570,005 
1,619,974 
501,473 
292,302 
218,521 
109,895 
14,175 
Bedding/garden plants 
operations 
9,709 
9,604 
10,629 
9,098 
8,070 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
3,512,384 
3,149,701 
2,357,185 
896,196 
285,520 
61,627 
32,844 
16,925 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Annual bedding/garden 
plants 3 
operations 
7,964 
7,989 
9,215 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
2,567,534 
2,305,913 
1,729,949 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Potted herbaceous perennial 
plants 4 
operations 
6,291 
6,416 
7,391 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
944,850 
843,788 
627,236 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Potted flowering plants for 
indoor or patio use 5 
operations 
4,059 
4,043 
5,080 
6,405 
7,645 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
1,084,274 
871,474 
868,131 
586,302 
418,007 
125,826 
69,469 
26,901 
25,652 
(NA) 
Foliage plants for indoor or patio 
use 
operations 
2,644 
2,728 
3,074 
4,201 
5,463 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
721,889 
509,873 
594,760 
485,910 
466,913 
38,376 
25,607 
9,842 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Cut flowers 6 
operations 
1,998 
1,703 
2,067 
3,120 
3,900 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
462,098 
403,254 
512,570 
506,677 
353,415 
229,944 
140,207 
123,574 
67,430 
(NA) 
Cut cultivated greens 7 
operations 
728 
634 
758 
787 
674 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
99,040 
84,148 
130,213 
94,920 
33,595 
8,827 
2,433 
(NA) 
1,712 
(NA) 
Nursery stock sold (see text) 
operations 
8,226 
8,441 
8,305 
7,000 
7,436 
3,764 
6,757 
4,643 
7,207 
4,510 
sales ($1 ,000) 
Propagative horticultural materials, bareroot, 
4,266,631 
3,850,363 
3,096,723 
1,132,387 
944,920 
283,636 
155,506 
71,053 
58,183 
12,036 
and unfinished plants (see text) 
operations 
1,067 
1,178 
1,868 
1,681 
880 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
695,126 
601,657 
493,049 
190,090 
62,524 
36,873 
21,742 
13,667 
2,717 
(NA) 
Sod, sprigs, or plugs 
sold (see text) 10 1 
operations 
1,289 
1,403 
1,143 
825 
1,060 
545 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
1,138,465 
876,847 
835,212 
247,775 
206,611 
43,366 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Dried bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and 
tubers 12 
operations 
204 
223 
254 
179 
372 
270 
861 
870 
1,935 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
74,014 
48,512 
55,389 
29,175 
23,544 
10,375 
9,964 
9,237 
5,364 
(NA) 
Food crops grown under 
protection R 14 
operations 
2,521 
1,476 
1,015 
581 
866 
2,555 
819 
768 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
Transplants for commercial vegetable and 
796,664 
553,270 
222,624 
31,743 
26,685 
18,359 
19,546 
13,046 
12,384 
(NA) 
strawberry production 
operations 
693 
502 
493 
523 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Vegetable seeds 15 
sales ($1 ,000) 
371,817 
330,647 
156,273 
50,660 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
operations 
385 
340 
436 
352 
528 
232 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
135,122 
89,031 
93,147 
23,113 
37,562 
6,874 
(NA) 
(NA) 
12,809 
(NA) 
Flower seeds 
operations 
169 
141 
120 
93 
84 
(NA) 
85 
60 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Other (see text) 1617 
sales ($1 ,000) 
31,607 
30,825 
19,480 
7,585 
4,463 
1,645 
2,593 
1,823 
713 
(NA) 
operations 
3,902 
3,274 
3,785 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
399,918 
287,722 
302,869 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Aquatic plants 
operations 
345 
375 
381 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
20,205 
26,000 
23,635 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Cut Christmas trees sold (see 
text) 
operations 
3,352 
2,699 
3,195 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
366,632 
249,821 
256,161 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Short rotation woody crops 
sold (see text) 
operations 
49 
23 
28 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
IS “ "SBi Z ■' W, "MB 
2,173 
12,642 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
Tobacco transplants 
operations 
189 
207 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
sales ($1 ,000) 
1 Hggipa^i ■ <9 
9,728 
10,431 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
(NA) 
1 Data for 1929 through 1998 include cultivated mushrooms. 
2 Data for 1949 include greenhouse vegetables and mushroom operations. 
3 Data for 1970 include vegetable plant sales of $16,802,715. 
4 Data for 1998 include flats and hanging baskets. 
5 Data for 1929 include flowering and foliage plants. 
6 Data for 1949 include cut flowers and cut cultivated greens. 
7 Data for 1959 include only asparagus plumosus. 
8 Data for 1929 include bedding plants. 
9 Data prior to 1 988 do not include nursery lining out stock. 
10 Data prior to 1998 only include sod harvested. 
11 Data for 1970 include pasture sod from 70 operations with sales of $4,280,370. 
12 Data for 1929 include sales of flowers cut from bulbs grown in the open and from forced bulbs. 
13 Data for 1929 include vegetable plants grown in hotbeds and covered frames with sales of $2,076,498. 
14 Data for 1970 include 1 ,884 vegetable plant operations. Sales included with annual bedding plants. 
15 Data for 1970 include 261 vegetable and flower seed operations. 
16 Data prior to 1 998 do not include cut Christmas trees, short term woody crops, and tobacco transplants sold. 
17 Data prior to 1998 summarized aquatic plants with nursery plants under other environmentals. 
18 Data for 1 959 at wholesale prices. Actual total sales were $585,751 ,41 5 and wholesale sales were $435,052,807. 
19 Data for 1949 at wholesale prices. Actual total sales were $467,346,986 and wholesale sales were $249,814,924. 
2012 Census of Agriculture 2014 CHS - United States Data 1 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
