The Southern Kentucky Floral Exchange is a community of dedicated specialty cut flower growers who collaborate to support each other’s success and elevate our region's access to locally grown flowers in south central Kentucky and central Tennessee.

Our mission is to increase access to locally grown, high quality, equitably priced flowers and foliage by creating a streamlined sales channel for farmers and designers. We strive to promote flower farming as a sustainable profession by increasing sales, saving time and decreasing redundancies while building relationships within the flower farming community.

Tell us about your hub’s origin story.

Partnering with Rooted has made flower farming much more sustainable as a profession by giving us better tools, visibility, and reliable market access. From the designer aspect, the innovation of a one-stop-shop marketplace to source local flowers across multiple farms has granted incredible access to florists and systematically reduced many of the traditional challenges of buying local. Seeing that opportunity clearly, we brought the Floral Exchange to life — for farms and designers alike.

Can you tell us what inspired you to bring growers together in this way?

The biggest inspiration was community. Farming can be isolating, and we saw an opportunity to create something collaborative instead of competitive. By bringing growers together, we could stabilize supply, fill larger orders, support one another during crop gaps, and create a more reliable regional flower source. It also allows each grower to focus on what they grow best, while still offering customers a diverse catalog.

What tips would you give to someone looking to start a hub? 

Start with strong communication and clear expectations. Make sure everyone is aligned on quality standards, pricing structure, fulfillment processes, and timelines. Begin small and build systems before scaling. Trust and transparency are essential. It’s okay to make mistakes!

Share any unexpected challenges or surprises you’ve encountered while growing and running your hub.

Coordinating supply across multiple farms can be complex, especially when weather impacts crops differently. Logistics and last-minute adjustments can be challenging. One pleasant surprise has been how willing growers are to collaborate and problem-solve together when systems are clear. The sense of shared success has been incredibly rewarding.

Can you tell us how Rooted supported your hub’s growth? 

Rooted has given us structure and visibility. It streamlined our ordering process, created a central place for buyers to shop, and reduced back-and-forth communication. It’s allowed us to present ourselves as a unified, professional marketplace rather than a collection of individual farms.

Which Rooted features or tools have made the biggest difference for you? 

The real-time inventory management and consolidated ordering have been game changers. Being able to update availability quickly and have buyers place orders directly through the platform has saved significant administrative time. The visibility for buyers to see what’s available across the hub in one place has also increased order size and consistency. The Rooted analytic database has also been a game changer. The automated data keeping has played a huge role in our decision making, crop plans and business development.

Have you noticed any measurable improvements such as increased efficiency, cost savings, revenue growth since using Rooted? 

Yes — we’ve seen improved efficiency in order processing and fulfillment, which has reduced administrative time and errors. As a collective, we’re able to capture larger orders that individual farms may not have been able to fulfill alone. That has translated into stronger overall sales, more consistent weekly ordering, and better crop planning. For individual growers, it has created more reliable demand and expanded market reach without significantly increasing workload.

Be sure to check out SOKY'S website for more about their awesome operation and follow them on Instagram for farming inspiration.