Ornamental Plants

Ornamental plants enhance our natural surroundings and cultural landscapes. There are many different uses and appearances of ornamental plants: indoor, balcony, container, cut-flower plants, or ornamental herbaceous perennials, grasses or woody plants. The onset of ornamental plant breeding in Germany dates back to the middle of the 18th century and has developed ever since. Ornamental plant production has an increasingly international orientation.

Colours and Quality

The main focus in ornamental plant breeding is on improved variety traits, notably colour, form, size, number of flowers, flower vase life, repeat blooming, disease resistance, nutrient uptake capacity and growth habit.

The progress achieved by breeding makes ornamental plants more resistant to low temperatures, diseases or drought and contributes to saving water and energy. This breeding progress enables efficient and environment-friendly propagation and production.

The great choice and increasing diversity of ornamental plants reflect the innovation and performance of ornamental plant breeders. Every year, some 200 new ornamental plants developed by a German plant breeder are granted Community plant variety protection. Breeding methods used for ornamental plant breeding range from traditional selection breeding to modern biotechnology and genetic engineering. The blue carnation is an example for a genetically modified ornamental plant.

"New Ornamentals" for the Customers

A big challenge is the development of "new ornamentals" is, i.e. breeding species not yet used as ornamental plants into marketable varieties. Another objective is to ensure a high seed and seedling quality to ensure a homogenous and quick development of young plants into a great number of healthy and vigorous ornamental plants in order to provide better material to horticultural producers.