MODULE 7

FLORICULTURE

By

Pillai Aswathy Viswanath

Introduction

Floriculture may be defined as the branch of Horticulture which deals with the culture and management of flowers and ornamental plants.

It has been derived from two words ‘flor’ means flower and ‘cultura’ means cultivation.

Floriculture includes cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for direct sale or for use as raw materials in cosmetic and perfume industry and in the pharmaceutical sector.

It also includes production of planting materials through seeds, cuttings, budding and grafting.

In simpler terms floriculture can be defined as the art and knowledge of growing flowers to perfection.

The persons associated with this field are called floriculturists.

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF FLORICUTUREIN KERALA

Problems of biotecnology labs involved in the in-vitro propagation.

Problems faced by the cut flower growers; and Problems faced by the cut flower traders.

Problems Of Biotecnology Labs Involved In The In-vitro Propagation.

High Cost of Chemicals, Hormones and Other Nutrients

High cost of electricity

Lack of technical advice and expertise

High rate of contamination

Lack of high yielding disease resistant plants

Handling problems due to small size of plantlets

Problems Faced By The Cut Flower Growers

High cost of plants

Non availability of high yielding plants

Non availabilty of disease resistant planting material

High cost of plant protectors

Attack of pests,fungal and bacterial diseases

Lack of training regarding the selection of high yielding plants

Premature shedding of flower buds

Stunded growth of spike

High cost of maintance

Problems Faced By The Cut Flower Traders.

Short Supply of Flowers to Fulfill Bulk Orders Improper Grading and Packing Procedures adopted by

the Growers Inadequate Facilitie for Quick and Timely

Transportation of Flowers: Lack of storage facilities Erratic changes in demand High rate of damages in transit Lack of technology to keep freshness of flowers Frequent changes in taste and preferences of

consumers Low internal demands Lack of government support

Scope

Floral garden, Indoor decoration, Social functions and religious functions

the demand for floricultural plants is increasing day by day and to meet out the same there is a good scope for growing and raising of ornamental or floricultural plants.

Perfume industries can be established in the country which can help improving national economy.

Flowers can be a source of earning huge foreign currency by exporting them.

Flowers can be considered as a commercial commodity. Commercial flower production may be helpful in increased earning of the grower.

Establishment of flower production farms and perfume industries can help solving unemployment problem to a large extent.

It provides scope to bring more unused land under flower cultivation.

Common Cut Flowers

Cut flowers are flowers or flower buds usually removed from the plant for indoor decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays.

It can be simply be defined as any flower that is cut from the plant and are ready to be used in a fresh flower arrangement.

Many gardeners harvest their own cut flowers from domestic gardens.

The cultivation and practices of raising cut flowers form a part horticulture . They are often included in that branch of horticulture called floriculture.

ROSE

Rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae.

It is one of the most important cut flower.

Flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, colours ranging from white through yellows and reds.

Most species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant.

Gerbera

Gerbera is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae family.

Gerbera species bear a large capitulumwith striking, two-lipped ray florets in yellow, orange, white, pink or red colours.

The capitulum which has the appearance of a single flower is actually composed of hundreds of individual flowers.

Gerbera is very popular and widely used as a decorative garden plant or as cut flowers.

The domesticated cultivars are mostly a result of a cross between Gerbera jamesonii and another South Africanspecies Gerbera viridifolia .

The cross is known as Gerbera hybrida.

GLADIOLUS

Gladiolus is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family (Iridaceae).

Their stems are generally unbranched, sword-shaped, longitudinal leaves enclosed in a sheath.

The flower spikes are large and one-sided, with bisexual flowers, each subtended by 2 leathery, green bracts .

The sepals and the petals are almost identical in appearance, and are termed tepals .

ASTER

Aster is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae .

It is popular as garden plants because of their attractive and colourful flowers.

The central disk of flowers on the Asters is surrounded by the ring of ray flowers.

In many cases the disk flowers are a different color than the petals so that the entire flower head looks like a single flower with a central disk surrounded by differently colored petals.

The ray flowers on the Asters are never yellow. The tubular flowers of the Asters are bisexual, having both a pistil and stamens; the ray flowers are usually sterile.

CHRYSANTHEMUM

Chrysanthemums are flowering plants of the genusChrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae .

Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium) is economically important as a natural source of insecticide .

Each Chrysanthemum flower head is actually a cluster of many flowers, composed of a central group of short disk flowers surrounded by rings of longer ray flowers.

The Chrysanthemum blooms come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes and in a wide range of colors.

In addition to the traditional yellow, other popular colors are white, purple, and red.

DAISY

Daisies belong to the daisy family of Compositae, now known as Asteraceae in flowering plants.

Daisy is a perennial whose evergreen leaves form a basal tuft or a rosette.

Daisy flower plant has a prostrate fashion or a growing habit of spreading.

Daisies can be propagated by division in spring or through sowing seeds in spring.

The Daisy's leaves are edible and can be used in salads.

CARNATION

Dianthus caryophyllus or carnation is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall.

The leaves are greyish green to blue-green, slender, up to 15 cm long.

The flowers are produced singly or up to five together in a cyme.

When grown in gardens, Carnations grow to between 6 and 8.5 cm in diameter.

Petals on Carnations are generally serrated. Carnations are bisexual flowers and bloom simply

or cluster. The Carnation leaves are narrow and stalk less

and their color varies from green to grey-blue or purple.

GOLDEN ROD

Solidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of flowering plants belongs to the family, Asteraceae

Solidago species are perennials growing from rhizomes .

The flower heads are usually of the radiate type (typical daisy flower heads with distinct ray and disc florets ) but sometimes discoid (with only disc florets of mixed, sterile, male and bisexual types)

Anthurium

Anthurium is a genus of herbs often growing as epiphytes on other plants.

The leaves are often clustered and are variable in shape.

The inflorescence bears small flowers which are perfect, containing male and female structures

The flowers are contained in dense spirals on the spadix.

The spadix is often elongated into a spike shape. Beneath the spadix is the spathe, a type of bract.

The spadix and spathe are a main focus of Anthuirium breeders, who develop cultivars in bright colors and unique shapes.

Anthurium plants are poisonous due to calcium oxalate crystals, irritating to the skin and eyes.[5]

ORCHIDS

The Orchidaceae are a diverse

and widespread family of flowering plants,

with blooms that are often colourful and often

fragrant, commonly known as the orchid

family.

LILIUM

Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plantsgrowing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers.

The flowers are large, often fragrant, and come in a range of colours including whites, yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and purples.

Lilies are propagated mainly by means of bulbs. They are also grown from seeds

Although the lilies grown from seeds are more disease resistant, the only disadvantage with growing lilies from seeds is that the lily plants take a longer time to bloom.

Bulbs are very much preferred in growing lilies.

LIMONIUM

Limonium is a flower species of family Plumbagibaceae

Members are also known as sea-lavender. Sea-lavenders normally grow as

herbaceous perennial plants growing tall from a rhizome .

Many species flourish in saline soils, and are therefore common near coasts and in salt marshes .

Common Leaves Used In Flower Arrangement

CYPRESS

Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae

which is a gymnosperm (conifer) of northern temperate regions.

Most cypress species are trees , while a few are shrubs .

Cypress leaves are commonly used in flower arrangement to add beauty.

PODOCARPUS

Podocarpus from the Greek, podos, meaning "foot", and karpos, meaning "fruit“ is a genus of conifers the most numerous and widely distributed belongs to family Podocarpaceae .

Podocarpus are evergreen shrubs or trees. The leaves are 0.5 to 15 cm long, with a

distinct midrib. It is used in flower arrangement

ASPARAGUS

Asparagus, or garden asparagus, scientific name Asparagus officinalis, is a flowering perennial plant species.

It was once classified in the lily family, now it is in the family Asparagaceae.

Asparagus officinalis is native to most of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia,and is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop.

PALMS

Commonly known as palm trees Which is belongs to the family arecaceae Currently 181 genera with around 2600 species Restricted to tropical, subtropical, and

warm temperate climates. Palms are among the best known and most

extensively cultivated plant. Most palms are distinguished by their large,

compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds, arranged at the top of an unbranched stem.

CYCADS

Cycads are seed plants. They typically have a stout and woody trunk with

a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. They typically grow very slowly and live very long,

with some specimens known to be as much as 1,000 years old. Because of their superficial resemblance, they are sometimes mistaken for palms or ferns, but are only distantly related to either.

The living cycads are found across much of the subtropical and tropical parts of the world.

FERNS

Ferns are not of major economic importance,

but some are gathered for medicine, grown

for food,or as ornamentals.

Some fern species are significant weeds.

EUCALYPTUS

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs belongs to the family, Myrtaceae.

It is the tallest known flowering plant on Earth.

There are more than 700 species of eucalyptus and most are native to Australia; a very small number are found in adjacent areas of New Guinea and Indonesia.

One species, Eucalyptus deglupta, ranges as far north as the Philippines.

Some eucalyptus species have attracted attention from horticulturists, global development researchers, and environmentalists because of desirable traits such as being fast-growing sources of wood, producing oil that can be used for cleaning and as a natural insecticide, or an ability to be used to drain swamps and thereby reduce the risk of malaria. Eucalyptus oil finds many uses like in aromatherapy, as a cure for joint pains.