Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 12
New Ornamental Plants for Horticulture
Kevin Seaton, Andreas Bettin and Heiner Grüneberg
Abstract
Introduction of new plants is critical to the survival and profitability
of the horticultural industries. These provide a marketing edge and can offer real
benefits in terms of utilisation to fill special needs, such as providing screening
a residential area from traffic noise, using living walls of plants, or providing an
area to remove nutrient run-off from suburbia and prevent nitrification of sensi-
tive wetlands. This chapter discusses the diversity of plants in the world's biomes
from tropical, cool and warm temperate forests to deserts and alpine tundra environ-
ments. It covers a wide diversity of new plant material that includes the magnolia
(
Magnolia
spp.), the Christmas poinsettia (
Euphorbia pulcherrima
), the conifers
(pines, firs and cedars), the holly (
Ilex
spp.) to the diverse and unusual Australian
and African xerophytic wildflowers such as the banksias (
Banksia
spp.), and kan-
garoo paws (
Anigozanthos
and
Macropidia
spp
.
). There has been a world history
of discovery and selecting plants from known plant hot spots. This search started
in earnest from the 1500s and continues to the present day with collectors look-
ing to find new forms and colours and to introduce new qualities into established
plants. It also introduces the developments in breeding new cultivars from exist-
ing genomes, including straight crossing to cellular techniques. Introducing a new
plant is a complex process involving a number of steps from establishing a market,
meeting production requirements to ensuring that the new plant survives and flour-
ishes, often in a different environment to its native habitat and can involve use of
greenhouse and chemical treatments. Considerable research has been expended on
tailoring production management systems best suited to a particular plant given the
diverse range of plant responses possible. This involves the development of propa-
gation techniques such as tissue culture where cutting propagation fails, and the
