Floriculture and nursery crops

• Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The development plant breeding of new varieties is a major occupation of floriculturists.
• Floriculture crops include bedding plants, flowering plants, foliage plants or houseplants, cut cultivated greens, and cut flowers. As distinguished from nursery crops, floriculture crops are generally herbaceous. Bedding and garden plants consist of young flowering plants (annuals and perennials) and vegetable plants. They are grown in cell packs (in flats or trays), in pots, or in hanging baskets, usually inside a controlled environment, and sold largely for gardens and landscaping.
• Flowering plants are largely sold in pots for indoor use. Foliage plants are also sold in pots and hanging baskets for indoor and patio use, including larger specimens for office, hotel, and restaurant interiors.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floriculture 

Nursery. Photo used courtesy of Helen Gordon, WWF-SA.

Local business environment
Role players
Websites and publications

Local business environment

Find information about trade, events, government notices and more on the South African Nursery Association (SANA) website, www.sana.co.za.

Role players

Associations

South African Nursery Association (SANA) www.sana.co.za SANA represents the nursery industry as a whole, and also represents individual associations such as

• Allied, Bulb & Seed Trade Association
• Bedding Plant Growers Association
• Garden Centre Association (GCA)
• Growers Association

Botanical Society of South Africa Tel: 021 797 2090 www.botanicalsociety.org.za The Botanical Society Head Office is situated at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It has sixteen branches – find details on the website.

Other associations

• Aloe Council of South Africa www.aloesa.co.za
• Cycad Society of South Africa www.cycadsociety.org
• Fern Society of Southern Africa www.fernsoc.co.za
• Herb and Indigenous Plant Guild Tel: 011 393 3427
• Indigenous Bulb Association of South Africa (IBSA) www.safricanbulbs.org.za [website not working, 4 September 2018]
• Interior Plantscapers Association of South Africa www.ipsa.za.com
• South African Green Industry Council (SAGIC) admin [at] sagic.co.za http://sagic.co.za
• South African Orchid Council www.saoc.co.za
• Succulent Society of South Africa www.succulentsociety.co.za

Find details of the South African Flower Export Council (SAFEC), Cape Flora SA, South African Flower Growers Association (SAFGA) and the Intensive Growers Association (IGA) on the “Cut flowers” page.

Training and research

See also the “Cut flowers” page.

• The ARC-VOP does research and training in ornamental plants. See www.arc.agric.za.
• Find AgriSETA-accredited providers like BC Landscape Training and Consultancy at www.agriseta.co.za.
• Cape Peninsular University of Technology (CPUT) Department Landscape Technology Tel: 021 959 6480 / 5879 www.cput.ac.za
• Durban University of Technology (DUT) Department of Horticulture and Landscape Technology Tel: 031 373 5124 www.dut.ac.za
• Read about several South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)-accredited qualifications to do with floriculture and ornamental plants: (i) Care for ornamental seedlings; (ii) Identify the major categories of ornamental plants; (iii) Apply fertilizers to ornamental plants and landscapes; (iv) Identify and prepare soils for landscaped planting. Find the links on the AgriSETA website.
• Stellenbosch University Department of Horticultural Science Tel: 021 808 2112 www.sun.ac.za/horticulture
• Tshwane University of Technology Dept of Horticulture Tel: 012 382 5300 www.tut.ac.za
• University of the Free State Department of Genetics Prof J Spies – 051 401 2261 Mr Maleka – 051 401 3976 www.ufs.ac.za
• University of Johannesburg Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology ​botany [at] uj.​ac.za​, www.uj.ac.za
• UNISA (Florida Campus) College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences Tel: 011 670 9351, 011 471 2184 CAESenquiries [at] unisa.ac.za, www.unisa.ac.za Diplomas and BTech in ornamental horticulture
• University of Pretoria Department of Plant Production and Soil Science Tel: 012 420 3809 / 223 www.up.ac.za

Find information on SANA workshops and in-service training for students at www.sana.co.za.

Some nurseries and garden centres

1. Cape Garden Centre www.capegardencentre.co.za
2. Colourful Nursery Group www.colourfulgroup.co.za
3. Cycads for Africa http://cycadsforafrica.com
4. Cyckos www.cyckos.co.za
5. Eden Garden Centre Tel: 018 468 8777 http://edengardencentre.co.za
6. Floradale Nurseries www.floradale.co.za
7. Garden Pavilion www.gardenpavilion.co.za
8. GardenShop www.gardenshop.co.za
9. Garden World www.gardenworld.co.za
10. Grow Wild www.growwild.co.za
11. Illovo Nursery www.illovonursery.co.za
12. Lifestyle Home Garden www.lifestyle.co.za
13. Malanseuns Pleasure Plants www.malanseuns.co.za
14. Malmesbury Groothandel Kwekery http://kwekerysa.co.za
15. Mikibu Bonsai Nursery www.bonsaisa.co.za
16. New Plant Nursery www.newplant.co.za
17. Plantae Orchids www.plantae.co.za
18. Plantforum www.plantforum.co.za
19. Plantland www.plantland.co.za
20. Random Harvest Nursery www.randomharvest.co.za
21. Sherwood Garden Centre www.sgcpe.com
22. Sheilam Cactus and Succulent Nursery www.sheilamnursery.com
23. Super Plants Hermanus http://superplantssa.com
24. Top Crop Nursery www.superlawn.co.za
25. Tulip Garden Centre www.tulipgardencentre.co.za
26. Twinstreams Indigenous Nursery www.twinstreams.co.za

Also find the list of garden centres at www.sana.co.za, www.lifeisagarden.co.za and www.horti.co.za.

Other role players

• African Aloe www.africanaloe.co.za
• AMT www.amtrends.co.za AMT has previously conducted a feasibility study of an Aloe industry in the Eastern Cape.
• Dube AgriZone www.dubetradeport.co.za Find the AgriZone nursery option on the website.
• Ellepot South Africa www.ellepot.com/za Replacing conventional nursery bags, trays (see Jansen, 2020)
• Garden Goods www.gardengoods.co.za
• House of Aloes www.aloe.co.za
• Incotec South Africa www.incotec.com A “comprehensive range of seed treatments, technologies and services”
• Organic Aloe www.organicaloe.co.za
• Plantwise www.plantwise.co.za
• Silverhill Seeds www.silverhillseeds.co.za

Find other seed companies at www.sansor.org and in the “Seeds and seedlings” article.

Websites and publications

See the websites listed earlier on this page.

• Find the online resource with notes and photos, www.plantbook.co.za.
• The Directorate International Trade at the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) compiled A profile on the aloe industry for export. Find it here.
• Also available at www.daff.gov.za, under “Resource centre” and “Brochures and production guidelines” are the following: (i) Anthurium (flamingo flower) (ii) Bottlebrush (Callistemon species) (iii) Cancer Bush (Lessertia frutescens) (iv) Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) (v) Aloe ferox, and (vi) Sea Lavender flower.
• The Directorate Agro-processing Support compiled the document “Profile of Hibiscus Plant”, which can be read at www.nda.agric.za/doaDev/sideMenu/AgroProcessingSupport/docs/Hibiscus.pdf
• Wilman, V. 2019. A practical guide for community-run nurseries: Growing indigenous plants for restoration. Cape Town: WWF South Africa. Available at www.wwf.org.za.
• The AgriSETA Assessment Guide Primary Agriculture “Monitor the establishment of a crop” includes ornamental plants. See www.agriseta.co.za/downloads/LearningMaterial/116079_AG.pdf.
• The Royal Horticultural Society’s Propagating Plants, published by Dorling Kindersley.
• Find the following on www.amazon.com: (i) The Garden Succulents Primer by Ben-Erik Van Wyk, Gideon F. Smith (ii) Guide to the Aloes of South Africa by Gideon Smith, Ben-Erik Van Wyk
• The Garden Guardian’s guide to environmentally-responsible garden care, published by Aardvark Press. The publication is available from www.aardvarkpress.co.za or www.takealot.com.
• Several gardening publications can be found at www.metzpress.co.za/books/category/gardening.
• Find the many grower guides at www.growveg.co.za.
• The Wild Flower Guides to the indigenous flora of South Africa and other publications are available from the Botannical Society Visitors Centre at Kirstenbosch. See www.botanicalsociety.org.za.
• The Gardener, “The Best Gardening Magazine in South Africa”. Visit www.thegardener.co.za.
• The Indigenous Gardener digital magazine, www.theindigenousgardener.co.za.
• Find details of the latest Indigenous Gardening Handbook at www.indigenousplantfair.org.za.
• See the Ballstraathof website for seasonal charts and other useful information: www.ballstraathof.co.za.
• The online shop http://cycadsforafrica.com for cycads

Some articles:

• Jansen C. 2020, January 13. “Fruit nurseries in South Africa adapt to degradable paper containers”. FreshPlaza. Available at www.freshplaza.com/article/9177957/fruit-nurseries-in-south-africa-adapt-to-degradable-paper-containers/
• Kriel G. 2020, January 8. “Time for SA farmers to cash in on the succulent boom”. Farmer’s Weekly. Available at www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-business/agribusinesses/time-for-sa-farmers-to-cash-in-on-the-succulent-boom/

International

• Refer to the “International business environment” heading on the “Cut flowers” page.
• Find information on the British Ornamental Plant Producers on the website of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), https://hta.org.uk
• Find international updates on the International Trade Centre web pages www.intracen.org/itc/market-insider/floriculture
• www.ipps.org – the International Plant Propagators’ Society (IPPS)