Flower Power

What started as a status symbol in the 1960s has become a 30 billion dollar market in this century. Developing new breeds of resilient flowers through genetic modification and science experiments is indeed a global business today. Successful breeding of a species of flowers can involve the elimination of many thousands of varieties.

The seasonal blooms that graced the garden have now been replaced by cut flowers from hot houses. You no longer have to wait for a specific season to buy a specific flower for you vase at home. The global flower markets have ensured that you can get just about any bloom that your heart desires in any month you want it, as long as you can pay the right price for it.

More than half of the world’s cultivated hot house roses come from northern Germany near Hamburg. Flowers grown in the hot houses of Kenya will survive 2 weeks as they are transported and sold in the wholesale markets of Europe. And now China has decided to enter the flower market with the aim of taking over the sales in the Asian segment of the flower market.

In monetary figures the global flower market is larger than the global music industry. The constant research to improve quality offers plenty of opportunity in the field. So you may just want to try your hand at a science project based on glowing flowers.