How far we’ve come

While writing this piece, I found myself staring hopelessly at my keyboard, wondering whether the words for this preface would ever come. Then I noticed the series of black-and-white photographs from yesteryear hanging on the wall. They are snapshots of long-gone great-grandparents, grandparents and uncles, posing stiffly for the camera, wearing flat caps and with their feet snugly tucked into quintessentially Dutch wooden shoes.

The photographs tell the story of generations of farmers and growers who earned their living in horticulture. In the first decades of the 20th century, they grew vegetables outdoors and in cold frames before gradually switching to ornamental crops in the 1950s and 1960s.

These images instantly made me realise just how far our sector has come technologically. Today, plans are underway to harness waste heat from data centres to heat greenhouses and help decarbonise greenhouse horticulture. In the floral wholesale sector, industry players are pooling resources and expertise to advance robotic technology in support of the sector’s long-term, sustainable growth. Meanwhile, Colombian chrysanthemum growers are literally counting on computer vision to forecast harvests with greater precision. This technology could help growers allocate human and financial resources more efficiently while improving the planning of harvesting and distribution logistics.

In the hardy nursery stock sector, a quiet revolution is also underway. Driven by soaring diesel prices and growing demand for greater sustainability, efficiency and productivity, agricultural machinery specialists are busy developing a range of electric machinery. In the same field, an innovative fertiliser-dosing solution can apply up to seven different mineral and organic fertilisers, as well as trace elements, simultaneously.

Designed to support efficient fertilisation and optimise nutrient distribution, the system helps growers produce uniform, high-quality container-grown hardy nursery stock and houseplants while potentially reducing costs.

This November-December issue of FloraCulture International explores the latest technological innovations and developments, examining their potential impact on the ornamental horticulture industry. Bringing these stories together would not have been possible without the help and support of growers, traders, technicians and technology consultants. I am grateful to everyone who contributed their knowledge, shared their insights and helped bring these stories to life.

Fans of horticultural technology will have plenty to look forward to in the coming months, with major horticultural trade fairs taking place in Vijfhuizen (IFTF 2026 – International Floriculture Trade Fair), Aalsmeer (Trade Fair Aalsmeer – Royal FloraHolland), Angers, France (SIVAL 2027, 12–14 January), and Essen, Germany (IPM ESSEN – The Leading Trade Fair for Horticulture).

The technological transformation of horticulture is far from over. As these stories show, innovation continues to open up new possibilities, helping growers and other industry professionals meet today’s challenges while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities.