Commercial Foliage Plants: Twenty Years of Change
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Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 102:297-303. 1989. COMMERCIAL FOLIAGE PLANTS: TWENTY YEARS OF CHANGE Dennis B. McConnell changes that have occurred over the past 20 years in the University of Florida, IFAS number of readily available species and/or cultivars within Ornamental Horticulture Department economically important foliage plant categories and Gainesville, FL 32611 examine these changes in respect to production technol ogy- Richard W. Henley University of Florida, IFAS Materials and Methods Central Florida Research and Education Center 2807 Binion Road, Apopka, FL 32703 The 1988 estimated relative economic importance of specific genera, species, cultivars and/or categories of Catherine B. Kelly Florida foliage plants was based on information furnished University of Florida, IFAS by the Florida Department of Agriculture (1). Relative val Ornamental Horticulture Department ues of economic importance of foliage plants for 1956, Gainesville, FL 32611 1961, 1967, and 1975 were reported previously (5, 6). The classification of foliage plant categories in this report was Additional index words, cultivars, new plants, trends, market derived from the reporting system used by the Florida De ing. partment of Agriculture. Information supplied by the Florida Foliage Association was used to determine the Abstract. The wholesale value of plants produced by Florida's number of species and/or cultivars of each foliage foliage plant industry has increased from approximately 15 categorey for 1974, 1979, 1984, and 1989 (3,4). Numerical million dollars in 1969 to 279 million dollars in 1988. This data on species/cultivars listings for 1969 was obtained monetary increase has been accompanied by a dramatic in from representative grower price lists for that year. The crease in the number of foliage plant species and cultivars number of grower listings and grower locations for each available commercially. The following genera had the great year beginning with 1974 is shown in Table 1. The data est increase in species and/or cultivars during the past 20 base for 1969 was too small for inclusion. Telephone area years: Aglaonema, Dieffenbachia, Ficus, Schefflera, and codes were used to classify growers as being in Central Spathiphyllum. Within the Philodendron genus, the number (407), North (904), South (305), or Southwest (813) of species available commercially has decreased, while the Florida. number of cultivars has increased. Results and Discussion The wholesale value of plants produced by the Florida foliage plant industry has increased from $15 million in In 1975, all species and cultivars in the genus Philoden 1969 to $279 million in 1988 (8). This tremendous expan dron accounted for 20% of the estimated value of the in sion in sales volume has been accompanied by extensive dustry (Table 2). By 1988, the combined value of all changes in production technology, consumption patterns, Philodendron species and/or cultivars was slightly less than and economic factors (6, 7). 5% of total sales. No single foliage plant genus has replaced Two studies published in the 1970's have documented the Philodendron genus in sales volume, and the foliage changes in product mix and relative economic importance plant industry shows a greater diversification than in past of specific genera, species, or cultivars in the trade (5, 6). years, as no single plant genus accounted for more than Another study published in 1977 documented product 10% of 1988 total sales. This conclusion is supported by mix, container sizess, and the frequency of plants listed in increased sales volumee of "other" foliage plants to 40% of the 1977 Florida Foliage Buyer's Guide (2). However, 1988 sales. there is no published information on changes that have Dracaena—Of the 39 species/cultivars recorded for occurred in the number of species and/or cultivars of Dracaena, 10 were listed for each of the 5 sampling years foliage plants. The purpose of this paper is to examine the (Table 3), 12 at each sampling year beginning with 1974, Table 1. Number of, location of, and % of Florida foliage nursery growers surveyed in the designated years. 1974 1979 1984 1989 %of %of %of %of Region Number Total Number Total Number Total Number Total Central 50 65 150 58 136 57 166 53 North 4 5 18 7 22 9 29 9 South 18 23 62 24 62 26 95 30 Southwest 5 6 30 11 19 8 23 7 Total 77 99 260 100 239 100 313 99 Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series No. N-00106. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 102: 1989. 297 Table 2. Estimated relative economic importance of specific genera, Table 3. Dracaena species and cultivars listed in trade publications at des species, cultivars, and/or categories of Florida foliage plants sold in ignated years. specific years.' Species Cultivar 1969 1974 1979 1984 1989 Product 1956 1961 1967 1975 1988 D. cv Gertrude Manda Nz N N L N -... % ._... D. arborea L L L L L Dracaena spp. 2.0 2.7 D. concinna 4.4 11.0 9.4 cv Tricolor N N L N N Epipremnum spp. 10.3 10.9 6.3 D. congesta 3.0 9.1 N N N L N Ficus spp. 2.3 D. deremensis 9.2 6.4 6.0 6.5 cv Compacta N N L N N Dieffenbachia spp. 2.1 4.8 D. deremensis 7.2 5.0 5.9 cv Compacta Variegata N N N L N Palms 2.0^ D. deremensis 2.5y 2.1y 7.0 5.8 cv Green Stripe N N L L L Aglaonema spp. 2.3 D. deremensis 1.1 1.2 2.0 4.0 cv Janet Craig L L L L L Spathiphyllum spp. X D. deremensis 0.5 1.1 3.0 3.3 cv Janet Craig Compacta N N L L L Ivy X X X X D. deremensis 3.1 cv Sandra Mastella N N L N L Philodendron scandens D. deremensis cv Warneckii L L L L L oxycardium 34.0 D. deremensis 25.8 20.1 14.0 3.0 cv Warneckii Compacta N N L N N Rrassaia actinophylla X X X D. deremensis 5.0 2.2 cv Warneckii Gold King N N L N N Syngonium spp. 4.4 D. deremensis 2.2 3.3 2.0 2.2 cv Warneckii Jumbo N N N L L Philodendron spp. (other) D. deremensis 16.1 17.7 15.5 6.0 1.7 cv White Stripe N N N L N Schefflera arboricola X X X X D. deremensis 1.3 cv Yellow Edge N N L L N Ferns —x X X D. draco 3.0 1.2 N L L L N Combinations — 3.0 10.8 2.0 1.0 D.fragrans L L L L L Other D.fragrans 24.5 19.6 21.6 31.0 40.3 cv Lindenii N L L L N D.fragrans cv Massangeana L L L L L D.fragrans 'Source for 1956, 1961, 1967, and 1975 is Smith, Scarborough, and cv Santa Rosa N N N L L Gholston (6) and Smith and Strain (7). D.fragrans cv Victoria L N N N N D. goldieana yOnly data for Chamaedorea elegans was reported for those years. L L L N N D. marginata xData not available for those years. L L L L L D. marginata cv Colorama N N L L L D. marginata cv Tricolor N L L L L and 18 at each sampling year beginning with 1979. The D. marginata cv Magenta N N N N L D. reflexa number of Dracaena species and cultivars listed declined cv Augustifolia honoriae N L L L L D. reflexa from a maximum of 30 in 1979 to 23 in 1989. Each year, cv Song of India N N L L L D. reflexa cv Song of Jamaica the percentage of surveyed growers listing Dracaena N N L L L D. reflexa L L L L L species/cultivars has declined (Table 17). This was particu D. sanderana L L L L L larly evident among growers in south Florida. D. sanderana cv Borinquensis N N L L L Epipremnum—In contrast to the Dracaena genus, the D. sanderana cv Celes N N L N N D. sanderana cv Lovie Roehrs Epipremnum genus has only one commonly grown species, N N L N N D. surculosa cv Florida Beauty L L L L L E. aureum. The limited number of cultivars of the species D. surculosa cvjuanita N N N N L have been consistently listed each sampling year following D. surculosa L L L L L their first listings (Table 4). There has been a steady in D. thalioides N L L N N crease in production of E. aureum from 1969 to 1988 Total 13 15 30 27 (Table 2). A greater percentage of growers in central 23 Florida grow Epipremnum aureum and its cultivars than 7L = listed; N = not listed. growers in south Florida (Table 17). Ficus—Fourteen species and 43 species/cultivar listings 1989 had not been listed in previous sampling years. The were recorded for the 5 sampling years (Table 5). Thirty- percentage of palm growers on both a state and regional two species/cultivars of the 43 listing were available in basis has decreased since 1974 (Table 17). 1989. However, major changes have occurred in the genus Aglaonema—-Five species and 25 species/cultivar listings as only 7 of the 13 listings in 1969 were still listed in 1989. were recorded for the 5 sampling years (Table 8). Seven During the past 5 years, the number of F. benjamina cul teen of these have been listed every sampling year after tivars has increased from 3 (1984) to 10 (1989).