Catalogue of Colour

The international reach of the small industry supplying the seeds that bring fresh floral colour to our lives is incredible. A glance in a florist's window or a flick through a flower seed trader's catalogue, and the enticing blooms on offer will grow from seed produced many thousands of miles away.

credit Thompson & Morgan

The company 'Thompson and Morgan' has been trading seed from a base in eastern England since 1855. More than 2000 varieties are on offer in their latest catalogue. "Some of them are old favourites," says Andrew Tokely the company's main seed buyer. "Marigolds like 'Naughty Marietta' and 'Boy Oh Boy' have been popular for 50 years but every year we have something new to offer gardeners and growers, and we buy from more and more countries to get what we want."

Appearance attracts the customer but it is the quality of the seed that will secure their satisfaction with what they buy. It must be hard, pest and disease free, and burst into life as soon as it's planted. For ten years, especially since the introduction of F1 hybrids, the search for the perfect location for seed production has scattered seed traders worldwide.

Rudbekia may grow well and glamorise gardens in Europe, but the climate of California - especially the long, dry autumn -produces the highest quality seed. Zimbabwe is a leading producer of marigolds. While some flower breeders send their stock to the other side of the world for multiplication, others keep it closer to home. The best delphiniums - dwarf or tall, from pale blue to purple - are bred in New Zealand and swathes of swaying flower spikes are farmed for seed on the same island.

Aside from climate, another factor in finding the perfect location is the cost of local labour. Low wages have attracted seed growers to Indonesia. For the same reason, Costa Rica and Mexico have become world-renowned for the quality and quantity of their seed of delicate impatiens. In both countries, and fields patchworked with plots of colour, each impatiens flower is painstakingly pollinated by hand. Harvesting the highly desirable F1 progeny requires steady dexterity as well in order to cope with the plant's seed dispersal mechanism, which flicks seed up and away in any direction.

For more robust flowers with more manageable seed, the harvest is mechanised. In California, ripe marigold seed is sucked up in regular passes by a hoovering harvester. A species that seeds uniformly, such as sunny coreopsis, can be combined with a more conventional harvester.

The difficulty of production is reflected in the price on the packet. Seed of lantana sells for about US$1.50 per 1000 whereas just eight seeds of an F1 geranium will cost more than double that. Demand for both high value and cheaper seed is steady. While some customers prefer the convenience of buying cut flowers or flower plants raised in small pots or 'plugs' rather than growing from seed themselves, the seed is still needed by the growers who supply these markets.

Another new trend in the industry is the rising demand in Europe and the United States for wildflower seed. Financial incentives have been introduced for landowners to re-establish local flora that disappeared from field edges under modern agricultural pressures. According to Mark Schofield of the UK wild seed specialists 'Emorsgate Seeds', flowers which are a food source for insects beneficial to the commercial crops growing alongside are the most popular. But multiplying the seed is fraught with problems. "Crowd them together to produce some seed and they are very susceptible to viruses and fungal and insect attack, not to mention birds. We have had whole flocks of goldfinches swoop in and take the seed before we can get to it."

Whatever the challenges, whilst traders compete against each other for ideas, supplies and market share, there is one factor they all have to contend with: the force of nature. Crop failure or part failure - from disease or pest damage - can leave the best laid plans in ruins. The most recent El Nino decimated the seed harvests in the Americas. Without Californian sweet pea seed there was a worldwide shortage that no other country could meet.

Changing trends, as well as natural calamities, keep the seed industry thinking ahead. Negotiations now underway will be for seed on sale two years hence. Who would have predicted for the 2001 season that dwarf sunflowers would be the must-buy bouquet in Europe and North America? However the trend originated, there was a flower seed dealer two years ago who sensed it and set about sowing the seed to supply it.

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