Flower Confidential

Award-winning author Amy Stewart takes readers on an around-the-world, behind-the-scenes look at the flower industry and how it has sought— for better or worse— to achieve perfection. She tracks down the hybridizers, geneticists, farmers, and florists working to invent, manufacture, and sell flowers that are bigger, brighter, and sturdier than anything nature can provide. There's a scientist intent on developing the first genetically modified blue rose; an eccentric horitcultural legend who created the most popular lily; a breeder of gerberas of every color imaginable; and an Ecuadorean farmer growing exquisite roses, the floral equivalent of a Tiffany diamond. And, at every turn she discovers the startling intersection of nature and technology, of sentiment and commerce.

Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Breeding
1 The Birds, the Bees, and a Camel Hair Brush 15
2 Engineered to Perfection 40

Part 2 Growing
3 Italian Violets and Japanese Chrysanthemums 61
4 Acres under Glass 77
5 How the Dutch Conquered the World 106
6 Flowers on the Equator 137

Part 3 Selling
7 Forbidden Flowers 173
8 The Dutch Auction 209
9 Florists, Supermarkets, and the Next Big Thing 237

Epilogue: Valentine's Day 271
The Care and Feeding of Cut Flowers 283
Visiting Markets and Growers 285
Statistics 289
Notes 293
Selected Bibliography 303