Breaking the Greenhouse Divide: Why It’s Time to Unify Horticulture
Famers shaking hand in the middle of a crop field. | cherryandbees via Adobe Stock
Greenhouses were invented to allow plants to grow in climates that would not normally sustain them. By harnessing the “giant lightbulb in the sky” and protecting crops from weather extremes, growers turned seasonal limits into year-round opportunities. The greenhouse provides the framework, but plants drive the outcome. So, why do we treat different plant types as if they require entirely separate industries?
Tradition and Innovation in Horticulture
Traditional horticulturists — growers of mums, poinsettias, annuals, and perennials — have refined their methods over generations. Their supply chains, substrate choices, irrigation strategies, and climate management practices are highly efficient. Many operations are multi-generational businesses with decades of trial and error behind them. Their mindset is often, “If it isn’t broken, why fix it?”
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), more accurately described as Controlled Environment Horticulture (CEH), is most often associated with food production: tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and increasingly berries and herbs. Its promise is predictable supply, local production, and reduced risk from outdoor climate variability. Yet the fundamental science of plant growth does not change simply because the crop is food instead of ornamental. At its core, it is all horticulture.
The Data of Horticulture Growth and Fragmentation
The sector’s growth has been rapid. Between 2009 and 2019, the number of CEA operations in the U.S. more than doubled, rising from 1,476 to 2,994. Production volume increased 56% in the same period, with tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce leading the way.
Challenges remain, especially around energy. For many large CEH facilities, energy is the second-largest operating cost after labor. A 2023 study found that the carbon footprint of vertical farming can be 5.6 to 16.7 times greater than open-field farming, depending on lighting and climate control strategies. Greenhouses are generally more efficient but still consume 2.3 to 3.3 times more energy than field production. Alarmingly, nearly 38% of greenhouse and vertical farm operators do not track their energy use at all.
These realities highlight the importance of focusing on the “right technology,” not just the newest or flashiest systems.
A Plant is a Plant, No Matter Its Market
Of course, there are nuanced differences between crops. Leafy greens in midwinter require far more climate manipulation than a crop of marigolds in May. Some crops demand precise control of light, temperature, and humidity, while others thrive with minimal intervention. Yet in the broader sense, a plant is a plant. The principles of horticulture — light, water, energy, nutrients, pest management — apply across categories.
And yet the industry itself is divided. There are separate trade shows, conferences, and even associations for food growers, ornamental growers, and cannabis producers. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 60 horticulture trade shows, not counting dozens of specialty events for floriculture, CEH, and cannabis. This fragmentation keeps growers siloed when they could be learning from each other.
Keep the Goal in Sight
Controlled Environment Horticulture currently accounts for less than 2% of the U.S. fresh produce market. The opportunity for growth is enormous, but only if we remain focused on the true goal: growing healthy, reliable plants for people and communities in a sustainable way. When the industry chases hype, billion-dollar failures follow. When it focuses on plants, progress follows.
It is time to unify. Ornamentals, food crops, cannabis, and herbs all fall under the same discipline. Plants do not recognize the boundaries we have created. If we break down the silos, share knowledge across sectors, and keep our eyes on the real goal, the greenhouse industry in North America will become stronger, more innovative, and more sustainable than ever before.
For additional information on unifying a fragmented horticulture industry, please read the original article from Danielle found on LinkedIn.
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