History of greenhouse industry

• Humanity’s connection with plants began in ancient Greece with Theophrastus (377-288 BC) who had a keen interest in the natural world.
• Greenhouses, however, did not appear until 30 AD, thanks to Roman emperor Tiberius whose doctor prescribed that he eat one cucumber daily. Although glass was not even invented at that time, Tiberius ‘gardeners could grow cucumbers out of season by placing the seeds in large pots and covering them with sheets of mica, a transparent mineral. This rudimentary form of a greenhouse was known as a specularium.
• By the 13th century, interest in plant growth took an unfortunate turn when a Dominican monk, Albertus Magnus, was charged with witchcraft for tampering with the natural order by trying to force blooms out of season.
• The first working greenhouse was built in 1599 in Holland
• During the 17th century, the French built “orangeries” to cultivate the newly exported treat, oranges
• At the French palace Versailles, a huge orangery was built that was 500 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 45 feet high
• In 1737, wealthy Bostonian, Andrew Faneuil, built the first U.S. greenhouse, mostly to cultivate fruit.
• But it was during the 19th century in England that production of greenhouses expanded most fully
• Glass was then easily available for constructing these buildings, which were exclusively owned by the wealthy By 1825, greenhouses were common
• During the 1950s, improvements in transportation allowed growers to reach broader markets. Newbuilding materials became available.
• In 1960, greenhouses were made from film plastic and galvanized steel.
• Noteworthy botanical greenhouses were built during that decade: the Missouri Botanical Garden (1960), Hamburg Botanic Gardens (Germany, 1963), and the Exhibition Plant Houses at Edinburgh (Scotland, 1967).
• By 1980, floriculturists in the Netherlands became renowned for concentrating on specific or related crops, relying on automated production, and selling crops by the auction market system.