Flower bouquets are popular gifts and beautify the home. Just like houseplants that also improve the room air. Both have enjoyed great popularity in recent years. Potted plants and cut flowers are often not so sustainable. We will explain to you how you can recognize environmentally friendly plants for rooms, balcony and garden.
According to the nature conservation organization BUND, around one billion bed and balcony plants are sold in Germany. The plant industry thus turned sales of 10.3 billion euros in 2021. But many of these plants are produced under ecologically questionable conditions, which does not really make them really sustainable.
Long ways and global dependencies
Flowers and potted plants are often imported from countries in the global south to Germany because the climate here is too cool for all -year cultivation. Alternatively, production is carried out in heated greenhouses in Europe. 85 percent of the cut flowers sold in Germany come from the Netherlands. Previously, the plants are often used in Colombia, Ecuador or Kenya.
Even in potted plants, European manufacturers often use cuttings from the global south. When transporting the plants, aircraft and cooling systems are used and large amounts of CO₂ are released. Nevertheless, studies show that the heating of greenhouses in Europe causes even larger amounts of emissions. It would be better to heat exclusively with renewable energies.
Many plants contain toxic chemicals
In addition to the high CO₂, import from distant countries is also problematic for other reasons. For example, large amounts of water are required for the production of potted plants and flowers. In addition, pesticides are often used that are not approved in the EU. These include insecticides that kill large amounts of insects, fagicides that combat fungal diseases such as mildew or rust mushrooms, and herbicides that destroy undesirable plants between the cultivated plants. Some manufacturers also use chemical active ingredients that cause the plants to remain small, but still form many leaves and flowers. The consequences for biodiversity are serious because many living things lose food and living space due to the use of pesticides. Insects in particular suffer from the use of chemicals and monocultures worldwide.
In addition, local workers are hardly protected against the harmful chemicals. According to the pesticide action network, 385 million people with pesticides are poisoned annually, 11,000 die from it every year. Otherwise, the working conditions in the global south are often precarious: many people do not even get the minimum wage on site.
The worst thing: According to the Plant Protection Act, no plants should actually be imported into the EU that contain banned pesticides. However, the ban is rarely checked and sanctions are hardly available. In some cases, the pesticides are even produced in Europe and sold to countries with less strict rules. An investigation by the nature conservation organization BUND from 2023 showed that of 22 plants advertised as a bee -friendly plants contained 21 pesticides. Some of them were harmful to people and bees.
Which seals are there for sustainably produced plants?
So how do you find really sustainable plants despite all these problems? An important indicator can be seals. The Fairtrade seal shows, for example, that the companies pay attention to good working conditions, protective clothing and payment according to the minimum wage. It also prohibits particularly harmful pesticides and genetic engineering. The manufacturers must also pay attention to sustainable water management for the seal and use rain instead of groundwater, for example. Average Fairtrade plants cost ten percent more than conventionally produced plants. They can be purchased in many flower shops and even supermarkets.
Alternatively, the organic seal is also a good guide to sustainable plants. It shows that the plants were cultivated without chemical pesticides and without growth inhibitors and genetic engineering. Organic plants can be found primarily in organic stores, at the weekly market or in specialized flower shops. You can recognize them by the Demeter, Bioland, Naturland or EU organic seal.
The MPS certificate, on the other hand, is not recommended by nature conservation experts. Above all, it documents the supply chains, but the certificate does not provide any information about the use of pesticides, peat or fertilizer.
Even better: regional and seasonal cut flowers
But even a seal does not guarantee a hundred percent sustainability. For example, despite the seal, the cultivation of roses and cloves in distant countries is often associated with a high CO₂ survey and monocultures. All the better that there are regional and seasonal alternatives from Germany all year round. In summer, lilies, sunflowers and domestic roses bloom. Autumn offers dahlias, asters and chrysant issues. In winter you will find Christian roses and Christmas stars from regional cultivation. Alternatively, bouquets made of dry flowers that are very durable are suitable for this season. And in spring, early bloomers such as crocus, iris, tulips, ranunculus and hyacinths are recommended.
Pop plants multiply yourself
Do you want more green in your four walls? It is most sustainable if you take cuttings from other plants. Just ask your friends or use local plant exchange meetings. You can also use cuttings for balcony and garden plants or multiply the plants from the seeds of the flowers.
You can easily cut drives with sufficient leaves, for example, with ivy, zebra cabbage, monstera and philodendron and let it root in water. Succulents form their offspring as so -called Kindel, which they can carefully replace. If you disassemble the trunk of Yucca palms, new plants grow from it. You can use cacti and floral bushes from organic seeds. Kernels from avocados or dates can also be used for this.
The advantages: long transport routes, plastic packaging and chemicals fall away and they do not support exploitative production systems. You can also make sure you use peat -free earth. Because in the commercial cultivation of potted plants, the opposite is still the case. Peat comes from bogs, which play an important role in climate protection as important CO₂ storage and habitats with a high biodiversity.
