‘Classical’ flower breeding by continuous crossing and selection has its limitations; for example, no one has succeeded

in breeding a blue rose or an orange petunia. However, the ability to introduce individual genes into plants (molecular
breeding) has made the development of plant species with novel aesthetic properties possible

recent developments in the molecular breeding of flowers, indicates novel traits and strategies, and discusses some of
the problems that must be tackled before transgenic ornamental plants can reach the marketplace.