The greenhouses were first established in 1902 to support the colonial School of Agriculture, Trade and Industry (founded 1898), and then consisted of a central palm house with adjacent tropical and cold houses. These houses were replaced in 1937 with larger facilities which were extensively damaged in World War II. Postwar reconstruction was slow and the greenhouses did not resume operation until 1957 under the auspices of the Deutschen Instituts für Tropische und Subtropische Landwirtschaft GmbH (DITSL). A modern greenhouse of was built in 1965, with many improvements in 1971. Seminar rooms totaling and a research area of were added in 1987 and 1995 respectively.
