Colombia: How La Gaitana became a leading carnation grower

In 1984 two Italian brothers and one Colombian started La Gaitana Farms with 4 hectares. The farm expanded over the years due to increasing market demands. Nowadays, La Gaitana Farms is one of the leading growers of carnations and mini carnations in Colombia. The farm has a total surface of 40 hectares and is located close to Bogotá.

The freshness of the product is very important to La Gaitana Farms. Therefore, the flowers are cut and taken to the post-harvesting warehouse by 11 AM to avoid the midday heat. The warehouse has a temperature of 15 degrees which ensures a longer vase life. La Gaitana Farms has 5 coolers and the flowers are being treated and cooled down gradually in order to prevent dehydration. This infrastructure is rated at one of the top 5 in Colombia.

Furthermore, the team of La Gaitana Farms gets together four times a year to test existing and new varieties. They check disease resistance, vase life, the opening of buds, yield, head size, stem length, thickness, and originality in colour.

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