"Customers are looking for different shades of red roses"

“We see that the markets are becoming more sophisticated. Customers are looking for different shades and alternatives in red roses”, says David Lam, the Vice President Sales of Rosaprima. Last year the Ecuadorian rose farm started to plant Finally, the new rose variety of United Selections. “It is a great addition to our assortment of twelve red rose varieties that we already offer.”

“Finally has a crimson red center, and darker outside petals. However, it does not have any bronzing or burning. It has a good vase-life and its foliage has a nice color, which makes it an easily recognizable variety that opens fully”, David says.

“Many different factors come into play when deciding to cultivate a new variety, and there are a lot of requirements that must be met, both from a technical standpoint as well as from the market demand standpoint”, says Juan Martín Gomez, the Chief Quality Officer of Rosaprima. “When we plant a new variety, we take into account the specific recommendations of the breeder, but we are also continuously learning from the very first day the variety is grafted. For now we see Finally has very good performance, providing good yields, but it is still a new introduction for us, so we are still learning the specifics.”

David Lam and Juan Martín Gomez

Rosaprima harvested Finally first in December 2017 and is currently exporting this variety to over 40 different countries on 5 continents. “People seem to really like Finally. It was received with great enthusiasm by our clients during Valentine's Day 2018 and now we have a steady production every week.”

Pictures by katrina barrow photography, Christy Hulsey, Colonial House of Flowers

Future plans

Rosaprima has an extension of over 136 cultivated ha, and offers over 150 rose varieties. “We have passed the experimental stages of growing Finally. Now we have commercial quantities available on open market and standing order basis. As customer interest grows, we will expand our capacity accordingly. We are monitoring performance and market trends constantly. It will ultimately depend on the adoption by the final consumer. We are confident that the market will continue to react positively to this new introduction. We are also optimistic from a production standpoint as yields are quite good under our current growing conditions.”

For more information:
Rosaprima International
501 Brickell Key Drive,
Suite 201 Miami, FL 33131
t: 1 (305) 644 - 8459
t: 1 (866) 97-PRIMA
f: 1 (786) 409 - 6330
information@rosaprima.com
www.rosaprima.com