"Consumer eager to pay more for orchid combinations"

Mixes, mixes and more mixes. It is a trend among garden and bedding plants, but we now also see it among house plants. And also in this industry, it seems to be a profitable 'product'. German Orchid grower Jan Klusmann of Klusmann Blumenbetrieb GmbH, for example, introduced its so-called Cocktail Orchid four months ago and is now increasing the production. He is planning to have it doubled by autumn.

Jan Klusmann holding a Cocktail Orchid at the IPM Essen in Germany.

"At the moment, we produce 800 of these orchid combinations per week", says Jan Klusmann. These plants are being sold to garden centers in Germany and export companies in the Netherlands. And even though, the combination costs a bit more money - as there are two plants in one pot - the consumer seems to be willing to pay for it. And the demand is rising. "We are increasing the production and by autumn we want to produce 1500 plants per week."

According to Klusmann, making a Cocktail Orchid is more than just putting two different colored orchids in one pot. "It is not that easy and it requires a bit of research", he says. "Both plants need to have similar growing and flowering habits. So, in height, size and flowering period they need to be identical and finding and combining these varieties is a challenge."

The current Cocktail Orchid range of Klusmann Blumenvertrieb consists of a purple-white and a red-yellow orchid combination. "We have tried different combinations for several months and did some test sales before introducing them commercially." And as the product is well demanded, Klusmann continues trialing new combinations. "In the future, we would like to have a range of four Cocktail Orchids."

For more information:
Klusmann Blumenvertrieb GmbH
Jan Klusman
Email: jan@orchideen-klusmann.de
www.orchideen-klusmann.de