Christmas is coming and that means a big demand for poinsettias, red and white roses, but red tulips too. At least for Norway, where Schouten produces tulips in a 7000m2 greenhouse in Lierstranda, Norway. Annually, they grow 20 million tulips that are supplied all over the country and Christmas is one of his most important holidays of the year.
Matthe Schouten, father of Christel and Sebastian, who are sitting next to him.
Traditional peak day on Sunday
According to Sebastian Schouten, sales started a bit earlier this year. “The 23rd of December is usually the big day for people buying cut flowers for Christmas. When it concerns a weekday the red tulips are sold from the early morning to the late evening. This year however, the 23rd is on Sunday. Shops don’t open before 12 or 1 o’clock, and they close early.”
Tulips in the greenhouse
However, Sebastian doesn’t expect much lower sales figures this year. “We still have products available for the coming days, but we are close to sold out.” He doesn’t notice a big change in demand. “2019 will be probably better, as the 23rd will be on a Monday.”
Red tulips. Variety name: Ben Van Zanten
New white variety
Half of the production goes to supermarkets, the other half to florists. Red tulips are the most popular, followed by white ones, being 20 percent of his total production. “This year we changed one big white variety for another. We are more satisfied with our assortment now.”
The greenhouse of Schouten.
New year’s resolutions
“When the Christmas rush is over, we will be looking into more led light. Right now we have a small area where we use LED and we like it a lot. We use traditional growing lamps in the dark winter months, but we think LED will improve the quality. We are also about to install a dehumidification machine to better control the climate.
For more information:
Schouten
Sebastian Schouten
Email: sebastian@schouten.no
www.schouten.no