Stephan Heyer and Alexander Letkow at the IPM Essen 2016.
Ready to use
Rosen Tantau always starts the season with their product called Tantop Royal, which was a quite revolutionary product about 20 years ago. According to Letkow, it was one of the first bare rooted roses that was presented in a two liter pot with soil. Besides that, the shoots are covered with a natural wax, which reduces the risk of drying out in heated or covered sales areas in garden centers. "This was the first step into the direction of offering a ready to use product", says Letkow.
Later in the season, around the end of April, Rosen Tantau starts supplying potted roses that are flowering and the demand for these kind of products drastically increased over the last years. "Consumers, and in particular the younger generation, wants to buy a product that they can 'use' instantly. Besides that, the gardens of the newly built private homes are smaller and often less flowerbeds are made as the garden trends have changed. In the past, people created large flower beds with 20 or more plant varieties in it. Now, however, flowerbeds are replaced by stones or other maintenance-friendly decoration products and plants, like three or four roses, are put on a terrace in large containers. Nowadays, we are often asked to supply these pre-made container combinations. Then, the consumer only has to put it on the terrace without getting their hands dirty or spending time on designing and can enjoy it instantly."
One of Rosen Tantau's greenhouses with container roses.
More work for the grower
It might not come as a surprise that a 'ready to use' rose entails more work for the grower. According to Letkow, it is a more time and space consuming process. "20 years ago, we only had to grow and sell the bare root roses, now we need several hectares to grow these roses, which takes about six months and sometimes even longer. Over the last years, we increasingly receive requests to supply more and more early flowering container roses. That’s why we build up more and more cabrio-plastic greenhouses. With these we are able to supply flowering container roses 7-10 days earlier than from the open field. That gives us a big advantage on the market."
On top of that, not only the plant itself, but also the packaging became more important. "Many years ago all the suppliers were used to delivering the roses in just black pots, but as the consumer wanted to enjoy the new bought product instantly in the garden or as a gift, we have to provide packaging material too. And in order to differentiate from the competition, we offer the plants in colored and different shaped pots or containers."
Willing to spend more money
Fortunately, the consumer seems to be willing to spend more money for higher quality and these ready to use products. "The price for flowering potted roses are on average double as high as that of the bare root roses. And the demand for the flowering roses is increasing, while that for the bare rooted roses is decreasing. Nowadays, May and June are our busiest months, with Mother's Day, celebrated on the second Sunday in May, boosting the demand."
Nostalgie and Augusta Luise.
Best sellers
The best selling varieties of Rosen Tantau are the roses in their so-called Nostalgic Roses range. "This range is characterized by the large and fragrant flowers and the Nostalgie and Augusta Luise are the most demanded ones. Nostalgie has been on the market for about 20 years and has white flowers with red edges and a dark and glossy foliage. Augusta Luise has pink, apricot colored flowers and an intense fragrance."
Future for roses
How will the future for the potted roses look like? "I think it will more or less be similar to the last five years. Creating the potted roses and the rising demand for flowering varieties were some big changes. In the coming years, I expect growers will look for new innovations regarding presenting the roses on the shelves."
For more information
Rosen Tantau
Alexander Letkow
T: + 49 (0) 4122-9046-34
Email: cutroses@rosen-tantau.com
www.rosen-tantau.com