Jan Klusmann at the IPM Essen 2018.
Early and long flowering
The Promenaea Sunlight is a cross between the Promenaea limelight and the Promenaea xanthina and is being propagated and grown by Klusmann. After about a decade of trialing and propagating, they were finally able to put the first promenaeas on the market three years ago. Special about Klusmann's Promenaea Sunlight is, next to its appearance, is the long flowering period. "Naturally, the promenaea orchid flowers around mid- May, but by adjusting the cultivation cycle and temperatures, we were able to let the plant flower earlier, around February, and longer, till June."
The Promenaea Sunlight in the greenhouse of Klusmann.
Easter plant
The fact that this promenaea is flowering earlier seems to make it a good Easter. "We recognized that we receive the highest amount of orders from our Dutch exporters and German garden centers in advance of the Easter holiday." And it really seems to boost Klusmann's Easter sales. "Before growing the Promenaea Sunlight, we tried to increase our Easter sales by selling orchids with Easter decorations. This variety, however, does not need any additional decoration. The bright yellow color and its shape is what makes the plant so suitable for Easter decorations."
Increase popularity
Next to early flowering, Klusmann also extended the flowering period of the Promenaea Sunlight. This, in turn seems to work well for the product's popularity and position in the market. "If people see a plant for just a couple of weeks, they will forget it easily. If it is on the market for a longer time, it will be remembered."
Demand and prices
Currently, the sales of the promenaeas are in full swing. This year, 40,000 promenaea plants are cultivated and around three quarters of the plants are already sold this month. Klusmann is satisfied with the demand and prices. "The demand is high and we want to keep the prices up, but we want to offer the end consumer an affordable product. Therefore, we lowered our prices a bit last year. This year, we kept the prices at a similar level."
On the left: Promenaea in 9cm pot. On the right Promenaea Sunlight in 12cm pot.
9 cm and 12 cm pot
This year, Klusmann also added another pot size to their range; the promenaea in 12 cm pot. "The last years, we only produced promenaea orchids in 9 cm pots, but after receiving several requests from our customers, we decided to produce another 5,000 promenaea plants in a 12 cm pot." And Klusmann is pleased with the results. "The cultivation period is a bit longer, but the prices are better as well. On top of that, our customers are very satisfied."
More colors in the future
Klusmann Blumenvertrieb, together with Hassinger Orchideen, continues to improve the crop and are also working on new colors. "In the coming years, we hope to introduce more white and orange colors, but breeding and propagation takes time, a lot of time."
For more information
Klusmann
Jan Klusman
Email: jan@orchideen-klusmann.de
www.orchideen-klusmann.de