A look in the glasshouse
Dieffenbachia
Tropical plants are the main plants at Elsgeest. The dieffenbachia, naturally, in all shapes and sizes, but also other different plants, such as dischidias, ludisias and a growing range of hanging plants. The dieffenbachia is a shade plant, it benefits from a warm and damp environment and grows very quickly. In about sixteen or seventeen weeks, the plants can be delivered in pot size 8.5 / 9. Or be repotted into a bigger pot. And then an even bigger one. Right in the back of the glasshouse are plants of at least a meter high in 23cm pots. "It costs a lot to transport them," confirms Elsgeest, "but they go all over the world. The Japanese love them."
With these rail cradles, you can zoom over the crop and easily reach the hanging plants.
Experimenting
At the moment, they are experimenting with various rare plants. Rhodohypoxis, for example, and 'earth orchids': orchids that grow in the ground rather than on other plants, like usual orchids. On their site is a glasshouse of about 200m2 where experiments take place. Also, in various locations there are collaborations with Wageningen UR and in one project, even Leiden University is involved. "We are researching whether it is possible to cultivate vanilla. Vanilla is the fruit of a specific sort of climbing orchid and grows in South America and a few African countries. It is really hard to grow and in particular, the pollination is difficult. The vanilla is not natural vanilla in most products, but a chemical flavouring. If we can produce it, we can put a new, organic product on the market - and in that area, I see a lot of opportunities."
Profitability
These projects are not carried out just for the fun. On the bottom line, there needs to be a profit. For the dieffenbachia, this has been difficult for a while. "The sales were not growing and the margins are tight. Therefore, you need to search for new possibilities and innovations. In my opinion, that does not happen often enough. Actually, in the Netherlands we don't know anything about horticulture. I mean, in the larger varieties, such as roses and tomatoes, there is a lot of research and hybridizing, but in the smaller varieties, there is virtually nothing. Mostly, we are just muddling along and that's a real shame. The recent hassle about the patent rights hasn't improved things. That just stops the hybridizing again. It you can't use any old material any more, then smaller growers can't hybridize any more. But," concludes Elsgeest, "maybe it is just an incentive and I see it too negatively. You can also think: what if I manage to find the one, special quality? That thought is also naturally seductive."
For more information:
Elstgeest Potplanten
Joris Elsgeest
Bovenweg 1
2376 BE Nieuwe Wetering
T: 071-3313318
F: 071-3318549
E: [email protected]
www.elstgeest.nl