Netherlands: A lot of movement in hydrangeas

"Prices for outdoor and indoor hydrangea are better than last year. This is what you read in various magazines, but the prices are still low." Said Jos de Jong Plant and hydrangea grower at Boskoop. "The prices last year were very sad. Now, they have increased by approximately 30 percent but you have to have perspective with the enthusiasm. Our assortment has especially exclusive varieties.

According to De Jong a high supply is also a cause of the disappointing prices for the garden and terrace hydrangeas. "We hope that production decreases and supply and demand come back into balance. That responsibility lies mainly with the half-finished producers. There is a number of years in which production was hit and now we are stuck with the consequences.

Cut hydrangea
It is a different story for the cut hydrangeas. Wouter den Hollander from Kolster BV knows everything about cut hydrangeas. "The preseason was very good. Then we had a dip in June for about 3 to 4 weeks and eventually the prices at the end of the year will be again around 1 euro per stem. The spring came late this year, it stayed cold and dark for a while but that's not unusual. Eventually the balance will be found again."

Unique to the cut hydrangeas is that growers have considerable flexibility when it comes to delivery times. When there is not much demand the grower can harvest less or not at all; but when there is a lot of demand the grower can harvest a lot. "This may be very black and white, but great flexibility is indeed one of the biggest advantages of this product. Also the types are getting better and more growers are becoming professional. There is a lot of movement, a lot of development in the cut hydrangeas; cultivation is indeed still very new and the growth curve is healthy."

Forecast
"Up to now, this has grown each year, by 5 to 10 percent. Further growth will depend rather more on flowers per square meter and more efficient production. I think that we will go to smaller and harder flowers. You often see that breeders want to produce the biggest flowers possible. But if we go back to, say, 12-14 cm, the flowers can often be processed in multiple combinations in bouquets."

More information:
De Jong Plant BV
Jos de Jong
Alfensvaart 11
2771 NM Boskoop
T: 0172-210115
F: 0172-404417
E: jos@gebrjong.nl
www.dejongplant.nl

Kolster BV
Wouter den Hollander
Rijneveld 122 a
2771 XR Boskoop
T: 0172-217090
F: 0172-218197
E: wouter.den.hollander@kolster.nl
www.kolster.nl