Colombia: New dustymiller variety from Flores de Altagracia

Noticing a trend and acting immediately. This is what one of the largest minicalla farms in Colombia called Flores de Altagracia, did last year. "Thanks to one of our customers we noticed an increasing demand the dustymiller in our main market, the USA. We directly took this opportunity to find out how we could add this foliage to our portfolio and what we needed to do to meet all the customers' expectations. Now, we are one, if not the largest, Colombian farm producing 300,000 dustymiller on a yearly basis. We even developed a new variety," says Flores de Altagracia's sales leader Laura Hernandez.

Broad leaf and dustymiller lacy leaf.

Dustymiller project
In 2014 Flores de Altagracia started the dustymiller project. "A great customer of ours noticed the trend of this wonderful product for floral arrangements and decorations. After doing some research, we decided to start growing this variety and we developed the 'dustymiller project'. Our quality steps and processes that are listed in this dustymiller project help us grow the best flowers and foliage with optimal conditions. In this way, we can supply our customers with the right color at the right season in order to boost their sales and maximize their profits all year round. Now, we are proud to say that we are one of the largest farms that produces dustymiller in Colombia," says Hernandez.

Hernandez: "It's texture and silver color acts like a perfect canvas and compliments any floral arrangement or bouquets and it is a favorite for wedding and event planners."

New variety
Next to achieving the highest quality, the dustymiller project also keeps an eye on the upcoming trends. "Together with our customers, we anticipate the trends for the coming season. The shelf life, colors and stem length are very important; the market requires stems of 50cm of length and up," explains Hernandez. For this reason, Flores de Altagracia started to breed and develop new varieties. "Our processes in research and development have led us to launch a long-lasting thick and leafy product with taller stems and whiter foliage. We are focusing on having the best quality and dustymiller of the longest length for next year," says Hernandez.

Flores de Altagracia
Flores de Altagracia is a 14.8 Ac sized Colombian farm that has been in business since 2002. The farm mainly grows minicallas, but is also producing purple hydrangeas and added the dustymiller foliage to their portfolio last year. The farm is located 15 minutes away from the International airport of Rionegro, Antioquia Colombia which enables them to deliver fresh high quality flowers. Their main market is the United States but they are presently exploring other markets. "We currently serve our well positioned clients within the United States in the wholesale and distribution channel," says Hernandez.

For more information
Flores de Altagracia
Laura Hernandez
Email: salesmanager@floresdealtagracia.com
USA: +1 305 749 7009
Colombia: +57 569 5264 ext. 110
www.floresdealtagracia.com
Facebook: Flores de Altagracia