Pascal Lambe at the IPM in Essen, Germany
Social media increases popularity
Over the last years, Phytesia and other garden orchid growers invested a lot in promoting this plant. "We have a Facebook page in French, English and lately, we introduced one in German. At this page, we publish pictures of our plants that are growing in the greenhouse and the plants that are being produced in the lab. We keep our followers up to date." And these social media efforts seem to work. "Every year, and especially the last couple of years, we see an increase in demand. New customers are placing orders and existing customers are reordering."
The greenhouse
Earlier demand
This year, the demand is earlier than last year. "In the beginning of this season (which is in March), we sold a lot plants, more than usual. In contrast with other years, these plants were sold when the flowers are still closed. Usually, end customers want to see this plant flowering at the shop, because they are not familiar with the plant. This year, however, we see that customers know the plants and therefore buy them earlier, when it is not flowering yet. Now, they know what they get", says Lambe. Due to this early demand, Phytesia might be sold out earlier. "Usually, our garden orchids are available till mid-May. So, if we go on at this pace, we might be sold out before that time."
Popular varieties
Garden orchids in general are increasing in popularity. However, there are some varieties that stand out. "The Pleione variety, for example, is a big success this year. This orchid has big flowers and is easy to grow and care for. We had around 40,000 plants and they are almost sold out at the moment. Besides that, the Cypripedium is also a popular variety. This variety looks almost similar to the tropical orchid. Next week, the sales of this variety will start", says Lambe. Currently, 50 different varieties are grown in the Phytesia greenhouse. All varieties are winter hardy and some can even withstand temperatures below -40°C.
Difficult to adapt to trends
In contrast to tropical orchids, it is very difficult to adapt to trends as the cultivation process is very time consuming. "It takes about 2 to 3 years to grow a garden orchid to a finished plant. Tropical orchids are grown in warm greenhouses and are placed in a colder area to let them flower. For the garden orchid, it takes a longer period to produce the flowers. A rest period is very important for the plant to develop big and vigorous flowers. During this rest period, which is during winter time, the orchids are maintained in a cold greenhouse with open sides. Then, from March till September, the orchids are developing when temperatures increase again", says Lambe.
Increasing production
As the demand is rising on a yearly basis, Lambe is also increasing its production. "Every year, we increase the production of young and finished plants. This year, we propagated 10 percent more young plants and 20 percent more finished plants compared to last year. However, because we have to deal with a long cultivation process, planning is essential and not always that easy. So, in order to increase the production of the finished plants, we now partnered with a Dutch grower who will grow large quantities of our orchids. We supply the young plants", says Lambe. Even so, there are plans to expand the greenhouse. "We currently propagate and grow the garden orchids in a 4,000 m2 sized greenhouse and we have 3 ha of land in total. So, there is still some room for expansion."
On the bottom left: Bletilla strata 'purple', and on the bottom right Spiranthes 'Chadd's Ford
Phytesia
Phytesia, located in the Belgium Ardennes, started to breed and propagate garden orchids 10 years ago. "It is a spin-off of the University of Liege and is specialized in the production and marketing of garden orchids. At that time, there was only one other company in Canada that produced young plant garden orchids," says Lambe. The young plants are mainly supplied to growers in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. Four years ago, they built a 4000 m2 greenhouse for the production of their own garden orchids. These finished plants are sold mainly to wholesalers in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and France.
For more information:
Phytesia
Pascal Lambe
Email: [email protected]
www.phytesia.com