Combining three colors year round with Cosmo

The disbud potted chrysanthemum used to be a seasonal product, but can now also be cultivated year round and can even be combined and grown in one container. Last year, this so called Cosmo potted mum series was introduced by Dümmen Orange and the first plants were put on the market by the Dutch growers SV.Co and Lionplant and the British grower Double H Nurseries, in September 2016. Soon, the series will be available in other parts of the world as the varieties are currently being trialed in North America and China.

Rick van Luijk and Tristian Bentvelsen at the IPM Essen. Missed the Cosmo at the IPM? No worries, in week 24 they are presented again at the FlowerTrials in Naaldwijk, the Netherlands.

"Offering growers potted mums with a striking appearance that can be grown year round. This is the idea behind the Cosmo series", says Rick van Luijk, Product Manager at Dümmen Orange. This new series consists of three potted mum varieties with large yellow, purple and white flowers that can reach a diameter up to 14 cm. Besides that, the varieties are homogeneous in vigor, habit and timing and can be grown year round. According to van Luijk, the combination of these three characteristics differentiates the Cosmo series from regular disbud potted mums. "Regular disbud potted chrysanthemums often have smaller flowers, differentiate in flower quality and are not homogeneous in growth, especially when cultivating different colors. They all need their own cultivation recipe. The three colors introduced in the Cosmo series can even be grown together in one pot, which is completely in line with the current trends of offering mixes."

"The Cosmo series stands out by strong flower quality, big flower sizes and possibility to combine production of three major colors in the market."

However, according to van Luijk, one should not forget the potential of producing this series as single plants. "Next to combinations, the Cosmo is also very suitable as a single plant per pot. Traditional genetics made growers often have to slow down the plant's growth, while this is not necessary for the Cosmo varieties due to their natural compact habit. Cosmo grown as single plant per pot serves the retail trends: smaller pot sizes and suitability to be sold combined with added value "

The Cosmo series was introduced at the FlowerTrials in June 2016 and was firstly grown by Dutch growers Lionplant and SV.Co and British grower Double H Nurseries, who put them on the market in three different product types, last September. "Lionplant produced single plants in 10cm pots, SV.Co trio cuttings in 12cm pots and Double H Nurseries offered combinations of seven plants in a container."

The Cosmo varieties can be grown year round, like SV.Co decided to do, but are also suited for seasonal production. "The interest from growers that want to grow them during summer and autumn is starting to increase", says Van Luijk.

Currently, the Cosmo varieties are available to growers in Europe and the UK, but will soon be available in other parts of the world. "In the US and China, we are currently trialing the series, and the first results look promising."

For more informaiton
Dümmen Orange
Rick van Luijk
Email: r.vanluijk@dummenorange.com
www.dummenorange.com