"The past two years we see that green plants are trendy. This is in line with an increasing awareness of our surroundings and the environment, the fact that we have to change our production methods drastically to preserve our planet."
These are the words of Menno Schutte, salesman at Vitro Plus for North America. Green is hot. "Interior stylists massively incorporate plants in their designs and consumers focus more on health, sustainability, environment and social aspects. A concept like Air So Pure is doing well, and ferns also benefit from such successes. Ferns are air-purifying plants as well. This emerged from a study by the Wageningen University that showed that the Adiantum fern is a master air-purifier with the highest air-purifying capacity per leaf."
Vitro Plus team at the IPM Essen 2016. From left to right. John Bijl, Laura de Glopper, Ellen Kraaijenbrink and Menno Schutte.
New acquisitions
Vitro Plus is increasingly receiving applications from parties who are looking for special varieties. "In our quest to meet these demands, we came into contact with a professor from England who travels the world in search of fern varieties that would be suitable for commercial purposes. This professor, Dick Hayward, has already brought a lot of varieties to our lab in this way." Two examples of acquisitions that the company has "discovered" in this way are the Dryopteris Kuratae and Pteris nipponica.
Dryopteris Kuratae
Dryopteris Kuratae
The Dryopteris Kuratae is a fern that has been named after the internationally famous Japanese botanist Kurata. "It originates from Eastern Asia and a large one can reach up to 35 inch in height. The glossy fronds are feather shaped but the edges of each pinna are strongly serrated. The unrolling fronds of this species are especially striking, being covered with jet-black scales, and posing themselves into a very elegant fiddlehead. Dryopteris kuratae is fully hardy and remains evergreen. This fern is most suitable for U.S. hardiness zones 7 – 9, and it is very easy to grow."
Doodia aspera 'Rough Ruby'
Doodia aspera 'Rough Ruby'
According to Schutte, the Doodia aspera is a unique fern. "New leaves are bright reddish brown and change to darker green. It is a low-growing fern that forms underground colonies. This fern is native to eastern Australia, where it grows on rocky ground. The fern is suitable for smaller pots and grows fast."
Vitro Plus
Menno Schutte
Sales North America
E: menno@vitroplus.nl
www.vitroplus.nl