Tinted gypsophilas are hugely popular nowadays, but where did it all begin? According to Eduardo Chiriboga of Esmeralda Farms, it all started at their farm in Ecuador years ago. "We were one of the first growers who started to tint gypsophilas." Over the years, they have seen the demand increasing rapidly all over the world. They kept developing their tinting techniques and their rainbow gyps, for which a special technique is used to give every flower of every stem a different color, is one of the most popular, particularly in China.
Eduardo Chiriboga at the Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai, China.
How it all started
The Chinese Market is always looking for new things. Things that have never been done before. So in the search for a new product, the clients of Esmeralda Farms, mainly in Shanghai, came with this idea, Eduardo explains. “It took some time to find the best techniques, around 3 to 4 months. Then, getting the exact color pallet that the market was looking for, took at least twice that time. Of course this was a trial and error process. It was good to see the clients' first reactions. They were amazed, since we were able to produce a natural white flower in different colors.”
Different techniques
Eduardo: “There are three painting techniques. Spraying is the strongest one, however it´s the least important. Then there is immersion, which gives any type of color. Absorption, is the most common type, and most natural as well. In this technique the painting goes on from the inside, that means that the gypsophila stems absorb the tinted solution. By doing that, the color appears pretty natural, since the stem is not tinted.”
Rainbow stem
Rainbow stem
Amongst all kinds of colored gypsophila Esmeralda Farms offers the Rainbow stem which has different colors within the same stem. “This is more difficult and expensive due to our people having to cut in a very specific way each stem, so each part of it will absorb a different color solution. To accomplish this, it takes more time and in order to have a regular product, the technical overview must be extremely accurate.” To get a uniform product, at Esmeralda Farms they are using their own gypsophila variety. Eduardo: “This variety has been breed and produced within the Esmeralda Group. This variety has a better and more regular absorption rate, giving a more uniform and stable product.”
China is not the only market
China is one of Esmeralda's biggest customers regarding tinted gypsophilas. "We started exporting to China about 9 years ago and the majority of the flowers we sell to this country are gypsophilas. Once we introduced the tinted varieties, the demand increased. Currently, they are fond of the rainbow gyps. It is very popular. The demand of this product is increasing in the Chinese market, since more potential clients are getting to know the characteristics and benefits of it.” However, China is not the only market for tinted gypsophilas. “The market is increasing in China, Hong Kong and the demand is starting to grow all over the European Countries. Absorption is the most popular technique, whereas the color appears pretty natural.”
For more information:
Esmeralda Farms
Eduardo Chiriboga
Email: eduardo@blawesomes.com
www.esmeraldafarms.com