"It might sound or look easy, but is has been quite a long road to master the right technique of tinting a carnation", says Mauricio Briceño of Turflor. It took this Colombian carnation grower over 2.5 years to get satisfied results on the color and vase life of their tinted flowers. At the Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai, that took place last month, it caught the eye of many Chinese visitors.
Mauricio Briceño of Turflor at the Hortiflorexpo Shanghai.
Long process
Two years ago, Turflor presented their first tinted carnations at the Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai. They noticed a good interest for this type of flower, but were not satisfied with the vase life of the product. "We were still in the testing phase", says Briceño. Afterwards, Turflor kept on discovering the techniques of tinting carnations and now, two years after they found a technique that brings a satisfying color and vase life.
The process
When deciding to tint a particular carnation, the process already starts in the greenhouse. "Before harvesting the flowers, we already have to select the flowers that we would like to tint. Some natural colors fit a color better than others. Then, after harvesting, the tinting process begins. Flowers to be tinted are taken apart and once in the postharvest start a process that takes 6 to 8 hours longer than the regular process. Then, when the flowers get their color, they are ready to leave the farm. There is an endless range of colors and tones so references can be customized following trends and customer needs."
Demand
Not only at the IPM Shanghai, there was a high demand for the product, he supplies it all over the world. "The volumes of tinted carnations is still low - around 5 % of the carnations we supply are tinted - but he sees a good future for this product. "In gypsophilas and roses, we see a high demand for tinted products and I expect the demand for tinted carnations to increase as well."
For more information
Turflor
Mauricio Briceño
Email: gerencia@turflor.com
www.turflor.com