All about Valentine's Day and more

February is the month of Valentine's Day. How was 2019? In the run-up to this major flower holiday, we spoke with several rose growers from all over the world and discussed the challenges of this year. But more happened this month. North America was under the spell of the cold, Brandkamp went into hydrangeas by taking over a hydrangea breeder and propagator, a new trade platform was launched and much more. See all the major happenings in February below.

North America under the spell of the cold

With the extreme cold holding on, not only maintaining the temperatures inside the greenhouse is a challenge, continuing cultivation is too. With growers preparing for spring, many should be planting, but shipping the cuttings to the greenhouse worries some. Growers update us today again on how they keep on growing…

New platform lets Ecuadorian growers sell directly to European florists

A platform that serves as a channel between Ecuadorian flower farms and the European consumer. This was the vision of a German-Ecuadorian family and after three years of research, discussion and preparation they established a cut flower trade platform named Fresh-o-Fair in May 2018 and last month, they opened it to…

Yvonne Tirop, Sian Roses: "It is exceptionally challenging this year"

Kenya: Low rose prices in run-up to Valentine's Day

“A combination of factors makes Valentine's Day a challenge this year. There is a lot of product in the market and the demand is not good either. As a result, the prices at the auction are lower than ever before during this time of the year. On top of that, Kenyan growers also have to deal with the higher freight…

Nino Barile, Barile Flowers Service: "It is something completely new in the industry"

Innovative flower web shop forecasts price, quantity and availability

"A web shop that forecasts price is something completely new in the flower industry", says Nino Barile, CEO of Barile Flowers Service. At the IPM Essen, for the first time, they presented their new and innovative web shop, where the buyer can see the prices, quantity and availability up to 8 weeks ahead. "We have a…

Christine Boldt, AFIF: "Amount of flowers is similar or slightly higher"

US (FL): Importers on track for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is around the corner. Many flowers are still arriving at Miami in the US where they continue their way in trucks to destinations all over the country. Everything seems to go smoothly, but the run-up to this holiday was rather stressful. One of the main challenges Miami airport had to deal with was the…

Reactions from around the world

Rose growers reflect on run-up to Valentine’s Day

Although Valentine's has yet to get started, for many in the industry, the big rush is over. Over the last few weeks, growers worked around the clock to harvest and ship their flowers, and at the beginning of this week, the final Valentine's flowers left the farm. Also at the FloraHolland auction in Rijnsburg and…

Brandkamp takes over neighbor, expanding into hydrangeas

Recently, Brandkamp took over their neighboring company, a breeder and propagator of hydrangeas. It is a 2 ha company with 4,000 square meter under glass and – more importantly – it has its own distinctive assortment of hydrangeas. “For us, it is about the mother plants , the varieties. Martin Wilkes built up a strong…

Australia: Ball is rolling again after fire

Ball Australia, the leading young plant supplier in Australia, experienced a severe fire last week at their 3 hectare greenhouse located near Melbourne. This fire had the potential to seriously impact Ball’s ability to produce young plants for growers for this Autumn. The origin of the fire is not yet confirmed but it…

Blueroots and Floriday merge

Royal FloraHolland is taking a 50% interest in Blueroots, by which a joint venture will be launched. This joint venture is seen as a joint investment in enhancing the international competitive position of the Dutch floriculture industry. Participating trading companies will be directly connected via Blueroots to the digital ecosystem…

Photo Report: Myplant & Garden 2019

The fourth edition of Myplant & Garden has come to an end. Last Friday, Fiera Milano closed the doors of a well attended exhibition. In just five years, Myplant & Garden has grown to one of the largest B2B horticultural fairs in Italy and shows an annual growth in exhibitors, size and visitors. This year, 733…

Valley Springs to expand hydrangea, seeded products on 100ha

Colombia: "This mega project will enable us to increase production by 200%"

Colombian grower Valley Springs is currently building a new large farm on 150 ha in Mesopotamia, Antioquia. The 100 hectare that they will use for cultivation will allow them to grow their hydrangea and seeded products production by 200%. The 50 ha remaining land will remain a native forest conservation. So far, they…

six spectral channels

Osram unveils grow light system for horticulture research

Osram has developed a research luminaire to meet the growing demands of researchers at universities, private institutes and plant production in greenhouses and vertical farms. Researchers and modern agriculturists can use the LED-based plant luminaire system Phytofy RL in the lab or in climatic chambers in order to…