Gardening is hot and the pandemic fueled this trend. Also at ABZ Seeds, they are noticing it and even upscaled their seed production to meet the high worldwide demand. At the same time, they are busy with the introduction of their third color in their Summer Breeze Series, Summer Breeze Cherry, which has a chance to be nominated for the Glass Tulip Award in the category outdoor plants, this week.
Summer Breeze Cherry
Gardening is popular
The Kitchen Garden or vegetable gardening has become increasingly popular over the years and the pandemic boosted the trend, explains Ilona Smith Marketing & Communication Officer at this strawberry breeding company. For several years now, they see the demand rising for their strawberry plants - which besides producing fruits also have an ornamental value - but this year the demand is enormous. "Due to the COVID-19 situation, more people want and have to stay home. Many started to brighten up their homes and gardens and started or picked up gardening again. Besides brightening up their gardens, the consumer is also increasingly more interested in health and home growing. Our strawberries offer besides fruits also ornamental value and therefore fit perfectly into this trend."
Summer Breeze Mix
Scaling up seed production
ABZ Seeds supplies, as one of the few, her seed varieties all over the world. "As we supply our product in seed, we can send them to all corners of the world, and that's also what we do. At the moment, we are the only producer of strawberry seeds that has about 20 varieties on the market worldwide." And for next year, expectations are high. "The orders for Spring 2021 are coming in and the current worldwide demand is that high that we even have to upscale our seed production to meet it for the coming season."
Summer Breeze Cherry
Expanding Summer Breeze series
New in the ABZ assortment is the Summer Breeze Cherry. This variety has bright pink flowers and is the third color in the Summer Breeze series; a series that is known for their semi-double flowers which results in more color on the plant. The first in the series is the Summer Breeze Rose, with deep red flowers, followed by the multiple award winning variety Summer Breeze Snow, with white flowers. The varieties in the series have similar characteristics in cultivation and at the consumer's home. Like all varieties in the ABZ Seeds assortment, they are ever bearing and are therefore producing fruits and flowers all summer long. The name Cherry stands for cherry blossom. "The beautiful cherry blossom is a harbinger for delicious fruits. The strawberry of the Summer Breeze Cherry is for the consumer so to speak the 'cherry on the cake'!"
Summer Breeze Cherry
Awarded
Also for this new color in the Summer Breeze series, which even hasn't been introduced on the market officially yet, expectations are high. Seeds of Cherry are available from the start of November and the first plants will come on the market in Spring 2021. Cherry has a chance to be nominated for the Glass Tulip Award. and can use some votes before October 9 (for more information and to vote click here). When the nomination is successful, Summer Breeze Cherry will be presented in a Social Media event as a candidate for the Glass Tulip Award.
"The expectations for Cherry are high, partly because the other colors in the series have proven to be very successful." Summer Breeze Snow, for example won the IPM Innovation Award 2020 in the category Patio Plants and won the third price in the category outdoor plants of the Glass Tulip Award last year.
Blooms IPM Essen
By the end of January 2021 at the IPM Essen in Germany, Cherry, together with the other colors in the Summer Breeze series will be presented in a special show; Blooms (BLOOM's WORLD "PURE STYLE). "If the circumstances allow, of course, the plants will be presented 'live' to the industry members."
For more information:
ABZ Seeds
Vleetweg 12
1619 PR Andijk
T: +31 228 515 280
www.abz-strawberry.nl