No matter where, the USA, Australia, Europe or Asia, tinted roses are hot. This is explained by Ecuadorian rose grower Manuel Diez of Flores Verdes. At their 20 ha farm in Cayambe, they are tinting roses for 2 years now and over the last 4 to 6 months, they noticed a spike in demand. Also the Valentine's Day orders this year contain more tinted roses.
Manuel Diez.
Tinted roses
After 2 to 3 months of research and trials, Flores Verdes started to put the tinted roses on the market. "It is not an easy process to get a good quality and good colored tinted rose. People can tint their roses at home, but then the color often fades. We've trialed for several months on several varieties and we work with the ones who can be tinted best. The vase life will still remain at least 10 to 15 days."
They have different colors in their assortment, but they often get requests for particular colors. "Then, a client sends us a Pinterest picture, for example to show us what kind of color they want. Then, we will try to get this color and we will send back a picture with the result. After the OK, we will start production."
Increasing demand
Flores Verdes is tinting roses for about 2 years now, but over the last 4 to 6 months, they have seen the demand increasing. "We used to tint just a small percentage of our production, 3 to 4 percent, but over the last months we have seen the numbers increasing sharply. It is still a niche market, but the production ten folded, from 5,000 to 50,000."
More colors for Valentine's Day
Also for Valentine's Day, tinted roses are becoming increasingly popular. "Red and pinks and purple are still the main colors for Valentine's Day, but over the year, we see more and more colors are gaining ground." Preparations are in full swing and for all roses and the peak in production is expected this weekend.
How was 2020?
According to Diez, 2020 has been, considering the circumstances, an OK year. "The company is still running and in these times, that's a good sign." And they haven't been sitting still as they changed many of their crops. "Instead of changing the crop this year, what we initially scheduled, we did it last year. We removed the old crops and replaced them for new varieties." Currently, the assortment consists of 75 varieties and the new varieties include; Aloha and Scandal from kordes Roses, Ashley, White Ashley, Barista from Rosen Tantau, Momentum from Dummen Orange, and Red Panther from Interplant.
What to expect for 2021?
Hopes for 2021 are high, however, there are still challenges growers will have to deal with. "For Valentine's Day, for example, most growers will have their production ready next week, but the question is of there will be enough space to ship the roses." For tinted roses, Mother's Day is an important day as well and Diez is looking forward to this year. All in all he is expecting a good year. "We lost a lot of orders last year due to the cancellation of events, but we expect them to come back. It all depends on the vaccinations."
For more information:
Flores Verdes
Manuel Diez
Email: gerencia@floresverdes.com
www.floresverdes.com