The season is in full swing at bulb nursery Fiorile and this year the demand for bulbs is enormous. Yet owner Theo Smakman still manages to find a moment to give us a tour at his beautiful nursery.
Rich history in the bulb region
Fiorile is located in the heart of the Flowerbulb Region, the so-called Westerbeek building next to the ruins of Teylingen castle. The location exudes history, as is evident from the tour of the nursery with historic cooling doors, and the high barn that was used in the 1920s to also supply the bulbs with airflow during cooling. The bulbs used to be transported by ship to the location that dates back to 1925.
Despite the beautiful history of the building, the grower will soon move to a new, larger location, due to the growth there is more need for cooling capacity and Fiorile no longer fits in the Westerbeek.
A broad range of strong bulbs
The strength of the grower is the strong and wide range of daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, muscari and crocus in pots and (mix) trays for outside, varying from pot size 7 to scales of 23 cm. The grower has about 40 types of daffodils in his range! The grower opts for quality, so when it comes to hyacinths, the strong varieties Blue Pearl, Blue Star, Pink Pearl and White Pearl are chosen.
In addition, the grower also supplies packaged flower bulbs. Fiorile products find their way throughout Europe at retail, wholesale and garden center chains. The products can also be found in garden centers and supermarket chains in the Netherlands.
Striking in the range are the year-round daffodil Tête-à-Tête and the naturally multi-flowered multiflora hyacinth Anastasia. The grower buys the bulbs himself, sets them up and cools them at his own location, which is about 4 hectares in size. Due to the wide range it is a fairly complex process, each variety has its own time and way of cooling and rooting. About 10 million bulbs leave the nursery every year, an impressive number.
A virtually closed system through sustainable measures
Sustainability is part of the breeding process. Since 2019, the nursery has been MPS-GAP and GRASP certified for the entire range. The measures are aimed at reducing the use of, for example, disinfectants, safety, energy efficiency and the processing and separation of waste and the purchase of bulbs from MPS certified growers.
In addition, use is made of pots of PCR material; Post Consumer Recycle material, or recycled household waste. The plastic trays are collected and returned to the producers for reuse. This creates an almost closed system.
So you see, the historic-looking nursery works with the sustainable techniques of this time so that the company can continue to produce these beautiful traditional Dutch products for years to come.
For more information:
OZ Planten
Magnolia 11 VBA Zuid
1424 LA De Kwakel
Postbus 1076
1430 BB Aalsmeer
Netherlands
+31 297 380 780
info@ozplanten.nl
www.ozplanten.nl