"It is eagerly picked up by the trade"

Topspin is the new white chrysanthemum from Dekker Chrysanten and growers have high hopes for this variety. Three Dutch growers, Dekker Chrysanten, Arcadia Chrysanten and Van Leeuwen Flowers, added it to their assortment and Dennis van Leeuwen, owner of the latter nursery, shares his experiences so far with Topspin.

"We have been growing Zembla for nearly 20 years", he says. "An excellent variety. We will therefore not stop growing this variety, but at the same time, we are looking for improvements and innovations. After trialing Topspin, we were immediately fond of this variety; uniform, sturdy stems, nice thick leaves, good vase life and a bright green center. In short, it's a gem. So, we started trialing this variety and now we are growing it for about half a year."

Special about Topspin is that it can be supplied as spray and disbud chrysanthemum. In the past, this combination occurred more often, explains Dennis, but nowadays, it is special. Usually, a variety is being tested for the production as spray or disbud, so as this variety is both, makes it very special. Together with Arcadia, Van Leeuwen will supply it as a disbud and Dekker as a spray. Another quality is suitability for dyeing, which is another reason why it is eagerly picked up by the trade.

Improvements in quality
Besides the white Topspin and the white and yellow Zembla, Van Leeuwen also grows the pink disbud Ksenia. This variety has been planted three years ago and he also expanded in acreage with this variety. "We've made some new improvements in quality and it is paying off."

For more information:
Chrysanten kwekerij Peet van Leeuwen
Scherpenhoeklaan 5
2685 AE Poeldijk
The Netherlands
Dennis van Leeuwen
dvl@vannova.nl
www.peetvanleeuwenflowers.nl