For over 25 years, Roses Forever is breeding roses. It all started with breeding pot roses and over the years, they expanded the assortment with garden, cut, edible and most recently fragrant pot roses and patio roses. But how is the demand for roses developing? Together with breeder and owner Rosa Eskelund, we look back at the last two years. In short, she is very pleased with the increase in demand, export markets and alternative ways of growing some of her varieties, opening new doors.
Infinity roses
Pot rose - Infinity
In 1995, Eskelund put her first cross on the market and started to build up a series, named the Roses Forever line. In 2012, she added a new line: the Infinity line, a line that is known for the mini pot roses with large flowers (diameter of 7cm) and long durability (+5 weeks indoor). And for Roses Forever, this series is their most demanded one. “It’s grown in 5 continents and increasingly more ‘new’ countries, like Brazil, Mexico and Kenya are starting to discover the potential of the Infinity series. Also, the young plants are selling well for, among others, south Europa.”
Plant 'n' Relax
Garden roses - Plant’n’relax
During the breeding of potted roses, she started to add new products, like the garden roses, and the demand for the varieties of her Plant’n’relax series is now almost as high as for the Infinity series. “The plants in the series are popular to go into gardens and people seem to like the habit of the plant as it they are easy to grow and care. “Over the last years, we see an increase in growers asking for license to grow in Europe.”
Rosa’s Garden Plant’n’Relax roses are planted in test gardens around the world and evaluated by experts. In the picture at Baden-Baden, Germany.
According to Eskelund, the increase in popularity may also be because of the medals several varieties have scooped in different countries. “I think growers see our garden roses now because a lot of them won medals even gold medals in both Germany, Switzerland and France.” Also the demand for bare-rooted garden roses is increasing.” Growers across Europe are asking for these type of roses and now, most is sold out.”
Garden pot roses - Sweet Home Roses
Also the demand for the Sweet Home Roses line, a line that is suitable for forcing in pot, increased sharply over the last years. The popularity of this product is increasing fast in Norway and Denmark “One grower in Denmark, who supplies the Norwegian and Danish market, doubled the budding in field over the last three years, and they are now growing more than 200,000 plants.
Clockwise, Sweet Home Roses fields in Denmark, Sweeet home roses in the greenhouse and bare rooted Sweet Home Rose ready to pot (will flower after 6-7 weeks).
Patio garden roses - new way of growing pot roses
Recently, the big flowering pot roses in the series of Roses Forever are also used and sold as Garden & Patio roses. “We found that if they are grown in an alternative way, with a little espalier, they can also be sold as patio roses. For growers, who propagate them themselves or buy the young plants, this is an easy and nice way to expand their assortment.”
Patio roses
New export markets
Roses Forever is supplying their cuttings/licenses to grow and young plants to growers all over the world and over the last two years, they are seeing an increasing demand from several Asian countries. “Several years ago, we started exporting bare-rooted plants to Thailand, Korea and China and for over the past 2 years, we see the numbers increasing.”
Infinity Roses at BM roses in the Netherlands
For more information:
Roses Forever
Rosa Eskelund
+45 51 57 19 90
re@roses-forever.com
www.roses-forever.com