Grower Aron Heykoop of B.D. Rijnbeek nursery in Boskoop always keeps his ears and eyes open. As soon as there are any new developments in the range of garden plants, the grower is eager to test them out. It helps that breeder Kolster, known for the brand Magical Garden Plants, is next door. At this moment, the grower has three novelties from the assortment of this breeding company in his greenhouse.
These are the Callicarpa Magical Deep purple, Callicarpa Magical Snowqueen and the Symphoricarpos Magical Winterberry. "We find that the plants really stand out in the market, there is always something to say about them that is just that little bit better than the rest. They are unique, such as the Magical Snowqueen, a white Callicarpa. You just don't find that in any other range," says Aron.
Aron next to the Magical Snowqueen
The first Magical Garden plant, Magical Deep Purple, with what the grower considers a very beautiful purple berry, was placed in the grower's greenhouse 5 to 6 years ago. When the Magical Snowqueen came on the market about four years ago, it was also moved to the greenhouse immediately. The same applies to the Magical Winterberry, which the grower was quick to pick up last year. "We are still in the research phase for the Magical Winterberry. We still have to see how we can get the best results. So it is still in its infancy."
Magical Deep Purple
The large assortment that breeder Kolster BV offers under their Magical Garden Plants brand consists of more than 100 products. Consumers can put the plants in their gardens all year round, garden centres can offer these plants all year round, and growers can of course join in by growing the plants for sale.
"Our goal is to unburden the grower in the area of marketing, promotional materials on the shop floor, and providing information about the product. We develop the labels, the pot cover, garden tables for the garden centers. In addition, we take care of the socials such as Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, so that there is a uniform image. This way, the grower can fully focus on cultivation," says the breeder.
On the retail market
Rijnbeek mainly focuses on the larger garden center chains and plant retail chains abroad, even though some of the plants are also available at Intratuin. Furthermore, the nursery is mainly active in England, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France, and is also getting more and more interest from Scandinavia.
With its international sales, the nursery is also a good partner for Magical Garden Plants, since Kolster focuses on these large retail chains with that brand. "This allows us to spread the name recognition of the plants far and wide in Europe."
Magical Winterberry
Even more magic
It could be that in the future more of Kolster's concepts will be embraced by the grower. What helps is that the grower and the breeding company are neighbors. The Kolster location is next to the grower's greenhouse. Aron: "The personal contact with the breeder really does it for us. It is one-to-one and it goes really fast."
The saying 'better a good neighbor than a distant friend' certainly seems to be true in this collaboration. The growers regularly visit the breeding location of the breeding company. "If we think it could be something for us, we test it on a small scale anyway and then look further." In short, a perfect collaboration.
Kolster can be found at Plantarium-Groen-Direkt in stand 303 on 24 and 25 August 2022.
For more information:
Aron Heykoop
B.D. Rijnbeek BV
Halve Raak 49
2771 AC, Boskoop
Tel: +31 (0) 6 5754 7669
Email: aron@bdrijnbeek.nl
Website: www.bdrijnbeek.nl
Kolster BV 
Rijneveld 122a,
2771 XR, Boskoop
Tel: + 31 (0) 172 217090
Email: info@kolster.nl
Website: www.kolster.nl