During the Trade Fair in Aalsmeer that took place from 9 to 11 November, Carlo Hoogendoorn and his brother Martijn of PerlaNova showed their new cut hydrangea variety, the My Beautiful Matcha.
PerlaNova has been specializing in breeding cut and pot hydrangeas for 13 years now, mainly growing roses and orchids before.
“We originally started out as growers. But even when we were in the rose business, some breeding was already taking place. Breeding is a real passion of mine, and I have always been involved in it. In the first year of the business, it was still experimental, but quite a few of our own varieties have come out in the past five years,” says Carlo.
My Beautiful Matcha
The most recent variety to come out of PerlaNova is the My Beautiful Matcha, which really stands out with its lime green color and good cultivation properties.
“The great thing about this variety is that you can prune it because it grows on young branches. This means that it flowers again, and every year it produces flowers on young branches instead of only on the old wood. It also has a big production, and perhaps the biggest advantage for cut growers is that the flower turns green and stays green.”
“In September, the flowers start to turn green. When they are finally completely green, they will stay that way until December. Normally hydrangeas are green with a red edge. You see this almost everywhere. But the My Beautiful Matcha remains a fresh green, which really sets the variety apart. Preserving its color, a good shelf life on the plant, and a long vase life as well.”
The next ‘My Beautiful’ is already in the works
PeralNova has a very active breeding program in which approximately 10.000 seedlings are tested every year. From those seeds, the varieties with the most potential are then selected.
“We still have a lot of interesting stuff in the works. For example, in 2023, we will be introducing a new variety with a permanent champagne color. This breed retains the color a lot longer than others. Normally the color disappears in the crop after about three weeks, but ours retains the champagne color for up to 8 weeks. So it really stands out from its competitors.”
We are also working on a milka-colored variety with a large production for the late segment, in which this color is still not readily available. Both varieties will be released in 2023, leaving us with enough to look forward to.
For more information:
Martijn & Carlo Hoogendoorn
PerlaNova
Knibbelweg 11
2761 JB, Zevenhuizen
Tel.: 06-14 44 57 26 (Carlo)
Tel.: 06-12 71 38 77 (Martijn)
E-mail: info@perlanova.eu
http://www.perlanova.eu/en/home
