Flower XL switched

Matthiola StoX new star in Stars-Plant sky

Stars-Plant has recently expanded its range with the Matthiola StoX from breeding company Evanthia. Flower XL, an 's-Gravenzande-based grower that people in the market have known for decades for lisianthus, has focused on it since the beginning of this year and started delivering the first stems in various colors in week 7.

Gert-Jan Valstar, Richard van der Ven, Daniël Valstar and Jan Valstar

The best of both worlds
StoX is a robust series of violets (Matthiola incana) with woody stems that can be easily selected for double-flowering. This allows Stars-Plant to deliver a uniform series with double, richly filled flower spikes. Gert-Jan Valstar, Stars-plant representative: "With this new series, we really combine the best of both worlds: the sturdy and durable characteristics of Japanese type Matthiola and the selectability of European Matthiola. StoX has a similar cultivation period but is also more tolerant to temperature, which offers growers opportunities to extend the season of Matthiola."

Switch
For Flower XL, it's quite a switch, primarily prompted by the recent energy woes. Lisianthus require a huge input in terms of light and temperature, while violets can make do with a lot less. To ensure more sustainable operations, recent investments were also made in LED, which can now be used alongside or in combination with the SON-T. Moreover, the grower hopes that the new crop will make it possible to sell part of the electricity generated by the CHP every now and then.

Range expansion
Stars-Plant is a relatively young company that made the turnaround some eight years ago to produce starting material for professional growers. Stars-Plant's roots lie in growing cut flowers, which is why the young plant grower from Poederoijen knows how to translate the customer's wishes. One produces starting material for a wide range of cut flowers and is always looking for new varieties that offer solutions for successful cultivation. With novelties and star performers like snapdragons, celosia, and matthiola, Stars-Plant is growing, and exports to Southern and Eastern Europe are also increasing. The acreage now covers more than 1.5 hectares.