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Extending the season for tulips is a primary concern of all growers and producers around the Dutch bulb region.
The Keukenhof demands colour from opening at the end of March through to May and that is not always from tulips alone. Daffodils, crocuses and other narcissi can do that for the visitor attraction.
It is the same for growers in need of stems for cut flowers.
Around 80 per cent of the cut flowers sold in the UK come from the Netherlands and in 2023 imports totalled some £319m ($412m).
On this day I visit Rijssel & Zonen’s glasshouses in Hillegom to see cut flower tulip production first-hand.
Mechanical equipment allows for huge quantities of tulips to be selected and put into bunches. An x-ray machine checks the length of stems to make sure they’re all the same and suited for large vases.
Jos Smit has lived in the bulb growing region all his life and he says if the bulbs are kept in cool storage then brought out into a greenhouse – it can be as little as 2 weeks before a bulb produces a bloom.
Jos says:
So you can make a schedule from December to April by using the different variates for cut flowers.”
Bloomstay
A new product in development is the Bloomstay, which is a a device to hold a bulb in position in packaging and a vase.
The ‘spike’ is an interconnecting device that keeps the bulb upright and allows the roots to grow downwards.
Product designer, Thom van Rijssel says:
The Bloomstay is a more sustainable way of using flower bulbs. The plants grow in water [hydroponically] rather than in soil.”
The roll out of the device continues and they’ll be available very soon from a garden centre near you.
For more information click here for the Bloomstay website.
WorldRadioGardening.com
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