Breeder visit in Africa

04 January 2023

A real team effort

At Marginpar, growing flowers is something we do together. Together with our 5000 colleagues at 16 production locations, but also together with our breeders.

You probably know that creating a new flower takes a long time. And that many trials end in error. So you can probably also imagine the bliss that three of our breeders must have felt when they first saw their flowers in the field in Kenya last November. Jan Star (BD Flowers), breeder of Sanguisorba Red Dream®, and Gerard and Wim van Veen, breeders of Astilbe Vision in Pink and Inferno joined our Product Development Manager Bart Merkus on his trip through Kenya & Zimbabwe.

Taking it to the next level

Bart: "For a year now, we have been running a commercial programme of the Sanguisorba Red Dream®. About time to bring the architect of this variety to our production fields! Jan did a great job sharing his knowledge and experience with the team at the farm. His knowledge of propagating, growing and harvesting these varieties will take us to the next level together! We would therefore like to thank Jan once again for coming to Kenya.

Sanguisorba breeder Jan Star with the production team

Jan: "It was very special to see the flower that I have bred growing and blooming under the African sun! I am also very impressed by the passion and dedication of the team at KS Farm. We had some great conversations and really learned from each other. This was a very valuable visit for all parties. We are confident and excited about what is to come!"

Translating to African cultivation

Astilbe breeders Wim and Gerard van Veen at the flower farm in Zimbabwe

Bart: "Can you imagine working with a crop for most of your life, only to find out that it behaves completely differently in Africa? This happened to our breeders Gerard & Wim van Veen this month in Kenya & Zimbabwe. The two brothers enthusiastically shared their experiences from the Netherlands, the challenge being to translate them to African cultivation. We look back on a very pleasant and productive visit and would like to thank both gentlemen extensively for coming!"

Wim: "It has been a very impressive trip with great guidance from Bart and Arjan van Roessel. We have been working with Arjan since 2018, improving the cultivation of Astilbe in Kenya. Now we got to see the progress in person and gained a better understanding of the growing conditions. This allows us to keep thinking along, which we certainly want to do!" Gerard: "We are also very impressed by the enthusiasm of the team, the results they have realized and the quality of the flowers. We have recently also started growing Astilbe in Zimbabwe, where the growing conditions are completely different. We have a great journey ahead of us!"