They produce one of the best loved red roses in the world. In the run up to Valentine’s 2022 it’s the one they’ll be focussing on.
Because whilst leading growers Porta Nova are not as directly hit by the horrendous gas price leaps as some Dutch rose growers, they have decided to ‘go cold’ on White Naomi so they can be sure of producing as many Red Naomi as possible for 14th February 2022.
And whilst the move won’t plug the whole estimated 24-hectare gap left by several other Dutch growers who have either gone cold on Naomi or in the case of Spanish grower Aleia Roses switched to growing cannabis, it will help.
As Stefan van Vuuren, Commercial Director of Porta Nova, explained it was a tough decision. “We’ve effectively shut down 25% of our company. But Porta Nova is all about quality so we decided we wanted to be there for our customers with top quality Red Naomi roses this Valentines even though energy costs have risen dramatically … Dutch growers are looking a price hike in the region of 10x normal charges!
However, even though we have pre-bought our energy, to achieve the quality and productivity we need we had to make the choice of where we used it. As a result, we’ve put White Naomi into hibernation by turning off the heat and light so that the plant will now not flush until March/April, hopefully in good time for UK Mother’s Day and in decent quantities and quality.
In the meantime, and as our wholesale panel meeting explains, the global shortage of roses is real … if you want Naomi we reckon you should get in quick!
