“At Marginpar, growing flowers is something we do together. Together with our 5000 colleagues at 16 production locations, but also together with our breeders”, the company says.
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 their 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 Marginpar’s 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 program of the Sanguisorba Red Dream. About time to bring architects 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.
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 African cultivation
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 get to see the progress in person and better understand 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!”
