Cultivation & Propogation

Cultivation of the Anthuriums takes place in a fully enclosed structure covering an area of 2,000 m2. Within the structure we are fully able to take advantage of the outside tropical climate by applying several climate control techniques mitigating any harmful influences. Although Anthuriums are tropical flowers, they do no want to be in the full sunlight, therefore screening blocks any of the excess sunlight. 

During colder periods the screening can be applied to keep the warmth inside, thus reducing the use of heaters. The amount of fresh air coming in to the greenhouse is regulated automatically with temperature and wind measurements being the main input for the system to further open or shut the windows. 

We have chosen to apply biomesh netting under the windows to keep the insects from entering the cultivation area of the greenhouse, reducing the impact of pests.

Currently we are only using rainwater in our operations, which is harvested from the structures and the shed, and stored in a big watertank. This allows us the cleanest start, and precision fertilization which is all mixed at the farm to best anticipate the requirements of the plants.

As we are cultivating our own Anthurium varieties all plantmaterial comes from the laboratory and is only several millimetres in size when it arrives. In a special part of the greenhouse these plants are grown for over a year and repotted several times before they can go to the final container. Anthuriums will start flowering within approximately one year and can produce cut-flowers for up to six years when the right growing conditions are present.

Breeding

We have recently started the first pollination activities, as the reproductive patterns in the tropics appear to be very different for the Anthurium compared to in the Netherlands. The pollen is manually transferred to another flower, based on traits of both the mother and the father plant, with a specific expectation for the offspring in mind. In a couple of months the pollinated flower starts to grow seeds. The seeds are at this point harvested and need to be immediately prepared and planted in trays. During the coming months the trays will be consistently monitored to select the offspring that might be promising. As each of the seeds has its individual genetic makeup this process needs to be done for each individual little plant, unfortunately there are no shortcuts. The first plants will flower in about a year time and after this it will be undergoing further testing and selection for another three years until a new variety might be going into the laboratory for replication via tissue culture.