Gilgil, Kenya – Beginning this month, Blooming Innovations is the only grower to deliver the new Ice Age cut Hydrangea.
Grown in Kenya, this winter-white cut hydrangea has an excellent shelf life and shows no transport damage. “Customers are very satisfied with the quality,” says Blooming Innovations owner Harry Rooijakkers.
Ice Age was discovered in 2016 as a mutant of Force, a product from the tropical breeding program of HBA, in the greenhouses of Blooming Innovations in Gilgil. “We have spent a few years sorting out and propagating. We also immediately conducted tests with shelf life and transport, “says Rooijakkers.
Double Fold
The tests showed that Ice Age has a good shelf life and a high pack rate. Rooijakkers explains: “(For example) only Cube 50 stems go in a box, while Ice Age 100 stems can be packed in a box. Even if you fold Ice Age in half, the flowers are not damaged. If you put the stems on flower food for a day in the cold after transport, Ice Age will fully recover.”
Ice Age is packed in foil in the box, which prevents packaging damage during transport – flowers that touch the corrugated during transport in the box can dry out.
“Customers who have seen Ice Age, offered very positive comments,” says Rooijakkers. “The flower stays good for a long time, is easy to process and the quality that we supply year-round is just as good, sometimes even better than the white cut hydrangeas that come from elsewhere. The great advantage of Ice Age over other transported hydrangeas is that Ice Age can be transported dry. That saves weight and actions.”
Year-round Delivery
From January, Blooming Innovations is the only grower producing 5,000 to 6,000 stems a week with Ice Age production provided year-round.
The company has set up many new, young plants in the past year, with Rooijakkers regularly sitting on the plane to Kenya to visit the company he runs together with partner Bert Louwerse.
For more information, contact Harry Rooijakkers via harry@blooming-innovations.com.
This press release was translated from its original Dutch. Any translation errors are unintended.
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