Drop a luxury lifestyle influencer into Floritec’s pristine breeding facility in Honselersdijk, and they will immediately gravitate towards the ‘artisan’ section. They will marvel at giant blooms, thread-like or gently curved florets, and intricate spider chrysanthemums that resemble firework displays.

Retailers, however, view flowers through a different lens. They look for strong stems, firm flowers, shelf life, low perishability rates, consistent volumes and transportability.

For growers, variety selection involves an even broader set of criteria, including appearance, weight per stem (in santinis weight per bundle), response time, production consistency, yield, resistance to pests and diseases (Verticillium wilt, Chrysanthemum White Rust (CRW), and Fusarium wilt).

Dependence on pesticides and plant growth regulators (PGRs), plant density, and labour and input requirements are also criteria the grower tends to double-check.

Sustainably increasing production in a greenhouse environment relies on new and strong genetics. Ultimately, plant breeders at Floritec work hard to accelerate the development of new, climate-smart, disease-resistant, and high-yielding varieties.

Intricate market While there is some overlap, consumers generally emphasise aesthetic and experiential qualities, whereas retailers and growers must balance these preferences with economic and logistical considerations. It reflects the complexity of the modern chrysanthemum market. Positioned at the beginning of the supply chain, Floritec faces the challenging task of accommodating a wide range of market demands, preferences and production requirements. Aware that profit margins in cut-flower production are often tight, and that variety selection therefore carries significant economic implications, the company has adopted a strategy it calls customised breeding, actively involving growers in the cultivar selection process. Floritec is a global flower breeder. Beyond its breeding facility in the Netherlands, new chrysanthemum varieties are tested worldwide in commercial greenhouses across Europe, South America and Asia. Trials are conducted under site-specific conditions related to climate, soil and water quality, automation levels and labour availability. This approach replaces subjective opinions with objective, measurable criteria, ensuring that selection standards align with what specific market segments are willing to pay for. Simply put, Floritec’s bespoke breeding strategy helps de-risk future chrysanthemum production.

Well positioned As the summer season progresses, Floritec appears well positioned for another strong year, supported by expanded production, promising new varieties, and an unwavering focus on quality and eco-friendliness. Floritec is a sustainable horticultural business striving to mitigate the industry’s impact on the environment and people. Illuminating examples exist. PGRs in a chrysanthemum operation help maintain strong, attractive plants through storage and shipping. However, commonly used products such as Alar and B9 are under increasing regulatory scrutiny and likely to be banned from the EU at some point. Floritec is therefore investigating the use of blue LED light as a non-chemical alternative to boost plant compactness and reduce dependence on chemical PGRs. Also, the chrysanthemum breeder uses banker plants in its greenhouse to manage pest insects. Another trend in sustainable greenhouse production is the use of sensors to measure photosynthetic efficiency at scale. These provide growers with real-time insights into plant performance and help them fine-tune nutrient management strategies weeks before conventional methods reveal potential problems.