Below a sneak peek of what we've seen. More on this later on FloralDaily.
La Plazoleta
La Plazoleta is a family business that was established in 1985. They grow several summer and focal flowers on 18 ha and are quite known for their brand Perfection. Three of their flowers - snapdragon, alstroemeria and statice - carry this brand. However, they can only carry this name if they comply to some requirements and are grown, processed and packed according to the Perfection programme. In total four Colombian and one Ecuadorian farm are growing flowers according to this programme and they therefore can sell their flowers under this brand.
Pablo Bazzanni, Product Marketing Manager at La Plazoleta, showing the Alstroemeria Romance of breeder Könst Alstroemeria. They have 5ha planted with alstroemerias.
Clockwise. The white solidago variety Estelle of Selecta one. La Plazoleta has about 0.5ha of solidago planted. White statice Lady Alba of Dümmen Orange. According to Bazzani, not many growers grow white varieties as they usually are less productive than the purple. For La Plazoleta, statice is their main crop and is grown on 5.5ha. Snapdragons of which they have 2.5 ha planted. They grow two varieties of it and one of the varieties is Potoma of PanAmerican Seed. La Plazoleta grows their own limonium that is called W12 and have 5ha of them planted. The statice, limonium and solidago are also being tinted in different colors.
80 percent of the water that is being used for irrigating the crop is rain water. The rest comes from recycled water or their own well.
Their statice, main crop, being sorted cut and bunched with their new Potveer machine.
The grading and packing area.
Yasa
The majority of the flowers are being grown in Medellin but Yasa is one of the few chrysanthemum growers that is growing them in Bogota. Growing chrysanthemums in this area is challenging but also provides some advantages. It might, for example, take more time to select the right varieties for this area and the production cycle for example is longer than that of chrysanthemums grown in Medellin. However, some of the advantages resulted from a longer production cycle and this area provides bigger and brighter colored heads, longer vaselife and better foliage.
At the show greenhouse. Here, the new varieties are being trialled.
Roso Sterling, General Manager at the company, presenting the chrysanthemums that are being semi-commercially grown.
The chrysanthemums are being harvested, directly sleeved and put in water with nutrition.
The variety in this picture is the Anastasia.
On the left side of the picture, two beds are being prepared for the next planting and on the right side, two beds are being planted with young plants. A production cycle of chrysanthemums takes about 15 weeks.
When preparing the beds for a new crop, they use their own compost. This compost is made from their own flower waste.
The post harvest and cooling area.
Proflora
Both companies are exhibiting at the Proflora that is being held from October 4-6 in Bogota, Colombia.