"It really is quite a challenge," Marius Rodewijk of Rodewijk Rozen summarizes the cultivation of the edible rose. Since last year this Dutch grower has been growing the Rosalicious edible roses on 1,000 square meters, which he then puts on the market himself. "After all, the target group for edible roses does not work with the clock for cut flowers, as we are used to with our 'normal' roses." It does not dampen his enthusiasm. “The rose is the queen of the flowers. How cool it is that you can also eat it!”
Biological means
“Any new variety requires research for the right way to grow the crop. The method of pruning, for example, is always different. This also applies to Rosalicious. It is just somewhat different than what we are used to. In addition, because the roses are used for consumption, they can only be protected via biological means. Spraying with chemical crop protection products is, of course, out of the question."
“The roses have a good shelf life and are very light. That makes them easy to export."
Holidays
While Marius pays a lot of attention to the cultivation of the roses, he also takes care of selling them. In his own words, that goes pretty well. The roses find their way to consumers at home and abroad through traders. Marius focuses on wholesalers and fresh produce suppliers. Since this year he is GlobalGAP certified, which means that he is allowed to sell the roses as food. According to Marius, the upcoming holidays are the perfect moment to give the roses a try. “The roses have a slightly bitter taste. You can incorporate the leaves into a salad, or use it as decoration on the plate or in a glass of champagne.”
Resolutions
In addition to the colors red, white, yellow, pink and flame orange, testing is also done with other colors and varieties that occasionally are sent by Danish breeder Roses Forever. “We receive very positive responses about the roses from everywhere. That gives us confidence that we have a good product. For the time being, we do our best to sell the 1,000 m2 of roses. Once we succeed, we hope to be able to expand further."
IPM Essen
Eager to meet the breeder of these edible roses; Roses Forever? The will be present at the IPM Essen in Germany that will be held from January 28-31 2020 in Hall 1 at booth 1D34.
For more information:
Marius Rodewijk
Rosalicious
[email protected]
www.rosalicious.eu
Roses Forever
Rosa Eskelund
T: +45 51 57 19 90
Email: [email protected]
www.roses-forever.com