Becoming a one-stop shop for roses. This was what Berg Roses was aiming for when they added the Con Amore of Kordes Roses to their assortment in 2020. It is the first red rose they are growing again after a long time and they are very satisfied so far. "It has a bright velvety red color, is easy to grow with less energy, labor, and crop protection, and is foolproof when it comes to handling. Demand is currently even greater than supply," says Loek van Adrichem of Berg Roses.
Ad Volkering of Kordes Roses, Loek van Adrichem of Berg Roses and Göran Basjes of Kordes Roses in the greenhouse of Berg Roses in Delfgauw.
Easy cultivation
In their greenhouse in Delfgauw, the Netherlands, Berg Roses grew a lot of white varieties and some of them needed replacing. For this reason, as well as their desire to offer a complete assortment, they started looking at red varieties. After visiting the show greenhouse at Dümmen Orange - where Kordes' Con Amore is planted- many times, owner Arie van den Berg decided to dedicate 2.2 hectares of his 16-hectare greenhouse to growing Con Amore. "The color of the rose and its easy cultivation are the main reasons for choosing this rose," says Loek. "The first year is always difficult with red roses, but not with Con Amore." In terms of cultivation, there are three things that make Con Amore an attractive crop, according to Loek:
- Less energy
A big advantage of the Con Amore is that the rose can still be grown well with less energy. "Especially now with the high energy prices, we are very happy with that," says Loek. "Because of the high prices, we are forced to keep the temperature in the greenhouse lower and provide less light. We often see red varieties turning brown, but that is not the case with Con Amore. It still performs very well."
- Less labor
Less labor is also needed. "Many other crops have to be trimmed twice a day, but with Con Amore you only have to trim once a day. This is another financial advantage, mainly because labour has also become a lot more expensive over the last few years."
- Less crop protection
Finally, Con Amore needs less crop protection because the variety is not sensitive to mildew. "We don't have to spray every week, which not only saves on plant protection, but also on labour."
A view into the greenhouse with Con Amore
Foolproof
As well as being easy to grow, Con Amore is also easy to handle, Loek continues. "The rose has few or no thorns and can take a beating. In addition, it doesn't sprout in the cold store."
A real 'gift rose'
Con Amore is a real giving rose. "The rose has a sturdy stem - most of them 60 to 70 cm long - and because we have to cut it open more, it is beautiful at the time of giving." And it stays beautiful for a while, as the vase life tests show a vase life of almost 14 days.
Berg Roses and Allure
Berg Roses sells its roses under two brand names, namely Berg Roses, the standard brand, and Allure, the high-end brand. "With Allure, we select the best roses, where we look at bud size and stem thickness." Con Amore is also sold under both brands.
More demand than supply
Most of Berg Roses' Con Amore goes to Italy, followed by Germany. "In Italy, they immediately loved Con Amore, especially because the color of the rose is very similar to an old variety that was always very popular in the country, namely Passion." But they are also seeing an increase in demand in other countries. "In the last two years, the demand for flowers has increased in many countries," says the company. "The other day we even sent roses to a grower in Poland because he could not meet the demand with his own supply. We ourselves also notice that there is simply more demand than supply."
High prices
A consequence of high demand is high prices, and according to Loek, this is also necessary. "Energy prices have never been so high, but the costs of supply and labor have also risen sharply. We are very happy with the high prices we receive for our roses, but without these high prices it will be difficult for many to keep their heads above water."
Growth in acreage of Con Amore
Con Amore was introduced in 2018 and was quickly included in the range by many growers in Eastern Europe, Russia and Ukraine. The number of hectares of Con Amore has also increased rapidly in Germany and Austria and breeder Kordes Roses expects the acreage to increase even further in the future. "Con Amore is being picked up well in the market and this combined with the high demand and the cultivation advantages, we expect more growers to plant the variety", says Göran Basjes of Kordes Roses. At this moment, Con Amore is for example already being planted by Belgian grower Wim Scheers.
For more information: 
Berg RoseS
Zuideindseweg 25b
2645 BD Delfgauw
www.bergroses.nl
Kordes Roses 
www.kordes-rosen.com
Direct link to Con Amore:
www.rosen.de