"High energy prices to boost demand for this garden pot rose series"

The high energy prices are the talk of the town nowadays, particularly in Europe. Therefore increasingly, more growers are looking for solutions or alternatives to reduce their energy consumption. Lowering the temperature in the greenhouse, for example, or even turning off the heat. It will affect the crop, but not as much if it is suitable for cold greenhouse production.

The Sweet Home Roses of Roses forever, for example, can both be produced in a heated and cold greenhouse. "The only difference is how fast they will flower," says Rosa Eskelund of Roses Forever and breeder of this series. Since the introduction in 2018, she has seen the demand rising steadily, being sold out every year, and now, with the current energy crisis, she expects a big demand coming soon, particularly from Germany, France, and Italy. And they are now able to keep up with the demand as they have increased their bare-rooted stock.

Breeder Rosa Eskelund in the big fields of Sweet Home Roses in Denmark of one of their growers 

Early flowering
A big advantage of the Sweet Home Roses series is that they flower before the normal garden roses start to flower, Rosa stresses. "It enables growers to offer roses with flowers before Easter and for all the different dates of Mother's Day."

Mini pot rose genetics
The varieties in this line have the genetics of their long-life mini pot roses (Infinity line) together with healthy garden rose genetics. "This means that they are compact and have many flowers, which are long life and medium big. On top of that, they are strong plants, she explains. "They are being grown outdoors in Denmark for 1,5 years before they are taken out of the field and kept in cold storage until delivery date", she says. All in all, it is a very special series, she says. "It is easy to force, easy to sell, and the rose keeps looking good and keeps its flowers the whole way from grower to shop and to garden of the consumer."

Bouquet Sweet Home Roses from the field. "Flowers keep very long!"

Short cultivation time
The cultivation time is short, and the flowering time of the crop can be planned very well, she explains. "Growers can finish the product in 5 to 6 weeks in a heated greenhouse and 7 to 8 weeks in a cold greenhouse, depending on the climate zone of the country, of course. All eight colors grow in the same way and flower simultaneously, but the grower can plan because, as we know, yellow and orange colors generate higher prices for Easter and pink and red for Mother's Day. The grower should keep the bare-rooted plants in the cold store and pot the colors they want to flower precisely seven weeks before the selling week."

Sweet Home Roses in the garden.

"Huge success in Norway already"
Actually, the Sweet Home Roses are already a huge success in Norway, and the number of customers goes up every year, Rosa explains. "Most Sweet Home Roses in Norway are sold from Easter ( The Yellow and orange ones) until 17. May the National day in Norway and for the whole summer planting." 

Sweet Suprise   

Keeping up with the demand
Rosa expects big demand to come soon, and as their bare root grower increased production on the field recently, they will now be able to meet the expected high demand. "Since the introduction at the IPM 2018, we are sold out every year. We have already exported to Korea and China, and they will re-book this year. Also, one grower in Denmark will pot a lot in 2023, and we believe that the demand from the German, French and Italian growers will increase as they can be grown in colder greenhouses."

On the left: bare-root, and on the right how it is started to grow. 

Bare root and license to bud
Roses Forever offers the series as a bare-rooted product that growers can finish in a pot or gives a license to growers to bud the product in the field.

Eager to meet them?
Eager to see the Sweet Home Roses and meet the Roses Forever team? At the IFTF in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands, which will take place from November 9-11, they will be showcasing their varieties at booth B2.24.

Click here for the catalog.