In the center of The Hague (the Netherlands), large planters with colorful Garden Cyclamen have been on display along the Hofvijver since the end of September. This action is part of a promotional campaign by cyclamen growers. The Cyclamen suppliers of Royal FloraHolland have established the promotional initiative PSP ("Product Specific Promotion"). The aim is to draw more attention to the use of cyclamen as an outdoor plant.
Peter Rodenrijs, Product Manager of Flowering Plants at Royal FloraHolland, explains: "RFH's cyclamen suppliers have united in a PSP organization in recent years. This allows us to give extra attention to this product group, with a focus on promoting cyclamen for outdoor use." The choice to place the plants in the center of The Hague, in collaboration with Gemeente Groenbedrijf provides a lot of visibility. "These planters will be there all autumn," Peter adds. "We got a super nice spot, right in the center, where a lot of people come."
Outdoor plants
Although the effect on sales is not yet clear, Peter stresses that it is mainly about publicizing the outdoor use of cyclamen: "Whether it has an impact on sales we don't know yet, but it is mainly to show consumers that the plant can do just fine outdoors." Cyclamen are not hardy, but they can tolerate a light frost. In a mild winter, they can even stay outside until March, Peter says from his own experience. "Last year, I had put them by the front door at the beginning of September, and with good care, they stayed until March this year."
Promotion
Growers contribute to promotion initiatives through a commission system. Peter explains how this works: "The growers contribute a little extra commission, which we collect in a promotion pot. We have a promotion committee, and with them, we decide what to do. For instance, this promotion in The Hague, but also a photo shoot or, for instance, standing at various fairs such as Plantarium|GroenDirekt and the Trade Fair Aalsmeer. At the Trade Fair this year, we show all specials in a gallery with 18 special varieties. With this, we show how large the cyclamen family is."
Peter Rodenrijs during Plantarium|GroenDirekt 2024
The collective certainly offers advantages, according to Peter. "Together in a collective, you get a lot more done than when you operate alone as a grower. For growers, it's also nice that we can work from a neutral position and just pick the nice varieties to promote."
In any case, the promotion in The Hague has already generated many positive reactions and colorful streets. Whether it will be followed up remains open for a while, but the cyclamen will remain until the end of autumn anyway. The next promotional event will take place during the Trade Fair in Aalsmeer, where the full collection of special varieties of cyclamen will be presented to visitors.
For more information: 
Peter Rodenrijs
Royal FloraHolland
Tel: +31 (0)6 51517876
[email protected]
www.cyclaam.eu