De Kwakel, 9 February – Hydrangea Breeders Association (HBA) in De Kwakel has started a trial site with cut flower hydrangeas in Colombia. In the new trial site, HBA planted fifty selections so they can be tested under local growing conditions, “The market requires new shapes and colours, which we are eager to deliver”, Agriomdirector Jaap Stelder explains.
The new HBS trial site at the Los Aromas nursery in La Union is located at an altitude of 2,500 metres in the Medellin region. “At this location, we will do trials with selections like Dream, Force and Ice Cube. These have already proven themselves in Kenya and now, we want to test them in Colombia as well”, Stelder says. “We have also planted different selections which we are unfamiliar with, but which certainly have potential. Now we have planted the trial site in La Union, we can show our customers all we offer at one central location. ”
The cultivation of hydrangeas in Colombia has to modernise, Stelder says. In Colombia, traditionally, a lot of white cut flower hydrangeas are cultivated. About 1,100 hectares are registered, but in practice, about 2,000 hectares of hydrangeas are grown, mostly by small growers on a low-tech basis. Stelder sees that sales to the United States, but also other countries, are increasing. “This means that cultivation has to professionalise and the assortment needs to expand. The market requires new shapes and colours.”
Alejandro Echeverri Mesa, the young entrepreneur who manages the HBA trial site in La Union, shares Stelders’ views and has a lot of experience in growing cut flower hydrangeas and carrying out trials. “We are very confident that Alejandro can contribute to HBA’s success in Colombia.”
HBA is represented in Colombia and Ecuador by Ball SB.
Photo caption: Tropical HBA cut flower hydrangeas offer perspective
More info: Jaap Stelder, +31 6 5140 8341