Breeding

Our company has been breeding Freesia for almost half a century. Following the introduction of the first varieties in the mid 1970’s, we have since created many new varieties resulting in a brand new assortment.  Although the current assortment already displays remarkable variation in types and colours, our breeding program continues to produce varieties in exciting new and novel colours which will become available to commercial growers, exporters and consumers in the coming years.

The main objective of the breeding program is the development of new and/or improved varieties with added value for all links (growers, wholesalers and retailers and consumers). For the grower, properties such as cultivation speed, leaf position, suitability for year-round cultivation, stem quality, production per m² and susceptibility to diseases and pests are important. In the trade channel, transport sensitivity and degree of ripening are also essential, while good flowering, a long vase life and a good scent are of great importance to the consumer.

In addition to the ‘standard colours’ white, yellow, purple/blue and red/rose, special colors and types have always been given an important place in breeding. Over the years, this has led to a breakthrough in the field of new colors for freesia). In the future, the freesia range will be further enriched with varieties in striking new colours.

A recent development is the breeding of new varieties that are suitable for cultivation as pot plants and for draft cultivation. Rapid progress is being made on these fronts and new varieties for these applications will be launched on the market within a few years.