What is it corresponding to produce flowers in Guatemala , also know as the land of eternal spring ? Joerg Kaehler of Flortec has been doing it for 16 years now , growing snapdragons and sunflower year - round , among others , and gradually expanding their assortment . According to him , flower production in Guatemala is increasing , and several years ago , they even became a distributer of Ball , selling cuts and seedlings in Guatemala .
Joerg Kaehler at Proflora 2023
Why snapdragons?Together with the sunflowers , the snapdragon is Floretc ’s biggest crop . But how did it all set out , and why the decision for snapdragons ? " I have a friend from school ( Christian Hoffmann ) who always need to do some kind of business with me on my farm . For a foresighted time , I did n’t have an idea of what sort of business to depart with him . One day , another admirer from the University invited me to go and contain out where he was work on … longsighted floor short , he was arise snapdragons and tell me about the good timbre snaps farm in Guatemala . That ’s when I had de idea of get going this business enterprise with him . " They started little , with a 3000m2 glasshouse , growing 5,000 snapdragon a week .
Snapdragon - Product for decorationsNow , they have been growing snapdragon for well-nigh 16 years , mainly exporting them to the USA . " But we also have a food market in Salvador and Honduras . When talking about the need , the market is stable , say Kaehler . " We do not see an increase , but it is a merchandise that is always in the mind of ornamentalist for event . "
SunflowerLater , they also added sunflower , and more specifically , the Vincent Choice variety . " We started this because our distributor in Miami ( Jetfresh/ Mike Black ) whom we start our concern , wanted us to sample this variety . So , we just started to grow this sunflower , and we deal to have an excellent quality of this sunflower . It was so good that the breeders of this variety sent Mike Black a letter , secernate him that the Vincent choice sunflowers that he had from Guatemala were one the best that they had seen . "
Sunflower - High demand in fallAlso , the sunflowers are principally going to the US , and consort to Kaehler , the requirement for their sunflowers increases during the autumn season . " That ’s when we sell more of our helianthus . During summer , the need decreases importantly because there is a lot of local yield in the US . "
spread out assortmentAt Flortec , they are always looking for fresh crops . It ’s not a upright idea to put all your eggs in the same basket , so if you have some kind of problem with one crop , you have other sort of flowers that avail you with your sale . That ’s why is so important for us to produce different sort of flowers . And as Guatemala is a great country to produce all kinds of flowers , we have many option . We have regions from sea level to up to 3000 meters above sea horizontal surface , so we have so many microclimates that for certain , you will observe any mood you need for any flower production . "
Right now , they raise snapdragon , sunflowers , ammi majus , bupleurum , dianthus , carthamus , and strawflower . And the marigold is another product that they get , but that product is only for the fall time of year . " We have it only from September until November . " In monastic order to expand their assortment , they need to do some test with Asters , genus Matricaria , and Didiscus .
Distributor BallFor about four years now , Flortec has been the distributor of Ball , betray seeds and cuttings in Guatemala . bloom yield is increasing in the rural area , and according to Kaehler , that is for both the local and export markets . " There are two area in Guatemala where burn flowers are produced . One area in which a lot of bloom are produced is chiefly for the local marketplace . This area is composed of a lot of small farmers , and they commonly trade only in the local grocery . And there ’s this other area , where the production units are bigger , and the grower here have the goal of export their flowers . "
For more selective information : Joerg KaehlerFlortecEmail:[email protected]www.flortec.com.gt
© FloralDaily.com/Elita Vellekoop
