Who is not impressed by the wonderful scent of the Mimosa (Acacia)? With its yellow balls like flowers, you immediately bring spring into your home. Our Italian mimosa grower Lorenzi takes us to his beautifully situated nursery in San Remo. We give our eyes plenty to eat!

Early varieties of Mimosa

The mimosa has an early and a late variety, says grower Lorenzi in his beautifully situated Mimosa nursery. In the distance are the mountains and the mimosa branches sway gently with the wind. Lorenzi still loves ‘his’ mimosa after all these years of growing. “We cut the early varieties raw at the beginning of December. We give nature a helping hand to make the flowers bloom. At the time of cutting, the flowers are still dense and green, after which we place them in a warm cell between 26 and 28 degrees with high humidity. They get extra nutrients, which causes the mimosa to flower. We then make bunches of 150, 200 and 300 grams, depending on the wishes of the customer.”

Mimosa for Women’s Day

March 8 is International Women’s Day. A day that is also fully celebrated in Italy. An Italian tradition is that men give a bunch of mimosa to their loved one. Lorenzi: “Women’s Day is therefore also called La Festa della Donna in Italy. The yellow flowers symbolize the mutual solidarity of women. The flowers of the mimosa also symbolize the woman herself: they are very vulnerable, but they are the first to bloom again after a cold winter!”

Mimosa from Italy

All of the Mimosa available worldwide in these two months comes from this area of Mandelieu and San Remo. Lorenzi proudly says that this is due to the perfect climate of this region. “It must be warm for the mimosa, but the flowers also need some cold in the winter. Mimosa is a special crop that needs to be cut and pruned in the right way!” For a good Mimosa season, according to Lorenzi, a lot of snow must fall in the southern French Alps, which is the buffer from the cold. If it stays cool in winter, he can extend the mimosa season. “This year we had frost at night from mid-December and it was 12 degrees during the day with a clear blue sky. As a result, the mimosa flowered evenly and the growers had plenty of time to cut, which means that we have very good quality. This season has been one of the best mimosa seasons ever!”