Brothers Jan Willem and Chris van Egmond have been growing dahlias passionately for five years, and they still enjoy it every day. The variety between dahlias and tulips keeps the work fun to do, according to the brother of Kwekerij Van Egmond. From April to October, they grow eight different varieties of dahlias, and then they switch to growing tulips in the same greenhouse.
A team of flower lovers
New dahlia tubers go into the ground every year, bringing brilliant dahlias into bloom every year. In season, about half a million dahlias are grown. Of course, Jan Willem and Chris do not do this alone. They have a permanent team of 4 people and in busy periods on-call workers are brought in and about 8 people work.
Patiently waiting for a blooming beauty
From the time the tubers go into the ground, it takes about three months for a dahlia to bloom. The eight varieties grown bloom at about the same time. Think of varieties such as dahlia Wizard of oz, dahlia Black fox and dahlia Caro. There are no hugely voege or extremely late varieties in the greenhouse at van Egmond. When we enter the greenhouse we see an oasis of green full of colorful flowers.
The enchanting dahlias are cut and bundled by hand. Then they are placed in barrels, watered and ready to go to the customer. Dahlias are widely used for events, such as weddings. There are also sometimes branching dahlias, when several flowers grow from one stem. They don’t have to do anything for that, it just happens by Mother Nature. An extraordinary phenomenon.
The grower’s life
Chris tells on that he loves being a grower because he then experiences the entire process from tuber to flower. He enjoys the variety between growing both tulips and dahlias because it involves two different seasons. That makes the nursery profession extra fun and varied.
– “You are a Feyenoorder or you are not, it works the same way with being a grower. You are a grower or you are not.”
Thus Jan Willem van Egmond
Greenhouse cultivation versus field cultivation of enchanting dahlias
One advantage of growing dahlias in the greenhouse rather than in the field is that the dahlias are of better quality. As a dahlia supplier, of course you want the quality to be super. The brothers are less affected by weather conditions in the greenhouse than in the field. Think of hailstorms and windstorms, for example, which can affect the quality of the flowers.
Let’s be honest, dahlias are just beautiful! The shape and the different colors, it’s amazing.
