Planthunter

What does a plant-hunter do?

It is probably the first time that you have come across the term 'plant-hunter'. Nonetheless, this is the best description for how the search for, and development of, new plants begins. Of all the plants worldwide only a very small percentage are grown in nurseries. Together with our plant-hunter we do our utmost to introduce you to ever more gorgeous plant species. The plant-hunter approaches this task with a lot of care and caution. He or she only selects seeds and bulbs that the ecosystem can afford to lose, so the process has minimal impact on the local flora and fauna. The plant-hunter searches for specific plant species that will make a worthy addition to our existing plant assortment. We then use the collected materials to investigate the ground type, watering and energy requirements, and proneness to disease and insect damage of the plant species. We also try to produce new, enhanced varieties through the crossing and breeding of pre-existing species.

There are important criteria governing which new plants we select for cultivation. One of the requirements is that we must be able to cultivate the new plants using minimal energy. This means that the plants should be able to grow outside the container fields or in frost-proof greenhouses in the winter. Nor do we make use of artificial lighting. The plants must not be prone to fungal disease or insect damage. This is important as we wish to minimize the use of plant treatment products. It is also important that the plants will survive the transport phase from the nursery to the customer. We want to guarantee that they will arrive fresh and healthy, so they must have a satisfactory storage duration. By now you may have realised that all these criteria mean we have made life rather difficult for ourselves! However, only a plant that has been selected and grown according to this procedure will be supplied, considering the short-term and long-term consequences cultivation has on our environment. Our plant-hunter also works with nurseries that grow plants that require more heat energy.

You can find specific information about the use of water, energy and plant treatment products under the section Environmental Sustainability.