Tulips

The name Polderpride stands for truly Dutch: the Netherlands, polder and pride. The brand name was created 12 years ago, and now there are seven members. Because it was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish themselves from the clock in Naaldwijk, Rijnsburg and Aalsmeer, the members sat down with several tulip growers. They came up with the idea of auctioning under the Polderpride brand name. In recent years, this new flourishing partner of Van der Plas has gained momentum. Direct trade is increasingly taking over: in total, the 7 members represent around 80 million stems on a yearly basis.

The companies account for a total of 225 hectares in the Netherlands. About 1 million stems are processed per day, which is currently the season’s peak. A cycle from seed to a batch of tulips takes 25 years. According to Sandra, the more enormous strains on the market today have already had to cross our parents. “So much can happen in 25 years, and so much is still unknown. A tulip can have a certain disease, be sensitive, and in the end, the consumer also has to say: ‘hey, this is a nice variety of tulip, we want that!’”

The 7 growers are participating in MPS and have started a process for Global Cap. Tulips are very sustainable in terms of energy consumption. For example, a tulip is only in the greenhouse for three weeks a year, unlike a lily in the greenhouse for about 90 days.