Equiflor is excited to introduce our ninth breeder Jan Spek Rozen.

History:

Jan Spek Rozen was founded in 1890 in Boskoop, southeast of Amsterdam, in an area dedicated to flowers and ornamental horticulture crops. It has remained in the same location as a family owned and operated business for four generations. While other Dutch rose breeders have gone out of business or been absorbed by other companies, Jan Spek Rozen has stayed the course by constant innovation combined with timeless values. This legacy of excellence has not gone unnoticed by the Dutch Royal family: On its 100th Anniversary in 1990, Jan Spek Rozen was awarded the royal seal as selected purveyor by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, which it remains to this day.

Breeding:

Jan Spek Rozen has developed their own line of breeding stock for greenhouse roses, concentrating on good vase life, good production, clear colors, and in recent years a special emphasis on thornless or almost thornless stems.

From tens of thousands of new, unique seeds, about a quarter germinates if things go right. Each new plant is distinct; only a few each year becomes commercial. The initial selection is done in the modern facilities of Jan Spek Rozen in Boskoop, where each plant’s history is carefully tracked and recorded.

One key to the success of their greenhouse rose breeding program over the last twenty years is the testing of the pre-selected codes in key growing areas around the world. For the growers in Latin America, testing is currently done in three different test facilities in Ecuador, which allows the codes to be observed under different microclimates where the results can be different.  Codes that show promise are then expanded to larger quantities.

Criteria Used to Assess the Best Varieties

Part of the selection process includes sending selected codes and varieties to locations such as Rio Roses. Their vast experience and market connections provide a very important set of eyes to introduce the right branded roses to an ever-evolving marketplace.

All roses have been reproduced by some cloning process; only the first plant is from seed. The process of forming seeds, germinating them and seeing the first flower takes the best part of a year, and the plants from the new seeds are never the same as the parents. Clean, disease free budwood or mini-plants can then be supplied to the growers.

This process has led to some winners in the marketplace: the Spek variety Hearts®, for example, won Best Standard Rose and Best of Show at the SAF Outstanding Varieties completion. Its distinct heart shaped inner petals combined with long stems and good vase life makes it a key part of the Tea Garden® collection from Jan Spek Roses. Others in the collection include Lovely Hearts®, Honey Hearts®, Newsflash®, and the new Adventure®.

The excellent floriculture tradition and serious business management, combined with always looking out for the rest of the chain including growers, the distribution channel and the final consumer, has been key to the 128-year history of Jan Spek Rozen.

We would like to hear your opinion on the selected varieties provided by Jan Spek Rozen. Please send us an email to marketing@equiflor.com and share your feedback!

To learn more about Jan Spek Rozen,visit www.rozen.com