Holiday crops: trends and developments

This content was originally created for the Greenhouse Grower.

Getting ready for Christmas is never early enough! At the request of the Greenhouse Grower, HilverdaFlorist described its insights on Christmas and New Year, and festive crops to grow for sales during this season. 

Trends for holiday crops

Sustainability

Like all year round nowadays, we see sustainability becoming increasingly important during the holiday season as well. This is something that is not completely new, we have been seeing this for several years but believe it will become more and more important in the coming year(s).

Scents – going beyond visual appeal

Incorporating a multisensory approach to holiday season decors is also something we see more of. Think of scented candles coming with endless festive fragrances for the ultimate cozy feeling. Let’s respond to this with scented crops to anticipate the next trend at the same time:

Embracing nature

Thereby, besides the tradition of Christmas trees, we also see consumers increasingly bringing the outdoors inside during the holiday season. The beauty of nature is more appreciated and more natural decorations are chosen. An excellent opportunity for holiday crops.

Letting growers stand out

First, growers obviously need to be able to respond to trends and answer consumer demands with their assortment. To help them do this, HilverdaFlorist as a breeder develops the most sustainable crops possible that require the least amount of attention and resources to grow. In addition, it is important that we can provide growers with the information they need to further market their products. This includes information for, for example, calculating footprints, cultivation insights and shelf life.

Besides sustainability, crops should at all times provide an added value that a grower can deliver to impact the decisive consumer choice. In the abundant offerings during this period, a product must have just that little bit extra to stand out. To do this, growers can think of a unique angle such as scented products to respond to this trend, or tell the story about sustainability and how you as a consumer can contribute to this with a conscious choice.

Consumer thoughts

As mentioned at the trends, we believe that consumers are looking for more sustainable options. Not only for non-plant decorations, but also in holiday crops. Think of products that contribute to a festive feeling, but which give joy even after the season or for a longer time.

Besides the trends, since consumers shopping for holiday crops are mainly looking for a festive experience, they may not be the biggest gardening enthusiasts. For them it is important that the crops are easy to maintain.

HilverdaFlorist holiday crops

HilverdaFlorist might not offer your top-of-mind holiday crops. Although HilverdaFlorist offers the much-loved Helleborus for this season, there are also some more out-of-the-box options. Let us take you through our range, in line with the earlier mentioned trends and (grower and customer) needs.

Helleborus Awesome!® Nagano

The Helleborus Awesome!® Series offers Niger types Helleborus from tissue culture. This Helleborus, known as the “Christmas Rose” is already a big hit during the holiday season in Europe. Helleborus Awesome!® starts flowering in mid-October, therefore it has a perfect timing for winter holiday sales. This Helleborus from tissue culture is highly uniform and produces more flowers, compared to seed-raised Helleborus. Awesome!® is suitable for controlled growth and extremely heat and cold tolerant. Its ability to thrive during the colder months and its abundance of flowers make it an attractive option for those seeking a touch of natural beauty during the holiday season.

We are happy to welcome Nagano to our Awesome!® Series. Nagano meets your needs when it comes to a high flower count and a magnificent appearance. The first flowers appear in mid-October.

Dianthus Sunflor®

Dianthus Sunflor® is a versatile series, perfect for garden, patio planters and indoor use during the holiday season. Sunflor® offers plenty of options to compose a varied year-round program, with exciting colors for the holiday season. Its outstanding cold tolerance enables cool production temperatures. Sunflor® has short cultivation time and a tight bloom window, for easy planning and bench-run production.

Dianthus Sunflor® seamlessly fits in with the fragrance trend. In this series you will find scented flowers, often described as warm spice, sweet vanilla or clove. In keeping with the holiday season, we recommend Sunflor® Cosmos! This beautiful, white potted Dianthus fits into any Christmas decor.

When it comes to sustainability, consumers can enjoy these during Christmas and plant them in the garden when the temperatures are rising. In here, their scents will attract friendly pollinators!

Read more about scented Dianthus here.

Flori Line® potted Gerberas

The Flori Line® Series offers seed-raised Gerberas with the most vivid colors and well-defined two tones on the market. You can count on its fast flowering and laser-sharp uniformity in timing and plant size. Flori Line® offers various festive colored varieties that create endless possibilities to boost holiday sales. Inspire retail and consumers with red and white (bi)colors or create themed mixes.

Flori Line® offers a wide range of pot sizes, from Micro to Giant. This is a sustainable choice consumers will enjoy throughout the year. From a sunny spot in the windowsill during the cooler months, to the patio during summer. Some of our holiday season picks are the bicolored Eyecatcher Red BC, White BC and Red BC. These white, red and white/red bicolor varieties match the traditional Christmas decors.