What should growers consider before choosing a variety?
When you have paid attention to the market, location, disease susceptibility and vase life have been considered. The following additional actions should be taken by the grower: soil testing, water test, rainfall amount measurement, temperature measurements and consideration of variety trials and data available on a given variety of interest plays a very important role.
Market
Flower business just like any other business starts from the customers’ end; this involves a detailed research by the grower to understand and decide if he/she will grow for premium or retail markets. Premium markets focus on the auctions and high-end florists and their requirements differ from those in retail. For instance, premium markets need a 5cm head size flower and above while retail markets demand 4 cm and above.