’There are few companies like ours, specialised in ornamental grasses’
How is the business doing?
“It’s all going according to plan. I started five years ago, when I was 19. It wasn’t an easy time to start. Many growers who were cultivating ornamental grasses on the side, gave up because the margins were too small. This helped us sell more. I see a future in ornamental grasses. It’s no use being negative. Moreover, we always sell out.”
Do you have a horticultural background?
“My father wasn’t a grower. But my grandfather was. He cultivated exclusive vegetables. I took over his company. The greenhouses and the fields. I also have an uncle who’s a farmer, so I grew up in the agricultural sector. I went to a horticultural school as well. I was advised not to grow vegetables because of the price pressure. That’s why I started cultivating horticultural crops – only to find out that those margins are just as low. I’ve mastered the cultivation of ornamental grasses – we grow around 130 different types – by learning on the job, through trial and error. So, I’ve learned from my mistakes. And I listen to colleagues whenever I can.”
Can you tell us more about your sales?
”We sell all year round, but March and September are our top months with regards to sales. We try to give our sales a further boost, for example by visiting the Florall fair in Ghent. Our plants go primarily to wholesalers in Lochristi. They sell the ornamental grasses to garden centres and to cash and carry’s in France, Switzerland and England.”
What are your plans?
„We have been expanding quite a bit over the last couple of years. Our plan for now is to optimise the cultivation and the assortment. We grow license free types and we have our own stock of parent plants. Apart from that, we’ll see what the future holds for us. I hope we’ll be able to increase the margins somewhat. There are few companies like ours, specialised in ornamental grasses.”
Thijs Vermeersch
Place: Passendale, Belgium
Products: 130 types of ornamental grasses
Acreage: 2 ha of which 1 ha cultivated
Number of employees: 4
