For the past four years, the German rose grower Thomas Diepers has mainly focused on specialty rose varieties. It seems to have been a smart move: they are getting a noticeably higher price for their product. On the other hand, the risks are considerable because they have to wait and see whether the market is ready for a specialty.
Diepers Rosen is located in the heart of the German horticultural area Lower Rhine, close to the border with the Netherlands. There are several growers in this region, and they grow their roses like the famous Freiland rose, either in a greenhouse or outside.
Thomas Diepers (48) belongs to the former category; he grows roses in greenhouses and in polytunnels in an area of 1.5 hectares. ‘I think that there are another dozen companies in this area that grow roses under glass. Most are about one hectare in size; only a few are as big as three hectares,’ Thomas Diepers explained.
Diepers took over the company from his parents in 1997. At that time, the company’s land covered about 4,000 square metres. Over the past few years, the grower has expanded to the current size of 1.5 hectares. ‘We have gradually evolved, section by section. We do not have any lighting; the German energy system does not make this viable. That is why we are only in production from March to December. This worked out very well for us; because our fixed costs have been relatively low, it has been easier for us to get through the financial crisis compared with the Dutch growers.’
Specialties
Diepers Rosen also altered their assortment quite dramatically. Initially, they had grown regular varieties but have specialised in certain varieties for the past four years. ‘Because of the increasing competition from Africa, it became more difficult to make a decent living out of regular roses in Western Europe. Because this is not likely to change over the next few years, I have been looking for niches in the market. What was my approach? I visited several breeders and asked them what kind of special varieties they had.’
Meanwhile, Diepers Rosen has eight different varieties in their range (see box), in particular, specialties. Houdini is one of the showstoppers. This variety comes from the German breeder Kordes, has a special shape and colour and is only produced by a handful of companies.
‘The Houdini is actually propagated to grow outside. I decided to put them in a polytunnel, in which we had previously grown cut gentians, by way of trial. That worked out pretty well: due to the extra UV radiation in the polytunnel, the rose colour became more intense, the size more compact, and the stem much stronger. The appearance of the rose is comparable with a Freiland rose, which is a very popular rose in Germany. Because I grow the roses in tunnels, I can have them on the market from the middle of April onwards, while the outdoor roses will only get harvested a month later; this has pricing advantages. That is what we see with other varieties: traders and consumers are still willing to pay a higher price for a special rose. The customer likes something different, these days.’
Focus to sell through the clock auction
Thomas Diepers is not unsatisfied with the pricing of roses, despite the overall rising costs in Germany. They sell their products through the Veiling Rhein-Maas and through FloraHolland in Naaldwijk.
‘Until a few years ago, everything was sent to Rhein-Maas, but we had noticed that the price for top quality roses, and for roses with longer stems was better at FloraHolland. And FloraHolland is an international auction, so we benefit from more international holidays, which means that dispatching some of our roses to Naaldwijk is still interesting, in spite of the additional 2 to 4 euro cent per stem for transportation cost.’
Diepers aims at sales through the clock auction. ‘It is easier to sell the entire production through the clock, while it is impossible to sell the entire stock through direct sales. Then you get stuck with the rest, or you get a lousy price. A strong clock is crucial in the horticulture industry.’
Significant risks
But all that glitters is not gold. Growing special varieties involves major risks, Thomas Diepers indicated. ‘When I find a variety that looks interesting, I usually start with a small trial.’ I take on the variety only if the trial is successful. We always have to wait and see whether a rose does well in the market. Five years ago, I started to grow 4,000 square metres of Revival. It certainly was not a bad variety, but the market was not willing to pay the price, so I stopped growing the variety after a year. That is something that can happen once, but a second time would be fatal.’
Many specialties are difficult to grow. ‘There is a reason that they are produced so sparsely. It is very difficult, for example, to get Houdini into full production, because you can easily get too much wood. I harvest a maximum of 70 stems of this variety per square metre. Because our company has been through a phased growth, we have many different sections, which has the advantage that we can heat them separately. This means that we can spread production and offer our roses continuously through the clock. That is important; customers like continuity.’
Diepers Rosen needs a higher price because the cultivation and processing of the special rose varieties require manual work. They cannot use their sorting machine, for example, because of the huge variety of shapes of flowers. They had to increase their workforce from 4.5 to 6 FTE in the past few years.
Diepers: ‘Furthermore, we are trying to be fully organic, and have relatively little trouble with pests and diseases,’ Thomas Diepers continued. Until a few years ago, spider mite was quite a problem, but now we have this well under control. Thrips is still a problem because this pest damages the flower early on. We try to fight them with the use of organic pest control as much as possible.’
Prospects for the future
Despite the problems he has outlined, Thomas Diepers is convinced that he has set a future-proof course and that there will be opportunities and prospects for the future of the rose industry in Western Europe. ‘It is imperative to find niches in the market, varieties that are difficult to grow in Africa. After all, we cannot win on cost price.’
According to Thomas Diepers, the principle that a German consumer only buys domestic products is not true. ‘Many consumers would buy German roses, but they are scarcely available, if at all, because the trade looks predominantly at the price. When German and African roses are available in the cash & carry with a price difference of 10 euro cents, then they will choose the cheapest option. That is why we as German rose growers hardly benefit from the buy-local trend.’
Investing in sustainability
The entrepreneur hopes to reap the fruits from the growing interest in sustainable products. He has invested significantly in sustainability in the past few years: there are solar panels on his barn and recently a second combined heat and power (CHP) plant was installed, which runs on plant oil. ‘This means we will almost completely be self-sufficient in our energy use and – also not unimportant – will be able to generate our energy in a CO2 neutral way.’
Company details
Company: Diepers Rosen
Grower: Thomas Diepers
Product: Roses
Interesting fact: Diepers Rosen grows specialties, roses with a special colour or shape. The assortment consists of Houdini, Aveline, Top-Design, Biedermeier, Ivanhoe, Jadara, Susan, and Creme Bouquet. They almost completely energy self-sufficient, through the use of solar panels and combined heat and power plants.
Ank van Lier
bloemisterij@hortipoint.nl
The Diepers Rosen assortment includes the floribunda rose Biedermeier.
Thomas Diepers is one of the few rose growers who breeds the variety Houdini.
Thomas Diepers is one of the few rose growers who breeds the variety Houdini.
