Porta Nova is famous for several reasons. First and above all for their perfect Red Naomi! rose. Second, for the way they offer their flowers on the market. Right from the start, they deliberately pushed their open flowers to the clocks and their wholesalers. The Porta Nova team shows that more open flowers are both a feast for the eye and very strong. Commercial director Stefan van Vuuren comments on the ripe and raw discussion.
Porta Nova Red Naomi!
What is generally the ideal stage of ripeness for flowers that are not usually harvested in full bloom?
"The consumer wants a 'living' flower that lasts a long time and opens slowly. In addition, the flower must come through the trade phase well. It may not be too ripe and needs to remain undamaged. The combination of these makes the ideal stage. Seeing a rosebud grow and come to life is something magical. As we strive for ultimate quality and uniformity in our Red Naomi roses, it is very important to harvest at precisely the right moment. If we harvest too early the rose will not open uniformly. Because roses only receive sugar (energy) as long as they grow on the plant, waiting as long as possible and harvesting relatively late will give us bigger and stronger roses that last much longer because they contain more energy. It is very important to harvest at precisely the right moment. That is why we harvest twice a day and during warm summers we even harvest three times a day, the only Dutch grower to do so."
Seeing a rosebud grow and come to life is something magical
Can you describe how everyone further down the chain can enjoy your Red Naomi! optimally?
"With the greatest care we deliver our Naomi roses to our clients, in order to guarantee an optimal vase life to the consumer. With a goal to exceed expectations and create happy repeat customers for the florists. We have fine-tuned everything in our production process in such a way that our roses have the potential to live on average 4 days longer than the roses from the competition. Porta Nova works close together with universities, researchers from Chrysal, and trade partners to constantly keep improving quality. But of course, in the end, it is up to the traders and florists to also create the optimum circumstances during transport and in the shops, to let our roses reach their full potential at the consumer. To us, it has become very clear that if we work together as a chain by setting up close cooperation and keep making small improvements together we will improve results for everyone. Do contact us if you are interested in learning more or set up an improvement program!"
Are you satisfied with the cutting stage with which you have to deliver your flowers now?
"Yes. I am happy with the current cutting stage of my flowers."
Do your flowers gain added value if they can be harvested (even) riper?
"No, I do not think so. As described above, we have found a perfect harvesting point. It is a delicate balance between harvesting a strong more open rose and being able to transport it undamaged."
What do you think in general about the topic of ripe vs. raw?
“Raw might be confused with fresh; same way ripe might confused with being While the subtle difference between being a raw or ripe rose can mean that the ripe rose spent just a couple of hours extra on a plant before being harvested. Allowing it to grow a bit stronger. I think growers, traders, and florists play a crucial role in explaining and communicating this in a better way."
Additional Information About Cutting Stages
"Roses are harvested mainly according to the prescribed auction regulations. In general, Dutch auctions divide the offer at their sales platforms and at the clocks into 5 stages of maturity. These correspond with the cutting stages of growers. • 1 = flower is raw, closed • 2 = flower is slightly open • 3 = flower starts blooming • 4 = flower is clearly open, but not fully. • 5 = flower is fully open You can imagine that some flowers are harvested and sold at cutting stage 5, like anthurium, gerbera, and many spray chrysants. Other flowers need to be cut in a less mature stage, so they will bloom further from there." 
