The auction introduction for Aura® nearly went wrong. The first price setting at the Aalsmeer rose clock was essential for the flying start of a new variety. Snuf proved a mastermind in playing the buyers’ thumbs. In the early stages, there were agreements with ‘friendly’ exporters who would press their thumb early, later there were dancers and other acts when the first flowers of a new Witte de Wit would appear at the clock, after previous announcements. Other breeders copied, the auction management then forbade and, in the meantime, Snuf developed a more personal approach. For open days or just personal visits to the Witte de wit showcase, auctioneers and quality inspectors would also be invited and, most of the time, would end up in Big Anton’s house, where Aunt Wil would be serving drinks and snacks. Always welcome.
For a week, flowers of Aura® had been in the display case at the back of the stand with the buyer’s benches looking down on the passing products and looking up to the rose clock controlled by the auctioneers, all major buyers had received sample bunches, the presenters pointed at the passing product, holding up a few perfect bunches, the arm of the clock was set in motion … But then some pretty girls were spotted behind the glass wall of the visitors’ gallery. Pointing, shouting, obscene remarks, and a low starting price when, finally, the first buyer pressed his button. “Come on guys, pay attention. Let’s do that again.” Thank you, auctioneer. Thank you, Snuf.
Flower buyers at the auction clocks were a special bunch: all male, adrenaline and stress, early hours, chain smokers, alcoholics, buying tactics, loud, but with a general good sense of humor. Many would come early to walk between the lines of waiting trolleys with products, to check availability and quality. They would have preferred suppliers and distrust of the auction’s quality remarks for the different lots. The growers were the owners of the auction, employing the quality controllers. Butchers checking their own meat.
Witte de Wit also pursued new roads in the archaic advertising of the industry. The traditional blond girl with the bouquet of roses in front of the windmill had already been shed and the more international and imaginative face of a dark-haired girl in silhouette with the spotlight on a single anonymous rose adopted, together with the slogan ‘the willful wizards of Witte de Wit’. The posters had become very popular, and a series of ads now followed for the ‘Vakblad voor de Bloemisterij’, the weekly information highlight for the flower and plant business, in Dutch, but read internationally. Witte de Wit had to break with their religiously principled Rijnsburg advertising agency and the ‘Vakblad’ had fierce internal disputes, but in the end were convinced of the artisitic quality of the profiles, naked, but not explicit. The full-color ads became collector’s items.
For the coming Aalsmeer show in the first week of November we were planning a big stand with a catwalk with models dressed up with our roses. Insanity, when you think of it. Weeks of planning to arrange the best flowers, stand design and construction, the right models, staffing of the stand, catering, at a rent of Hfl. 20,000 for the space. Just for a few days. Snuf and Jan were working on this, assisted by Julia and supervised by Sjef.
Norma was planning all meetings, lunches, and dinners with our relations. We had a week-long reservation for two groups in one restaurant in the Aalsmeer area. The guests were organized in such a way that awkward confrontations were avoided, and we could temporarily switch tables for a chat with the other invitees.
Every year this became a bigger puzzle. In order of importance, we would try and combine for dinners and lunches, visits to the breeding with Seedy and Junior, three locations for meetings: the Benthuizen office and two offices at Anton’s Potrozen in Nieuwveen, close to Aalsmeer and our commercial trials.
The final schedule of this year:
- Fri 30 Oct.
- 09.00 Simon Brug, James, Tom, Pieter Schoonbroer-Sidai Oleng at EAF (John, Norma)
- Sat 31 Oct.
- Arrival Ron (Pour La Mar); takes taxi to Hotel Avifauna (Alphen)
- Mon 2 Nov.
- 08.30 Pick up Ron (Norma) and take to WdW (Klaus, Harry; Sjef for lunch)
- afternoon AP (Sjef, John)
- 08.00 Alain Ferry at AP (John, Sjef, Anton)
- 10.00 Elkhuizen, Ashok-Indo Flower at AP (John, Snuf)
- Dinner: Keith, Guy, Pedro Herera-J&P (John, Norma)
- Tue 3 Nov.
- 08.30 Karen d’Kat and group Colombians at AP (Snuf, Norma)
- 08.30 Take Ron to Rombouts, Hawé, Hedra (Sep)
- 08.00 J&P (Keith, Guy) at WdW (John to 10.00; Maurice, Klaus, Harry)
- IRBO (De Beurs, Hoofddorp):
- 11.00-12.30 board meeting (John)
- 14.00-16.00 general meeting (John, Maurice)
- 16.00-18.00 meeting with propagators (John, Maurice, Anton, Sjef)
- Dinners:
- Ron (Anton, Sep)
- Paul Schmidt, Peter Doedens (John, Norma, Maurice)
- Wed 4 Nov.
- 09.30 CFX/La Fleurette at AP (John, Snuf)
- 10.30 Iko Litzman at AP (John)
- 09.05 Schiphol, from Birmingham, pick up David Constable-Sr and Jr and Sarah (Norma, Maurice), then AP (John, Norma), lunch, then WdW and show, 19.55 Schiphol (Norma)
- 11.00 Schmidt at WdW (Klaus, Harry)
- Afternoon Anders and Camilla at WdW (Klaus, Harry, Sjef, Julia—kids)
- 14.30 Helmut Steinmetz and wife (Pflanzen-Büro) at WdW (Maurice, later John)
- Dinners:
- Helmut and wife (Dré, Sien)
- Anders, Camilla, kids (John, Sjef, Norma)
- Thurs 5 Nov.
- Morning Tim Newham-Nurserymen’s Farms at AP (Sep)
- Morning Anders and Camilla at AP (Sjef, Sep), then show Aalsmeer
- 08.30 Eloy Reina-Amiplant at AP (John, Norma)
- 10.00 Micha, D’gani at AP (John, Norma)
- 11.00 Colette Beamy-Sunburst at AP (John)
- Morning José, Maarten, Enrique-Rosa Paxi at AP (Snuf, John-partly)
- 14.00 Agostino, Vincenzo, Maurice-LAVAL at WdW (John, Sjef, Maurice)
- Dinner: LAVAL (John, Sjef, Anton)
- Fri 6 Nov.
- 07.30 Jens, Knud, son Jan-Skjoldvang at WdW (Klaus, Harry, John to 08.00)
- 09.00 Steve Gutton at AP (Norma, Snuf)
- 09.00 Yoshi Shilano, Mr Talaaki Yoshia-Koneru at AP (John, Anton)
- 10.00 Sidonia-Armada Plant at AP (Norma, Maurice, John briefly)
- 10.30 Will Heany, Burke Andrews-Rocket Seed at AP, WdW, lunch (John, Sjef)
- 13.00 Stan Gidley-DeVor at WdW at AP (Maurice, Norma)
- 15.00 WdW Latina (Peter, Gert, Rodrigo, Carolina, Miguel, José) at AP (John, Snuf, Sjef)
- Dinner: Rosy (Anton, Norma)
- DR Latin (John, Sjef, Snuf)
- Sat 7 Nov.
- 09.00 J&P (Keith Bartram, Guy Bergdahl) at AP (John)
- 10.30 Rosy at AP (John)
- Mon 9 Nov.
- 10.00 Seaview Pots at WdW (John, Klaus, Harry)
Notes:
- The meeting with the Sidai Oleng management at EAF (East African Flowers-Sidai’s enterprise in Aalsmeer, run by Simon Brug) was to finalize the discussions on the foundation of Witte de Wit East Africa.
- Ron Cairn: owner of Pour La Mar, a big pot rose producer in California. Nurserymen’s Farms and Seaview Pots were other Californian growers and Skjoldvang a Danish pot rose producer. This last had only been producing their found and co-owned mutations, but although cheaper in royalty, the owners came to the conclusion that their ‘Feminis’ were quality and price-wise inferior to other varieties.
- Alain Ferry: owner of French breeding company Groupe Ferry. Discuss international developments, IRBO and further collaboration.
- Indo Flower: Dutch-Indian propagator based in Bangalore and Pune, discuss the setting up of Witte de Wit India.
- J&P (Jackson & Perkins): next steps in selecting and exchanging cut rose codes. Pedro Herera is their agent in Ecuador.
- Karen d’Kat and her husband ran a post-harvest consultancy in Colombia; was touring a group of Colombian growers around.
- Rombouts is a pot rose propagator in the south of Holland; Hawé and Hedra are other Dutch firms Ron wants to visit.
- The IRBO board meeting Arent Ruighaver (Chairman) and myself (Secretary/Treasury); discuss the speech I wrote for Arent to address the propagators.
- IRBO general assembly: formal foundation of the organization. All 15 cut rose breeders present. It was decided beforehand at the informal pre-IRBO meeting in Hamburg that the new breeders, Zoutman and Derk, were not going to be invited. Both coming from the sales-driven gerbera breeding, the Dutch and German breeders present did not agree with this attitude for roses. Americans were instructed by their lawyers to walk out if prices (royalty rates) were discussed. Agreement on the setting up and sharing of a blacklist of infringers.
- Reception with propagators: except for Rein Haase, all propagators were present and very nervous, especially after Arent’s speech announcing stringent collective measures. However, afterwards, different breeders were overheard telling propagators not to worry because their relationship was solid. Public questions about the Premier Rouge® ownership were diplomatically answered: address Witte de Wit after the meeting.
- Paul Schmidt had been present at the IRBO meeting and luckily was quiet then with Agostino and Vincenzo Crispi also present. During the dinner he did his best to persuade the Witte de Wits that royalties collected for Premier Rouge® had to be transferred to him. He also went to check ‘his’ varieties at the Witte de Wit’s showcase and Benthuizen premises.
- CFX/La Fleurette, Steve Gutton and Sunburst were big American importers that we met at the show in Monterey, coinciding with the Roses Inc. meeting. Urged by Peter Daimler we had displayed Total Success® there, with visitors primarily interested in having a good time. Apparently, some had seen our stand with Total Success® and were looking to buy for their supermarket customers. Peter had been right and this would be the signal for him to plant.
- Iko Litzman: Israeli propagator, setting up subsidiaries in Kenya and Ecuador and each year requesting a meeting to discuss selling rights and royalty share for the Witte de Wit portfolio. In vain, as this did not fit in with Witte de Wit’s strategy. Same for D’gani, accompanied by Micha Meir, looking for the Zambia/Zimbabwe/South Africa agency.
- Anders and Camilla of Garneriet Jensen had come to select new pot rose codes and finalize the agreement to be Witte de Wit’s new test location and introducer for the pot roses in Denmark.
- Pflanzen-Büro, represented by Helmut, was the long-standing agent for Witte de Wit in Germany. Same for Koneru in Japan. Since here their CEO would visit, culture demanded Anton to participate, which took serious persuasion.
- Amiplant, run by three Reina brothers, would be the new agent for Spain and Señor Sidonia would be informed of this. Witte de Wit required more than just administration.
- The big American seed company Rocket Seed were thinking about setting up a propagation of pot rose liners in one of their locations and could be licensed by Kinsinger Brothers, ink of the agency agreement barely dry, for the Witte de Wit varieties.
- Stan Gidley was paying a friendly visit, showing not bearing grudges after we had terminated our agreement.
- With the agency taken away from her, Rosy Rhodes had insisted on a ‘farewell dinner’ with Big Anton. For safety’s sake, Norma would join. For the ‘no hard feelings’ I would take her through the showcase.
- Rosa Paxi had the highest rose farm in the world, on the slopes of the Coto Paxi Volcano, Ecuador.
- The meeting with Witte de Wit Latina was important. The co-ownership of the company (formally based on the Cayman Islands) had been signed with Peter Daimler. Gert was running Peter’s La Tolita farm, where his wife Sophia, employed by Witte de Wit, would soon start the first crossings. Based on the outcome of the Tel Aviv Accord, the LAVAL varieties were to be incorporated in the commercial package, though with a different royalty division.
Sheer craziness, but absolutely worthwhile.
I had not even had time to visit the show and listen to the traditional rumors about bankruptcies and takeovers. I was happy to walk into the greenhouse the following Tuesday after everybody had returned home. Walking to his infamous tunnel with Seedy and Junior, Seedy was anxious to check some things with me. Somehow, he had heard the rumors that I had missed. “Is it true that Kemira has taken over Terra Blanca? Has Speelman requested deferment of payment? Has Paul Schmidt seized the breeder’s rights for Premier Rouge in France? Did Anton pollinate ZamDolly?” Junior just observed with a big smile and twinkly eyes.
“Oh my god, Seedy, where have you been and been doing all week?” “If there had been any LAVAL development, I would have known. Kemira? I wouldn’t be surprised as I know also Shell is looking at getting in the flower industry in Kenya. Anton? That’s none of my business.”
Inside the tunnel, Seedy’s excitement instantly shifted to demonstrate that some of the rare varieties they had collected would be flowering next summer. They planned to collect the pollen, not knowing when the next flowering would be and had already incorporated these fathers in their breeding program for the summer. “Forget about the fucking Chinese,” Seedy stated, “if we get any seeds out of these, that would be a first step on our dream come true.”
I left the fucking pair with their dream in the messy tunnel and returned to the greenhouse to hear how Rosa was doing. Excitement was king here as well. Rosa was halfway through the scribblers and wanted to show me something. She pointed to the mirror in the corner and told she had seen Seedy with it. She took one of his indecipherable booklets, opened it, put the mirror in the middle and looked triumphant. In the mirror, not only the 0-s, 1-s and 8-s were readable, but also, with some effort—Seedy’s handwriting remained awkward-- the rest of the notes.
“It is all about the varieties in the tunnel,” Rosa explained. “Here you see crossings he wants to make. The codes on the left are our mothers in the breeding house, some LAVAL codes, several you selected at Kriloff and the names on the right refer to the varieties in the tunnel: ‘phoetida’, ‘chinensis’, ‘omeiensis, ‘gallica’, ‘celeste’, ‘nymphe’, ‘rubiginosa’, and an apparent series ‘amboise-1’, ‘amboise-3’, ‘amboise-6’ and some more. See?”
‘Wow, that’s exciting, Rosa, how did Seedy react to your discovery?
“I don’t dare to ask him; he will know I have found him out his secret.”
“The first varieties are familiar, he showed me those, but the ‘amboise’ series. I don’t know. An old French breeder perhaps, do you know?”
“I will try to find out, John, this is all of the last few days.”
