Lavender with the same recipe for success as Coca-Cola

Does lavender help against stress? Nursery van der Salm proves that it does. Every year, some millions of lavender plants leave here for all corners of Europe. Everything has to be done in a short space of time. The pressure is high, but there is no question of stress. Thanks to extensive automation, the right plants reach the right customers at the right time. And that also goes for the Buxus, the Gaultheria and other plants that leave the nursery. A look behind the scenes with sales manager Wietse Bakhuizen.

Automation from day one

Sales manager Wietse Bakhuizen was barely nine when he happened to land on the potting machine at van der Salm. Love at first sight. Today, he moves with the same enthusiasm towards Kooiweg, where the head office is still located. At the end of the 1980s, brothers Hans and Paul van der Salm laid the foundations of a nursery here that today has no fewer than seventeen branches. In the early years, they mainly grew climbing plants and conifers. But they didn’t stop there. “The company grew in a short time,” Wietse explains. “Hans and Paul invested early on in cultivation systems, delivery lines and cultivation robots. Thorough automation is something that still characterises the nursery.”

Blue and green plants all year round

The brothers started growing lavender in Portugal in the early 2000s. An activity that does them no harm. Their Lavandula stoechas Anouk and Lavandula angustifolia Felice conquered Europe. But in 2007, disaster struck. Hans van der Salm dies in a traffic accident in Portugal. For the family an incentive to continue his life’s work.

“The nursery is still a family business,” Wietse explains. “Even though today we employ more than two hundred workers spread across the various branches in Belgium and Portugal. So we have not been idle. Since 2012, we have had our own breeding and testing site. Besides lavender, we also grow Ilex crenata Jenny, Buxus sempervirens and, in autumn, Pinus pinea Silver Crest, Picea, Gaultheria Big Berry and deco fruit. We also work together with nursery Van Haaster under the name Fleuriche. They grow and sell potted flower bulbs. (Red. see interview with Fleuriche on p. X) A year-round activity, then.

Test and test again

A wide and varied product range is one of van der Salm’s strengths. To live up to that every day, innovation is a must. Their selection and testing centre is a great example of this. “ We are strongly committed to crossing and developing resistant lavender varieties. So we grow everything from cuttings which gives us stronger plants, more resistant to diseases and also better armed against stress during transport.

They arrive at the trade in better condition and also flower longer.

You should also know that lavender only has a short delivery time. In April/May, everything has to go out the door. Then you need extra strength and, above all, lots of automated processes. Because we don’t want to compromise on service to our customers. The bar is quite high. For instance, we want to label everything that leaves here customer-specific. Thanks to extensive digitisation, combined carts at branch level are also feasible.”

Pioneering in sustainability

You cannot separate innovation from sustainability. From its inception, it has been in van der Salm’s DNA. Wietse: “Responsible cultivation is important to us. We invested early on in solar panels and reuse our water. Of course we have the necessary certifications, namely MPS A+, MPS-GAP, MPSSocially Qualified certificates and since 2017 we are also MPSProduct Proof. To give another example, we were the first grower to participate in the FSI 2020 project.

Furthermore, we have evolved from 80% peat to 40%. We would like to continue, only we have no control over how our plants are cared for in the trade. After all, peat-poor potting soil requires extra care at the point of sale.

In addition, we reduce plastic. Our pots are made of 100% recycled material and are also recyclable after use. Or biodegradable. Because we keep looking for innovative solutions. For instance, we are in a research project with Scandinavia to develop pots based on sunflower seeds. The tests are promising, but we are not quite there yet.

We also tread a sustainable path with our breeding. After all, we select for resistance which means we have to use little or no pesticides. We also test our plants for compactness so you don’t have to artificially inhibit them and so on.”

Collaboration pays off

Van der Salm and Floréac have been working together for a long time. “You used to come here with one or two buses at times, a real migration of people,” laughs Wietse. “No, seriously, the cooperation is very valuable for us. Thanks to Floréac, we have a shorter line with our customers.

Where? Head office in Boskoop (NL

What? Lavender, Ilex crenata Jenny, Buxus sempervirens, Pinus pinea Silver Crest, Picea. Gaultheria Big Berry and deco fruit.

In service? Permanent team of +/- 250 workers spread over 17 different sites

Sales market? Garden centres, DIY stores and supermarkets across Europe, especially Germany, England, France, Scandinavia and countries in Eastern Europe nursery Van Haaster was looking for a greenhouse to expand. We had a greenhouse empty in winter, just when they needed it. Under the name Fleuriche, we breed, cultivate and export flower bulbs. Not that the two companies merge completely. The sales department, for instance, sits separately. And yet it’s a win-win. For them because they use our potting machine, automation and so on. For us because we can broaden our service to customers. And being able to produce year-round. “*

Coca-Cola as an example

In the nineties, that even caused a serious increase in customers. In France, for example, because you don’t just get a foothold there. Conversely, I think we are also a reliable supplier for Floréac. We supply as wide a range as possible, take care of things by providing customised labels and so on.”

Talking about working together. Three years ago, a new partner joined us. Wietse explains: “Flower

Finally, a look to the future. “Our industry switches quickly. One year we can’t keep up with demand. The other year we have to throw away products. But I remain optimistic. Our ambition? To remain an established and reliable brand, just like Coca-Cola. If you pull open a can of cola, you just know what to expect. We too want to continue putting uniform, strong plants on the market.

Brilliant Bliss

Your shop like a bath full of gold chips, like a luxury resort where your customers leave the delusion of the day behind for a while? In this period, it is possible. So pamper your customers with brilliant white phalaenopsis, deliciously bathed in golden ornamental pots. Go for festive cherry roses in fresh green compositions. Or let a bit of spring in already with bulbous products or decorative white cyclamen. Do not hold back. Gold stars as added value, glittering powder on pine branches, silver baubles ... The more bling bling, the more balm for the soul.

Christmas Chic

Warm red, gold and green. It remains the Holy Trinity for Christmas. And rightly so. The colours echo carols of yesteryear, evoking memories of austere Christmas celebrations. Of simplicity. Tranquillity. Take your customers on this journey back in time. With subdued compositions in ox-red decorative pots. Or with a sophisticated Anthurium in a golden pot. Golden rule? Less is more.