Zantedeschia: the flower with star power
If flowers were celebrities, the trendy Zantedeschia would be the hothouse Madonna! “It seems you can’t open a glossy magazine without seeing Zantedeschia,” says Rob Geerlings, whose company G. Geerlings and Sons is a leading Dutch Zantedeschia exporter.
Women’s magazines and top florists and designers love to feature the classy and elegant Zantedeschia in their beautiful arrangements. “The interesting thing about the Zantedeschia’s promotion is that it’s still mainly done for free,” Rob Geerlings says. “Designers and leading brands are happy to use the Zantedeschia’s fine image of serenity and exclusivity for selling and marketing their products.”
Market leader
G. Geerlings and Sons introduced the Zantedeschia, or Calla Lily, onto the European market in 1982. “The flower has enjoyed fantastic development since then,” Rob says. “The Zantedeschia is now in the Top 20 of cut flowers at Dutch flower auctions, with more than 70 million stems sold per year.” And many of those stems come to auction from Geerlings’ nursery: the company grows 50+ hectares of virtually every Zantedeschia variety and is also the Dutch market leader in worldwide Zantedeschia tuber sales.
Color range
Like a talented actor, the Zantedeschia has great range: The flower’s variety and diversity of shapes and colours makes it an ideal choice for any occasion or arrangement, from weddings and special events to funerals. “Zantedeschia’s color range is amazing, from pure white to black, from Bordeaux red to bright orange, pink and yellow shades…you name it,” Rob says. “There are even varieties that change color with age. The Zantesdeschia also works equally well in mixed bouquets, in large arrangements or as single-stem designs.”
Leading varieties
As might be expected of a flower with star appeal, the Zantedeschia is rather temperamental. “It’s certainly not an easy crop for us to grow…very challenging,” Rob says. “The flower’s development really depends on the success of individual growers and breeders, and on the intensive research that needs to be done in future.” Such research has already produced successful introductions like the Black-Eyed Beauty, Mango and Callafornia Calla’s like Garnet Glow and Crystal Blush, which are the leading varieties on the market today.
Tradition
While the Zantedeschia is a relatively young commercial flower, G. Geerlings and Sons is a company steeped in history and tradition. Founded in 1882 by Gijs Geerlings, the great grandfather of the three Geerlings’ brothers – Sjaak, Nico and Rob – who run the company today, this quintessentially ‘family-run’ business is still located in the Dutch town where it was founded more than a century ago. “The Zantedeschia has been a wonderful addition to our company’s traditional cultivation of tulips and hyacinths,” Rob says. “Today we’re market-leading Zantedeschia growers, and we intend stay that way.”
