She takes up the fight against imported cut flowers

Facts: About Nordgen’s project

Nordic Genetic Resource Center (Nordgen) is the Nordic countries’ joint gene bank and knowledge center for genetic resources.

They have a seed bank with around 33,000 different seed samples that are constantly analyzed and tested.

Nordgen’s working group for medicinal, ornamental and aromatic plants includes representatives from all the Nordic countries.

They have now started a one-year project concerning Nordic cut flowers.

The idea is to take a closer look at the species in the gene bank that may be suitable for cut flower production.

The group has chosen to study 20 different flowers: summer aster (Callistephus chinensis), lion’s gape (Antirrhinum majus) and tagetes (Tagetes patula).

This summer, the cut flowers will be trial grown in four different locations – in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

Source: Nordgen

She shakes her head and adds:

— Because we have a historical tradition of being able to do this here in the Nordics.

Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson, plant expert at Nordgen, holds out a tray of newly sown seedlings. Still fragile, but in a couple of months the foliage of these small summer asters of the Salome pink variety will have grown considerably.

— I think it looks promising. They are a bit of a pain, because when you propagate asters, you easily get a lot of seed, but the germination rate is often quite poor.

— These seem to have caved in nicely.

The snapdragon “Fröjel”, the summer aster “Salome blue” and the marigold “Fagerhult” are some of the cut flowers included in the project. Flowers from the past

Out in the greenhouse in Alnarp in Scania, only a few plants have started to grow in mid-April. This particular aster variety is to be included in the Nordic common gene bank Nordgen’s new project: to find the Nordic cut flowers of the future to be grown regionally – with the hope that in the future they can also be sold on the Swedish market, says Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson, who is responsible for the Swedish part of the Nordic cooperation project.

— What kind of material is there that works to grow here? Then we think of free-range cultivation, she says.

— We want to try to come up with something we could recommend to growers.

Variant of summer aster. The photo is from an earlier time.

The majority of today’s cut flowers – for example roses, chrysanthemums, mimosa and lilies – are conveyed to the florists via the Netherlands and come from Europe, but also Africa and South America.

Imported, also during summer time. Can Nordic grown flowers replace them?

— We want to think about the environment, not to have the long transports. We have a native Nordic material we could use, and we have a historical tradition of being able to do this.

In Nordgen’s project, researchers from the Nordic countries have chosen to test 20 different flowers: summer asters, snapdragons and tagetes, which will now be grown on trials in four different locations – in Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Denmark.

“A Cultural Heritage”

Tagetes seeds look like little brooms under the magnifying glass. Seed by seed is reviewed, explains the seed lab’s team leader Johan Axelsson, who sits bent over the microscope. He has a lot of material to go through.

Nordgen’s plant expert Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson and the seed lab’s team leader Johan Axelsson examine marigold seeds under the microscope at Nordgen in Alnarp.

— There can be 40,000 seeds on tagetes, so it takes some time to investigate.

All seeds are checked. Some will then be cultivated, but the majority will go into Nordgen’s seed bank in Skåne and Denmark. Some also go to Svalbard’s global seed vault so that the variety is in safe custody for the future.

The tagetes in the microscope is one of the flowers included in the cut flower project. The seeds for the experiment come from Nordgen’s seed bank, and it is hardly about any new flower varieties. For example, a range of asters have previously been sold in Svalöf Weibull’s seed range.

Since then, the flowers seem to have fallen into oblivion. Until now.

“It really is cultural heritage,” says Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson.

— I can think that with our varieties that were developed in the Nordic countries, where we previously had extensive production and processing, that we grew flowers up here and the knowledge we then had about this.

Have searched for knowledge

Cut flowers are actually grown in Sweden. Small-scale and local, but the industry is growing, says Eva Eliasson who is the chairman of Cut Flower Growers in Sweden, a growing association that today has 169 members from Luleå down to Ystad.

They welcome Nordgen’s test project.

— We think it’s very interesting. In general, we welcome that you study and explore cut flower cultivation in Sweden in the open – we have searched for some knowledge ourselves, but there hasn’t been that tradition for a while, so the research is not active right now, as we see it.

Swedish cut flower growers grow more and more, and sell flowers to customers and florists that suit our Swedish climate – such as lion’s gap, cornflower, asters, eternals and much more.

— They link back to our history, climate and culture and we hope that they will become available to everyone, says Eva Eliasson.

Lasts a long time in the bouquet

Nordgen’s project is in the starting pits. Is there a variety on the list that plant expert Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson already thinks can be a success?

Summer asters of the Salome pink variety in the greenhouse at NordGen in Alnarp.

— The aster is especially given. It’s useful and it’s fun. With some of the varieties, a plant becomes almost like a finished bouquet. It branches out and then a nice flower appears at the top of each stem!

What is a good cut flower? Naturally, a question for the florists, thinks Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson.

— But I imagine that it is good if you can harvest and cut, but that the plant shoots new shoots so that you can come back and harvest again.

— Then they must be straight and nice so you can work with them well, and that they have a good durability. There, I can imagine that the asters are grateful, that they last a long time in the bouquet.

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