The lily will get its own special week of activity in Holland this year, as 15 top breeders launch the Dutch Lily Days.
Instead of having open houses spaced throughout the year, the 15 companies will concentrate their activities into four days from 24 to 28 May, presenting simultaneous open houses to customers. During these days visitors will be welcome to see the world’s largest assortment of lilies in full bloom.
The goal of the initiative is to give a better impression of the commercial assortment available, as well as to take a look at future varieties that are still in the hybridiser’s greenhouse.
In the past, most open houses were held to coincide with the final 10 days of the Keukenhof’s Lily Parade, usually during early May, but not all varieties would be in bloom at that time. By moving the open houses to the last week of May, a better representation of the total lily assortment can now be given.
“TheKeukenhof show will remain a very important event in the international lily market and will be remaining to be supported by several companies in the lily industry. However, the Dutch Lily Days is more appealing for professionals, with focus toward the actual product,” said Hans Onings, of Onings Holland, one of those involved in the initiative. “The big advantage of Dutch Lily Days is that we offer our international customers the possibility to see a broad selection of varieties by visiting multiple companies”.
Holland is the foremost lily hybridiser (95% of new products originate here), so the organisers expect visitors all over the world, with many from Europe, but also from countries such as Japan, China, and Taiwan as well as the US and South American nations.
The fifteen companies behind the Dutch Lily Days are: Van den Bos Flowerbulbs, Bot Flowerbulbs, De Jong Lelies, Lily Company, Mak Breeding, Marklily, Onings Holland Flowerbulbs, The Originals, C. Steenvoorden, G.A. Verdegaal, Gebr. Vletter & Den Haan, VWS Export - Import of Flowerbulbs, World Breeding, Zabo Plant and Van Zanten Flowerbulbs.
