19
THECOMMERCIAL GREENHOUSEGROWER • JULY 2017
NURSERY VISITS •
Millions of orchids
The second visit for the afternoon, the impressive
2004-built and nearly 8ha-facility of SionOrchids, was
also inDe Lier. In addition toproducing around 1.5
million floweringplants a year, the orchidbreeder also
does another 25 to 30million youngplants! Not bad for a
company that started as recently as 2005.
GrowingPhalaenopsis is a slowprocess, and after 22/24
weeks in the greenhouse (26C temperature), the emphasis
is on root and leaf development.
Plants are returned to the sorting area (everything is
automatic) for spacing followedby another 8-10weeks
in the greenhouse at amuch cooler temperature of 19C.
This 7Cdrop subject’s plants to stress, and to survive
this they develop a stem. Another 20weeks are needed
for flower development, and a year and fivemonths after
material leaves the laboratory plants are ready to sell to
consumers.
Sionproduces youngplants for all parts of themarket.
Some growers haveplants ready to leave after 42-44
weeks, but the average speed at Sion is 46weeks, which
the company reckons results in stronger plantswithmore
branches.
Thecoveringabove the two-tier growing system isnot glassbut apolycarbonatematerial.
We learnt that the greenhouse is cooledusing coldwater
pumpedup from adepthof 30m and forced through an
air-conditioningunit. Not neededduring the summer,
the resultingwarmwater from this process is pumped
down to the samedepthbut then at the opposite side
of the greenhouse. During thewinter, it is returned to the
surface, heated, andpumped through the heatingpipes.
As it cools it is pumpedback into the cold-water aquifer
for use again the following summer.
Interestingly, the 1.5million floweringplants produced
here aremainly test ones, to see how thebreeder’s
material performs before selling it togrowers. Some
plants are grown in6 and9cmpots, and there is a niche
market for a 15cmpot containing twoplants, but the
major Europeanmarket is for a singleplant in a 12cmpot.
The innovative company has lots of colours, but white still
accounts for 40%of the total market.
Dependingon type, Siongenerally uses a coconut fibre
or bark in combinationwith sphagnummoss as a growing
medium. Each tray is bar-coded and the company has a
track-and-trace system for eachone. This is just aswell
because there are asmany as 200-300different varieties
inside the greenhouse, so it’s not a good idea tomix
themup!
