Only two types of Eucharis are grown worldwide. One of them, Eucharis Grandiflora (also called Eucharis Amazonica) owes its name to the place of origin: the Amazon. That is why this bulbous plant is also called Amazon Lily. Gerard, from Kwekerij Romein proudly grows the Eucharis Grandiflora and has provided us with a lot of information about this beautiful product and the cultivation.

Own form

The Eucharis is often confused with a Narcissus. Not entirely unjustified, because the Amaryllis, Narcissus and Eucharis all belong to the family 'Amaryllidaceae'. Eucharis is an elegant product with a long stem with a bunch of often five flowers. The Eucharis is the brightest and whitest flower we know! After all the flowers of the bunch have opened one by one, they also fall off one by one. If you know that this is a familiar feature of the plant, you can appreciate the blossoming flowers even more.

High ornamental value

The product lends itself well to bridal work; it has a romantic appearance because of the white petals. In addition, the Eucharis does well in warm surroundings. Dutch Queen Beatrix is one of the more famous brides to marry with  a bouquet in which many Eucharis flowers were used. The slender, long stems have a high ornamental value. The branches blend beautifully with other flowers, and its simplicity make it a very special flower indeed. A number of Eucharis branches on a vase can have just as much ornamental value as a mixed bouquet.

Gerard's tip

Gerard gives as a tip to regularly cut the stems and refresh the water of the Eucharis, after they’ve been put in a vase. If this is not done, the stem tends to close in the vase, preventing it from absorbing enough water and nutrients.

The Eucharis is a precious cut flower. There are few growers who grow this crop and that is hardly surprising considering that it is extremely difficult to find the right growing conditions for this product. The Eucharis is a very special flower, which with its bright white petals it is seen as a real eye-catcher in the flower world and can certainly be placed in the exclusive high segment. We can see why Gerard continues the challenge of this cultivation.

Vegetative plant

The Eucharis grows vegetatively at high temperatures. The stalks and leaves are created during vegetative growth. Here the foundation is laid for flowering. The plant grows generatively at lower temperatures. The flowers are formed during this growth. To grow beautiful flowers, good vegetative growth is extremely important. The Eucharis should have plenty of foliage  to be able to make flowers.

Crop from tropical area

The Eucharis is a bulbous plant originating from the tropical region of Central and South America. To mimic this climate, the greenhouse is kept very humid and warm. The plants are put in flower boxes with clay granules and are cooled with a water system. This is the same water system that many growers use for Amaryllis cultivation, simulating a cold period and allowing the plant time to develop its growth points. Last week we described this system extensively in the 'This week at ... Hippeastrum'. You can read the story here.

Where the Amaryllis goes to rest during a cold period with a temperature of 6 degrees Celsius, the Eucharis only needs to be cooled down to 21 degrees Celsius. We wondered why a plant that always lives in the heat still needs a cold period to start flowering. Gerard says that there is a theory about this; "In the Amazon region it is 12 hours dark and 12 hours light each day. The temperature is the same throughout the year. However, once a year melting water from the Andes runs through the forests, which causes a cold period for the bulbs in the ground, after which the miracle takes place." Gerard is not entirely this is a true story, but the theory makes sense and therefore a cold period is imitated in the greenhouse, which seems to do the trick.

Low production

Gerard has a greenhouse of 6000 square meters where he only grows Eucharis. Each plant only grows one flower, and each bulb only blooms twice a year. In addition, not all plants produce flowers. The next step therefore is to remove the bulbs that do not produce flowers, so they can raise production capacity. In this way he hopes to be able to grow more Eucharis in the short term. The Eucharis is available all year round due to the tropical conditions and the artificial cooling period.

Trips under control with biological agent

Gerard has to be persistent as a grower of Eucharis, the plant grows at a rate of 1 leaf per month and setbacks are not easy to repair. But he has more and more control over the problems surrounding Eucharis cultivation. In 1998 the first Eucharis plants were planted and twelve years ago, nursery Romein made a full switch to Eucharis cultivation.

When Gerard finally controlled the growth of the nematodes (microscopic worms that affected the bulbs) by growing in flower boxes, the next challenge introduced itself. Trips were on the rise and destroyed much of the crop. In addition, the trips carried a virus. This was a big additional problem, because this virus is deadly for the Eucharis. Gerard had to watch his crop slowly wither and die. The pressure to find a solution was enormous. A biological remedy against the trips ultimately offered the solution. Where many growers from the chrysanthemum cultivation were dissatisfied with this organic product, for Gerard it proved to be the salvation of his crop. This medicine is a fungus that thrives best in a humid and warm environment. The greenhouses of the chrysanthemums are much colder and Gerard’s greenhouses offered the perfect breeding climate for this fungus. His crops now grow and flower exuberantly again.

Breeding

The Eucharis can not be bred at this time, because the flower is triploid. This means that the chromosome pairs in the cell are not present in duplicate but in triplicate. To enable crossing the chromosomes you need to have an even pair of chromosomes in a cell. The bulbs of the Eucharis can therefore now only be propagated through the bulbs and not through seeds.

FloraPodium, 28 November 2018