"Pure, clear white, virgin or a new beginning" are a few of the descriptions that Rien Hoogendoorn, co-owner of Alta Nova nursery, gives to the most famous bridal flower; the "Stephanotis". They grow in clusters that open like stars. Once open, they smell wonderful and color beautifully with the shiny deep green leaves.

Bridal flower

In the Victorian floral language, the Stephanotis Floribunda is the symbol of marital happiness. For this reason the flower is also called 'bridal flower' in Dutch. The flowers also give off a wonderful sweet scent and that naturally adds an extra pleasant sensation to your wedding bouquet. You will never forget the scent of this sweet flower and it will keep the memories of this extraordinary day alive. For the story behind this typical bridal flower, we visited the Alta Nova company. They grow Stephanotis plants, which travel all over the world! So in this FloraPodium edition it is not an actual cut flower taking central stage, but a special flowering plant with a romantic charge!

Origin

The Stephanotis is originally from Madagascar and grows in trees as a climbing plant. Climbers look for the light and that already indicates that the Stephanotis plant needs a lot of light, but rather not direct sunlight. In addition, the plant needs a fairly high temperature for flowering. Have you ever noticed that there is a rope in the plant? If the plants start to lengthen during the growing process, they are tied to ropes by hand. After securing the ropes, the plant can continue its climb along the string. When the plant is high enough and the flowers are formed, the strings are cut. During this process, a small piece of rope always remains.

A plants’ flower

The Stephanotis flowers that are used in a (bridal) bouquet are cut from the Stephanotis plants. It is best to use beautiful open flowers for this. If the plant's root ball is moist, no pre-treatment is required. The flowers can then remain on water for days in a vase or dish. When used in a (bridal) bouquet, wet cotton wool can be put around the flower stems. Usually plants with mature flowers are purchased from the grower, from which the florist cuts the flowers. The phase from bud to open flower lasts approximately 2 - 3 weeks, so ordering on time is important.
At Alta Nova no plants are grown specifically for producing cut flowers, but all plants are grown with a good and full quality. The flowers are processed by another company and put in plastic containers for transport. We have brought a plant for the FloraPodium bouquet and let it mature and the flowers we cut from it lasted very long!

We were given a tour by Jan Bos, sales representative at Alta Nova. He has shown us the entire process of growing this plant. This process has been beautifully portrayed in the company’s video.

The name Alta Nova

Alta Nova has nurseries at different locations. The name Alta Nova was chosen for a reason; it reflects two important characteristics of the nurseries. Alta means "high", which stands for the highest quality in processes, products and relationships. In addition, "high" relates to the name of the family that runs the company: the Hoogendoorn (”hoog” is Dutch for “high”) brothers. Nova stands for new, a star, clear and progressive. At the same time, Alta Nova has introduced a new verb: "Alta Novate". Or innovate at a higher level.

The cultivation process

The Stephanotis is propagated on the Alta Nova farm during the winter period. The cuttings are cut from mother plants and put into plugs for rooting. The rooting phase is done under plastic film tunnels after which the rooted cuttings are potted from March to September. When the plants start to length, they are picked by hand and tied to ropes. After attaching it to the ropes, the plant continues its climb up the string. In this growth phase, the plant produces flower buds that are as small as pin buds. If the plant has sufficient length, it is put in plastic tunnels where they can continue growing. Finally they are placed in a number of different greenhouses with varying temperatures, causing a loosening of the buds. This means that the flowers become larger and the clusters become visible.

Manually creating a special product

With the exception of potting, all operations on the plant are performed manually. Careful attention is paid to the flower formation of the buds. If these do not meet the quality requirements, the plants will not be sold. At the time a plant is sold, it has been in the nursery for an average of one year. That is of course an incredibly long period. The plants produce different clusters during this period. One could have only one cluster, other can have as many as eleven!

Blooming Dreams

At Alta Nova they never rest. Together with other nurseries, they carry the "Blooming Dreams" concept. The plants that are sold under this name are grown on various farms. The concept includes Stephanotis, Chamber Broom, Jasmine, Ceanothus, Dipladenia, Chrysanthemum, Passiflora, Blackberry and Bougainvillea. The plants are offered in a specially designed cover and a matching label and by doing so they hope to ensure recognition among consumers as a brand name.

FloraPodium, 16 May 2019