TRUE. today

KISS FROM A ROSE


Months earlier, Elizabeth Ryan had sent a TRUE. gift box to the editor of DailyCandy.com, without any reaction. Out of the blue Elizabeth mailed: 'hurry, hurry, hurry ...' Apparently the DailyCandy lady had been impressed with the rose and had kept the flyer on her desk all that time, waiting for the right moment. She wanted to do a special for February 2 and needed pictures and information.

Luckily, I had instructed Excellence to continue to send two boxes of flowers per week. Now we wanted full supply for Valentine's. Latino communication takes a while and repetition. After a week I was informed there would only be the two boxes. I understood. In the meantime, Roses and Blooms received the shipment of that week: damaged, poor quality.

I had to rely on Elizabeth for the communication with DailyCandy and the flower and packing materials distribution between her and Roses and Blooms (Jan). February 2 passed, no mention in DailyCandy. 'There will be a special, February 12,' Elzabeth mailed.

Check with Flower Import Services (Janny) to see if we could have an extra flight so we would have four instead of two boxes. Alas, with Valentine on a Sunday, business was very slow and hence no extra shipment. No confirmation from the side of Excellence on the Valentine shipment, which should arrive in NYC on February 10. No message that day from Roses and Blooms that the boxes had arrived, nor the next day. A knot developed in my stomach.

This morning I opened my mail. There were messages from Jan and Elizabeth. Expecting the worst, I opened Jan's: the flight had been delayed, but the flowers were there. Elizabeth's indicated DailyCandy had only put in a short message the day before and apologized that Roses and Blooms were not mentioned. I quickly looked it up:


'A bionic rose', not bad. She continued to say that orders were coming in, with 4 dozen by Seal for Heidi Klum.

'Now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the grey.'

TRUE. today

So I cancelled my trip to NYC. I was worn out, had a bad cold. Zapping around on Christmas Eve I ended up with MTV and Gnarls Barkley at Roskilde. Never heard of them before. Interesting. The tune of one song stuck to me. Most of the next few days I spent looking for the concert on the internet. I managed to collect all of it through YouTube.


On New Year's Eve I was restless. I kept on 'putting the facts in a row', as we say in Dutch. In 2006, when I set off on my TRUE. quest, there were two criticisms: (1) we would never be able to produce the specific rose variety and (2) the consumer would never pay a premium price for the flower. Today, the variety works and the consumer is positive. The only problem is that we have been hit head-on by the financial crisis and everybody is scared shitless (excuse my diction).

All this time, I have been rowing against the traditional flow of the flower industry. Why not also do that in the last step of the supply chain by either taking control of the retail part as well, or finding a very untraditional outlet for the product?

On New Year's Day I went for a long post-champagne and 'oliebollen' walk with my friend Peter. We sparred all our way through the crispy Dutch polders, giving more direction to my thoughts. Thanks Peter.

Today I set to work, my spirits rekindled, my iPod playing Gnarls Barkley full blast. With a shock I realized that the song that caught me a week earlier could not have been a coincidence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN020WCM61w

I looked up the lyrics to make sure that I understood correctly. I did.

TRUE. today

15 December 2009
Just decided to throw in the towel. Bob Janmaat (1-800-flowers) does not have time to see me this week. Sounds like a 'long-term-no'. Decided not to go to NYC tomorrow, although flight and hotel have been paid. Will tell Elizabeth to return the two crates with Tjep. designed displays and to throw away the rest. Will tell Pablo (Excellence) to send two more boxes to 1-800 and then send the flowers (with the TRUE. seals) to their customer in Germany. Who knows what will happen in the future. Today it is a TRUE. farewell.
It hurts.

TRUE. today

I have learned to live with disappointments and the image of the bottom of the pit brought my The Santa Maria Still Sails (1990) to mind. When I graduated from university (1983), my MA thesis had been on the Canadian writer Matt Cohen. A First Reconnaissance I had called it, knowing there would be more to come, as I was caught by the magic of Cohen's voice, language and stories. I started teaching in The Hague and besides developing all sorts of teaching material I continued digging for Cohen's soul in his diverse writings. A year later my thesis won me a grant to go to Toronto for a year to do research for a dissertation, which I worked on in my spare time in the following years. It was defended and published when I had already entered the rose business.

"John, in your PhD thesis you have researched the old-new-old spiral in the works of Matt Cohen. But what about this pattern in your own life? You started in the academe of teaching, then ventured into the roses. When will you come back?", my promotor, professor August J. Fry, asked in his speech. I'm back, yes, but not in the same spot as before. Indeed, a spiral.

In their search for their true selves, Matt Cohen's protagonists are on an existentialist quest in which they have to hit the bottom of their pit. Then, by tapping a deep ritual, such as wailing for some of his Jewish characters, they come to terms with their ego and climb up again.

I held my grandfather's gold pocket watch, the only thing he possessed before his marriage. I had started wearing it a few months earlier and by itself it had started running again. My grandfather had never given up. Son of an alcoholic father he had to start working at 13, managed to start his own flower nursery, married the love of his life, lost his first and third sons, overcame terminal cancer, lived off charity during that time, lost more children, his wife and his sight, but never looked back, always discovering new talents. My hero.

What was/is the problem with the brand? Nothing. The rose is fantastic, name and packaging very stylish, the consumers that have had it, come back for more. The bottleneck is getting to the consumer. I had focused on the top florists, now in trouble. In all the discussions on control in the flower supply chain, I have always said that the power is shared by the owner of the variety and the retailer. Controlling the first, should I now also work directly with the consumer? Internet. The success of e.g. Bol.com in Holland. I could take over the risk of the florists and let them carry out the logistiscs. But getting into the Google 'flowers New York'-top 5 would cost me some $ 5,000 per week. For 500 flowers that does not make any sense.

The watch ticked on, softly, beautifully.

1-800-flowers.com. When I started my quest, I had spent a few weeks in and around New York, talking to all possible parties involved in the flower industry. Bob Janmaat, purchasing director with 1-800-flowers, had been one of them. Despite the negative stories I had heard in from the producers in Latin America, I was impressed with their operation. Bob had taken his time to show me the ins and outs and was very interested in getting a high-end addition to their product lines. Would he still be there? Would they still be interested?

When I reached Bob's voice mail, my first question was answered and the second within an hour after sending my announced email. Two hours and three emails to Excellence later, there were two boxes of TRUE. roses on their way through the 1-800-flowers' logistic system, on their way to vaselife testing. Confident, I decided not to cancel the trip I had booked to see the florists and arrange storage of the TRUE. materials.

A new chapter.

TRUE. today

Again long time, no blog addition.
In the beginning of this year, two other top Manhattan florists showed interest in the TRUE. concept: Surroundings Flowers and L'Olivier. Elizabeth Ryan planned to start selling in September as well, so together with Roses and Blooms and Floralies the TRUE. five would take care of the now steady production of Excellence Roses (Colombia).

Together with the TRUE. five we would start small-scale advertising and for the rest let the product do its own promotion, the advice and experience of Jan Ooms (Roses and Blooms). In the summer I shipped two pallets of PR materials in preparation and managed to get the two pallets of TRUE. gift boxes which had been stored by Delaware, all into the store of Elizabeth Ryan. "Getting ready to rock'n roll", as she would say.

Come September, no clear "yes" to join in. "Price" now being an argument. I decided to cut the advertising part of the price and offer at cost price (production price + transport), just to make TRUE. available to more consumers. All this time, the TRUE. five had received flowers and all continued to be excited about the TRUE. performance. No orders.

The announcement of sending invoices with the flowers gave instant reactions: "not yet". Again, Jan Ooms provided the clues to my confusion: after an initial big drop in sales after the outburst of the financial crisis, the summer had not been as bad as feared, but the normal market restoration after the summer recess never came, despite the signs of recovery of the economy. The florists are facing a post-summer turnover drop of 25 to 30%. Everybody is scared to death and not prepared to undertake anything new.

I thought that I had hit rockbottom earlier on, but I realized that my now 18-year-old dream and 3.5 years of active pursuit were on the verge of a rude awakening and halt.

TRUE. today

NY400


A few months ago our Prince and Princess of Orange opened New Amsterdam Village, exactly 4oo years after we founded New Amsterdam, now New York. At least, that is what has generally and therefore historically become accepted. A great opportunity to reconquer New York, not by disregarding the natives, but by bashing them on the head with roses. TRUE. A new invasion led by the Prince rather than the street-by-street guerilla we just started.


But, alas, 400 years proved just too short for TRUE. Too late to get a booth, too late to decorate a royal entourage, too late for Renny Ramakers, owner of Droog and artistic heart of the festivities, to pay any attention.

TRUE. today

A well-planned quick trip to the Big Apple, discussions with several florists, in person and by phone afterwards and ultimate disappointments: another lesson in branding. Yes, they were all impressed with the flower's beauty, opening and vaselife and, no, they were not going to place an order.

Lessons learnt:

1. Recession & retail in flowers: (a) lay off some staff, work more than full-time yourself; (b) buy cheaper flowers, extend your payment times; and/or (c) act as a victim of the bad guys, hide in a corner, hoping the financial tornado will pass.


2. A rare few see some glimpses of light at the end of the tunnel. Why? Florists like Jan Ooms and Elizabeth Ryan work hard, very hard, make no concessions on quality and look for opportunities.


3. Because of the big quality issue, now past, I have been focussing too hard on the flower rather than the total brand. The florists that received the gift box get the full picture and see not another (superior) rose, but a completely new product with a new marketing strategy.

Today I met with Engin Celikbas, MD and 'the gun' of KesselsKramer, advertising home of Diesel(R), Bavaria(R), Absolut(R), Nike(R), Bol.com(R), Ben(R) and more. Capable hands. Very. Engin's message: conquer New York street by street. With 500 flowers per week, create a market from the bottom up, together with the participating florists.

Leaving the KK church in Amsterdam I felt excited, not because this approach means more time and more investments, but because this means learning to build a brand from the bottom up, detail by detail. It made me think of my grandfather (whose lifestory I told to a few classes this week), learning to draw at 82 and, after turning blind, picking up a harmonica for the first time in his life and learning how to play it at 87.

The Parable of the Talents. Da Vinci. My Opa.

....... TRUE.

TRUE. today

More months later. On a daily basis, not much happened. But in sum, a lot.

First, Excellence shipped the TRUE.-to-be roses to a German client for a few months, just to get a feeling with the product. The excited German wished to continue, but knew he would only recieve the flowers temporarily. Nevertheless, his feedback was very important. Bernardo (Heliflor): Vielen Dank!

Then: time for a NYC shipment. No doubt, this was going to be a process of getting all the details right. So, fully unforeseen, I could write to all those involved two weeks later:

Faith. "What a concept!," my Canadian hippie-friend Garth would say. TRUE.

We Dutch are pretty good with faith. Absolute faith in God for the Protestants among us and trust in only ourselves for all of us. We're a sceptic bunch of control freaks.
The more amazing that (1) I never lost faith in the rose variety I obtained 3 years ago and (2) I have had to rely on others to make this variety work.

10 Days ago Excellence sent the first two boxes from Bogotà to Manhattan after having worked on the variety for over a year. The shipment got delayed and arrived in Manhattan last Thursday. On Friday, from Liverpool Street Station in London, I called the recipient, Roses and Blooms. Jan Ooms (a Dutchman!) gave me goosepimples when he said that he had never seen such beautiful flowers. TRUE. TRUE. TRUE.

Today, 4 boxes (80 flowers each) are on their way, regular shipments start.
In the meantime, the world has changed. Dramatically for the flower business in New York, with half of the florists in financial problems.
We must go back to our shared faith in beauty and the appreciation of true beauty.

This rose will not solve today's crisis. But it will definitely make you feel good. TRUE.

Tomorrow I fly to Manhattan. A week ago Jan delivered TRUE. bouquets to a number of selected florists. Time for me to hear their reactions and see if we can add more TRUE. retailers, as Excellence continues to amaze us with the increasing numbers of TRUE. flowers.

My daughter Fienie (8) and son David (7) just gave me a new bag and toothbrush for the occasion. All gung-ho for the Big Apple.

the TRUE. story

Horti Fair 2007

For decades, the international horticultural year would start in the beginning of November, at the time of the 'Bloemenvaktentoonstelling' at the Aalsmeer flower auction. Every important national or international player in the flower and plant business would come to this world's biggest building in surface of which a large section would then be reserved for this exhibition where the latest of the latest in terms of varieties or technical developments could be found for four days, ending each night at around 1 am in a huge traffic jam on the parking roof.

The new year for vegetables and techniques would start a few months later, in Bleiswijk, some 30 kilometres further to the west. It would take generations of committees to join the two shows in one location, the RAI exhibition center in Amsterdam. No better for traffic.

This year no promotion of new varieties for me, but a tour of rose breeders to explain my new mission and see how they would react. Not a single breeder really understood what my course implied. Of course they all had the perfect varieties for consumer brands, but their minds were all set on hectares of plants, traditional royalty. With one exception: David Austin Roses, present for the first time with a stand. They have a successful history in garden roses, set up the 'English Rose' as a brand. Better marketeers than breeders. When I was with De Ruiter's we set up a collaboration in which we gave them varieties and advice to set up a cutrose breeding program and, in return, we would market their varieties. Apparently, they had discontinued the relationship, had set up a cultivation program with a Dutch grower and were now marketing the flowers on an exclusive basis. Perfect idea, but, as I learnt, the varieties were not perfect yet.

I was approached by the people of Florimex, big international wholesalers, ahead of the rest of the pack in looking for exclusive products, who had heard of my business and wanted to become the exclusive buyers of the product for Europe. Nice, but not fitting my strategy for the time being. Nevertheless, we agreed, we would get into touch once the production had started. They were looking at importing 40 and 50 cm, whereas my intention was to set up a brand for 60-70 cm. Good to know ...

A Rose Story - 5. Seedy

Five: Seedy

It was not easy to find a successor for Father Dré as far as his breeding activities concerned. His son Dré Junior had all the knowledge, but lacked the creativity, ambition and leadership qualities to manage the team of six working in the greenhouse and the various selectors coming in regularly and all finding their selections the best. After a year of presenting candidates, the headhunter that was hired for the job introduced Klaus van Winkel. In the belief that creative persons are eccentric and this one also fitting in the budget, Klaus was hired. Greasy hair, thick stained glasses, two alternating lumberjack shirts, no matter what temperature, and permanent slippers could be lived with. But the endless discussions and stubbornness in the end proved too much for the selectors. Klaus had an opinion on anything. In fact, some of his ideas were brilliant, but he lacked tact and the right persuasiveness to get them across.

Klaus spent nine years at the Agricultural University in Wageningen, but never graduated. His prime interest was with the University bar, which he ran as a barkeeper. He skipped early morning classes, but his professors did not mind. In his absence they could make progress with the curriculum.

His greenhouse team loved him. “Fucking, fucking, fucking all day,” he would shout through the greenhouse. “I am the luckiest person on earth. I made my hobby into my work. Long live the seeds! Fucking all day!” And even in his spare time he would be pollinating in the little mess of a glasshouse behind his little terrace house. He would regularly bring in results of his homely experiments: white cucumbers and yellow tomatoes, lacking the right taste or filled with pips.

His wife Sien, re-named ‘red’ Sien to prevent confusion with Mother Sien, was easy, very easy, raising their three children single handedly. Their eldest daughter was crippled at birth and had been in and out of hospitals for the first thirteen years of her life. Therefore Klaus’ salary demands were modest: he wished to stay within the limits of the healthcare system.

Before long, ‘Seedy Klaus’ or simply ‘Seedy’ would be collecting rose varieties and seeds from any place he would visit, professionally or privately, Seedy made no difference between hobby and work.

Father Dré, Uncle Piet, Maurice and Sjef formally acted as the company’s management, but in fact, Sjef ruled. Sjef also considered himself an artist and therefore Seedy was allowed ten per cent room in the breeding program for experimentation. For the remaining ninety per cent Seedy was surprisingly obedient. When instructed to focus on intermediate varieties with slim, tall heads, to allow for a higher packing rate for African and Latin producers, two years later in spring they would come out in the seedlings. Seedy and Junior were a perfect couple. Junior did not say much, but was a walking database for varieties and variety characteristics and kept one at the same time in piles of scribblers, using pencil and eraser in the breeding tradition. Father Dré had always followed his instincts in breeding and his mood in selecting, but fortunately, Junior had always kept track of all the crossings and results.

To recuperate the market position in the pot roses, Seedy was instructed to produce seedlings that had bright colors, a minimum of five flowers per plant, making a total of fifteen per pot of three plants, that would slowly open at the consumers’ and last for two weeks. It had taken Father Dré some fifteen years to get from triploid to diploid in miniature roses, at the time essential to make the next step in the breeding, but it only took Seedy and Junior two years to come up with the first of the Perfecta® series. He was not instructed that these varieties should also be easy to produce on a large mechanized scale. One Danish producer managed, but our own Pot Rose Division in De Kwakel was unable to come up with a decent product, so, in the end, the Perfecta® line never got beyond two varieties. Likewise, the slim headed intermediates never caught on, as big, round headed varieties became fashionable. The commercial selectors complained a lot about the breeding, as nothing ever came out that they could sell.

To widen this gap between the two disciplines, Seedy would only show his experimental program to colleagues he could get along with. As these seedlings would not be in Sections IV or V, but in a tunnel further down the land, this activity was literally outside the view and vision of the management. Sometimes, on a Friday afternoon, with the traditional case of weekend beer emptied by the greenhouse boys, Peli usually taking half, Seedy would take me to the tunnel.

After several visits, I would learn to see through the mess and find varieties. Seedy seemed to be very keen on some wild varieties that would only flower every other year and a collection of what he called “moss roses”. These had beautiful colors and flower shapes, but were completely covered in thorns, from head to toe. The top prickles were soft and a little sticky when touched and left a nice smell on the finger tops. The other thorns were horrendous. I could not see any use for these other than the sado masochistic market. “I want to lay you down in a bed of roses” came to my head, but for sure John Bon Jovi did not write his ballad for masochists. However, the line is followed by “for tonight I sleep on a bed of nails”.

TRUE. today

Just had the annual Christmas dinner of my wife's employer. Good food, as always, and nice people. But the best came before and after. Arriving fairly late, we ran into one of the invitees, talked about the lurking recession (which did not worry him, having saved a little and rather offered opportunities) before he politely inquired about my activities. He was visibly surprised by my ambition and perseverence in combination with my age. Several hours later, after thanking the hosts for the evening and wishing them happy holidays, he came to see me again. He held my hand firmly for it seemed minutes, the other on my shoulder and told me that my story stayed on his mind during all seven courses, that he was truly impressed and offered me his support if I needed 'a push' any time in the future.

In the course of the evening my mystery friend had said the same to my wife, who knew him and told me that he was listed in the Dutch Quote 100. Merry Christmas!

I thought about the option of a third party investor. I will continue to run my own course, but it sure feels good to know there is a spectator prepared to push.

TRUE. today

Combining teaching and branding is a little more complicated than anticipated. On Thursday afternoon (Nov. 27) I left the Scala College at the end of the afternoon, embarking the Interliner bus to catch flight Delta 39 the next morning, changing onto Delta 311 in Atlanta and arrived by taxi at the Bogota hotel 22 hours after leaving home. 33 Hours later I set off for the reverse trip, stepping out of the Interliner next to the Scala College Monday morning at 8.45 a.m., in time to continue teaching at 9.10 a.m. Feeling like a zombie that long Monday and being hit badly by 'the man with the hammer', as we say in Dutch, at the end of the week. Not until today have I found some time to inform the TRUE. followers. Just for being with Excellence for one day. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

When working for Preesman, I would disagree with the owner, Pim, who argued that such a trip can only be effective if you would stay for more than ten days. Now, in 12 hours, we looked into the details of the cultivation, harvesting, farm logistics, grading, bunching, packing, cooling and transport of the roses and also relaxed at Pablo's new house near the fire place and dinner table with his wife Andrea and son Pablo Jr, enjoying Pablo's baby beef and wine. A TRUE. day.

I could not wait to get into the greenhouse to see the plants. No, after the drive from the centre of Bogota to the farm in El Rosal first the traditional coffee in the office, where we were joined by Luis Ernesto. He brought in the rain chart of this year. Normally, Bogota has 2-3 month periods with rain, followed by similar periods of drought. This year, rain since April, meaning too much moisture in the greenhouses, postharvest, flower boxes, with spores of botrytis all around.

These spores become visible after transport, so after arriving with the florist, or even later, with the consumer. The brown spots will give brown petals, rotting flowers and often stems, causing flower heads to fall off. So, something to fight in the cultivation by spraying and after harvesting by submerging in a special bath. For this, good biological products are available and used, but giving residu on the foliage. Harmless, yet looking dirty.

From a competitive point of view, if a concern for Excellence, this was a major problem for the rest of the Savanna. Still, TRUE. flowers must be spotless and, being harvested with flowers more open than others, more susceptible. After this introduction and two mugs of coffee and cookies, time to go and have a look. The bridge from the office took us to a platform in the postharvest in which the workers were just starting their twice-daily yoga lessons for back, arms and shoulders. This is where the botrytis and vaselife tests are carried out for each shipment and each variety, overlooked by Amanda from her little office. The vase of Da Vinci Rose looked the best of all, alle flowers fully open. Yet, closer inspection showed bits of botrytis here and there. Not good enough. Not TRUE.

Finally, we entered the house with the plants.

Beautiful. I was impressed.

Next, the female supervisor for the cultivation was fetched to discuss the botrytis issue. She suggested we put in small heating lamps, as they did with other varieties that were susceptible. We went to see some of the houses of these varieties, some of them notorious for botrytis, and, indeed, perfect. Next week the lamps would be installed.

Onto the postharvest. From the beds to the building I observed all activities with flowers in detail. More so than I had ever done in visiting flower farms for more than fifteen years. Roses and Blooms had informed me, complete with pictures, that the last box of flowers had arrived with them in Manhattan in damaged condition and my conclusion from the description and the pictures was that there had been excess damage of the foliage (handling and packing) and shifting of the flowers in the box (packing? transport?).

The potential TRUE. flowers were brought in from the cooler, carefully graded and then made into a bunch by the lady supervisor of the postharvest under the eyes of Pablo, Luis Ernesto, German and myself. The finished bunch was then proudly presented to me by the Excellence management. "Okay, can I now be a New York florist, receiving the flowers?" Upon which I carefully opened the bunch, taking out all protective packing materials, then showing the flowers one by one. The proud looks turned into shocked faces. Only 4 out of 20 flowers had foliage that was sufficiently intact. Another bunch, made earlier was fetched out of the cooler and opened with the same results. It could be that the leaves of this variety were more fragile than others. Therefore a bunch of their top variety Freedom was dissembled. Likewise.

Having had the same experience a year ago in Ecuador, I had already seen what went wrong in the bunching. Whereas everybody was focused on the arrangement of the flower heads and the bunch as a whole, I had seen, that stems were added to the bunch without paying attention to the foliage. The leaves of a rose are positioned slightly upward, but when the head is put on the other heads, most of the time the flower is moved upward a little bit, so that the leaves fold back slightly, to break when the stems are pressed down.

First proud ...

... then worried

You could see them thinking: "Why did we never notice? Why didn't our clients tell us? But then, why do we get such good prices? We must also be doing sufficiently right, then." I explained, that their operation was set to their clients, being wholesalers in the U.S.A., Europe and Russia. Wholesalers buy flowers per box and judge them per bunch. If by chance they put flowers in a vase, they always do so per bunch. Excellence bunches are excellent. But TRUE. roses are judged by perfection and sold per stem. Florists also sell other varieties per stem, but because their voices are seldom heard and this is the way it has always been, they just search for a good one in a bunch or cover up the absent foliage.

Their confidence restored, they instantly picked up the challenge and by the end of the afternoon German and Luis Ernesto reappeared with the plan to build a special cart in which the flowers are to be hung during harvesting (so not putting them on top of each other) and training a few ladies to do the bunching (with extra care to the foliage) in the greenhouse, thus minimizing the handling. Great to see that, despite each being in charge of his own section of the process, they tackle problems from a shared responsibility.

In the meantime we had installed the Verdict program for the dataloggers to be used in transport had brainstormed about the quality of the boxes, different transport possibilities and the wish to replace the current little lead seal on each flower by something more environment friendly. More homework, en route to perfection.

TRUE. today

Long time no blog. Shame on me, also because the blog helps to keep my dream alive, just like reading my grandfather's autobiography or listening to U2's One (with Mary J Blige).

On 1 November we had the second test shipment from Colombia into Manhattan. It had been 10 weeks since the first and again the quality was insufficient: not harvested open enough, the flowers were small and foliage damaged and dirty. Shit.

Yesterday Excellence's Amanda announced they would have another three boxes for the coming weekend. "Get in touch with Luis Ernesto, he knows about the problems of the last shipment. When he is confident, send them, but also try to send me a box in Holland," I wrote her. Earlier in the week I had called Pablo to arrange a visit. At the time with Qualisa in Ecuador this was the only way to persuade them to go against their routine of harvesting too tight flowers. Physical presence remains the most effective communication.

I had checked the air fares and both in timetable and cost Delta was the best option. A day later, when I booked, the choice remained the best, only the ticket had had an overnight price increase of 25%. Shit again.

When I took on my part-time (80%) teaching job, I kept the Fridays free for blitz trips like this: flying out of Amsterdam on Friday morning (November 18th), via Atlanta, arriving in Bogota late in the evening. Saturday to visit the farm: look at the crop, especially 'punte de corte', the cutting stage, handling (foliage!) in the greenhouse and the postharvest, and packing. Then instruct on the use of the TRUE. seals for each flower, install the program for the dataloggers, all in Spanish. Dinner and talks with Pablo. Sleep, perchance to dream and up early to go the airport, arriving in Amsterdam Monday morning at 8.10 am. Then on a bus to Scala College in Alphen to teach at 9.10 am. Make sure my lessons are prepared beforehand and that my bicycle is in place there, since I will be teaching at different locations that day.
Tight schedule? Idiot? Or rather: to be or not to be TRUE.

And, yes, I will do a series of lessons on Hamlet.

TRUE. today

Just as I was preparing to go to Colombia next week to finally find out the status of the production, Luis Ernesto calmed my nerves, telling me that things are looking good: the first 10 beds of plants getting in production (some 200 flowers per week) in the second half of November and the other 30 beds at Valentine's.

Expected weekly production then: 800 TRUE. roses. For New York only we expect to need some 5 times this amount.

Well, we need to start somewhere and after such a long runway this will give us the quality take-off we have been waiting for.

Even more reassuring were the photos Luis Ernesto sent: a nice healthy crop and no blackening of the flowers at all!

TRUE. today

Excellence's first box made it from El Rosal (Colombia) into Roses and Blooms (Manhattan). In the 'normal' flower world there would never be any feedback, unless the customer refuses to pay the bill. With TRUE. a whole list of deficiencies was to be expected. We're dealing with a nature product and aiming for perfection. Unheard of in the floral industry.

Jan informed me that the flowers had been cut too tight to be TRUE. , but otherwise they had been bunched and packed properly.

They had been cut at the 'Russian stage', which is more a little more open than 'American' and far more open than 'Dutch'. Shame on the industry of which I have been part for some 20 years and my family for at least five generations. No attention whatsoever for the consumer. Sure enough, European traders want fresh looking flowers (tight buds) and Russian wholesalers want size (open without looking too ripe), but stacks of research reports show that flowers perform best in the vase when they have collected enough sugars, being in the final stages on the plant.

Besides giving the impression of being ripe, open flowers are damaged more easily during transport and handling and are more susceptible to botrytis. Open flowers collect more moisture and may rot. If harvested at exactly the right stage and packed in the right temperature and air humidity controlled conditions, TRUE. roses will not have this. But this is very difficult and takes a lot of patience and professionalism. The experts of Excellence will manage. And I? The waiting drives me crazy, especially when Jan says that he still has customers walking in his beautiful store asking for TRUE. roses.

A Rose Story - Preface

Preface

… and on the seventh day, relaxing in the ozone filtered sunlight, feet in the crystal blue ocean, Jesus’ nikes by his side, He set mankind a challenge by creating a few rosebushes. Thousands of years we have worshipped the flowers, only to be disappointed. The spur of the moment.

‘My love is like a red, red rose’: temptation in optima forma, but prickly when touched and wilting after a few days. A loveless one night stand.

Expensive and falling apart shortly after Valentine’s, rather than making a lasting impression. “Thanks for the flowers, Fred, do you want to come in for a night cap?” Later, Fred banging at the door after having been kicked out.

“Hi Fred, it’s Wilma again, I just came walking in after spending the week at my mum’s. Fred, your roses, they’re still fantastic! Why don’t you come and have a look? I’ll change into something more suitable in the meantime.” The ultimate dream.

Come true.

The time has come to show the Creator that, although it has taken a while, His humble creations have met His challenge.

The cutflower rose is a Renaissance invention, completed in the transition period of the unique old boys’ world of rose breeding into ruthless price competition, infringements of rights, fraud and bankruptcy of old family businesses. Creativity struggling with money. Some weird old breeder goes under in this struggle, but leaves a secret rose seedling, a code, the embodiment of ultimate beauty, the Holy Rose Grail. Strangely, there is little fiction in the story. The rose is the proof.

TRUE. come true.

No Guts, No Glory. No Rose, No Story.

TRUE. today

In a few hours the first flowers of Da Vinci Rose from Excellence will be delivered with Roses and Blooms in Manhattan. Everybody involved is really anxious to learn if they are TRUE.

They were packed at the Bogota farm last Friday under the supervision of Hans of FlorControl, quality experts on behalf of the TRUE. label. Transport and distribution have been organized by Janny of Flower Import Services in New Jersey. For this, Janny works with AllPlants who, in turn, makes use of Flower Transfer in Miami. Flower Transfer flies the flowers into JFK, New York, from which they are picked up by Delaware Wholesale. Delaware trucks them (refrigerated), with their other flowers in the consignment, into their warehouses in Sewell, NJ, from which Janny picks them up for delivery to Roses And Blooms.

Much too complicated, as far as I am concerned, although a much shorter supply chain than customary for Latin flowers. Something to be worked on once we see that Excellence's quality is TRUE. But if you read 'the TRUE. story' in this blog, the history of my quest, you will understand my doubts with today's route. One thing I have learned: true revolution doesn't happen overnight. Neither does TRUE. revolution.

TRUE. today

A week ago Gerco of Van der Deijl Roses called again: two more TRUE. boxes with flowers had arrived in Noordwijk. "Probably bad again and a waste of time and gas to pick them up," I thought, but agreed to collect them later that day.

It would be a nice opportunity to show my visiting Canadian friend Burke and his family what I was doing. After visiting my parents, Burke, his wife Irene and I found the boxes in the impressive cold rooms in the new Van der Deijl premises. Arriving home in time to entertain the next guests, Wilma and her husband Nico, I quickly unpacked the flowers and put them in water. They looked pretty good, but killer botrytis spores were present without doubt.

Burke kept on taking pictures, convinced that he was witness of the turnaround in Qualisa's quality struggle that would set me off to New York to prepare the florists for the TRUE. invasion. I was more reserved, ready for more disappointment. The next days, much to Burke's thrill, the flowers opened nicely, looking good. I emailed Walter to find out if this was a turnaround or just an exception.

Peter van der Deijl's reply came just after Burke had returned to Toronto. Qualisa had decided to stop the production of Da Vinci Rose. They were unable to produce the TRUE. quality needed. He still believed in the marketing concept and was willing to invest in it if I would change to using existing commercial varieties. We had had this discussion before and I had challenged him to send me flowers of varieties that could be guaranteed to open and last. He had sent some. They all failed.

Now, patience again. Wait for Excellence's TRUE. roses.

the TRUE. story

12-19 September 2006: enthusiasm on the Andes

A first trip to Colombia and Ecuador without having to report to a boss. I had visited the region some dozen times since 1992 and for the first time I included a touristic weekend. You can call it loyalty or stupidity. Anyway, my friend Bert Lamerichs was my private guide.

In 1994 I persuaded Bert and his wife Hinke to emigrate to Ecuador. I worked for De Ruiter's New Roses at the time and wanted to set up breeding facilities in Ecuador. Hinke, breeder by origin, would work for us and Bert became the general manager of Hilsea Investments, owned by Peter Ullrich, where we had our greenhouses.

Bert and I visited the traditial Indian market, a last piece of rainforest, a new shopping mall and spent the night in an old monastery. I really managed to put business aside and enjoy these two days.

Then my budding business again: the plants were growing well at Ipanema and Qualisa. Everybody involved was enthusiastic. I presented the Da Vinci Rose plan to Moises, general manager and co-owner of Ipanema. His only objection was the royalty element (as I anticipated, knowing he was a Jew and I Dutch). At this time, I suggested a double royalty in return for exclusivity and a price of $ 1.00 per stem (some three times the regular price). This way I could support my cash flow. Later I would abandon this idea, which was a last element from the traditional rose marketing system.

I also met with Jos Langeslag, another Dutchman in the region, who had emigrated with his partner Karen d'Hont to set up FlorControl, specialists in postharvest quality control and also representing the environment label MPS. Being active in both Colombia and Ecuador, FlorControl could carry out the controls on the production side for me. I had already prepared the technical specifications, which FlorControl needed to complete in collaboration with both farms. Jos instantly was 'in', with compensation yet to be worked out.

the TRUE. story

September 2006: the home front

My parents, Pap (my father-in-law) and my buddy Peter all receive a flower from the plants still present in the Preesman greenhouse. All are enthusiastic, although the flower heads are much smaller than TRUE. will be. Ludmilla, a top lawyer of Bulgarian descent, helps me out with the legal issues, at no charge. It is good to have TRUE. friends.