Who said tulips are spring flowers? Certainly not Triflor BV's CEO Hans van Dam, whose family-run company supplies premium tulips to customers around the world virtually 12 months of the year. "In addition to our fields and greenhouses in Holland, we now cultivate tulips and bulbs 'out-of-season' in the south of France and New Zealand," Hans says. "For our tulip-loving customers, this means it's always springtime!"

Down Under

Triflor currently cultivates tulips on 60 hectares of land in Holland, 20 hectares in southern France, and 45 hectares in New Zealand, where Triflor harvests its tulip bulbs in January - a summer month 'Down Under'. "Our entire New Zealand bulb crop is sold to the US market," Hans says. The warmer climate in southern France means Triflor can harvest the bulbs earlier, end of May/June, while in Holland the harvesting occurs in June/July. Hans: "We're one of the few companies that can offer fresh, high quality tulips throughout the year." 

Out-of-season

The USA is an increasingly important market for Triflor's 'out-of-season' tulips. "In Europe, there isn't much demand for tulips from August to November, because Europeans generally regard tulips as spring flowers," Hans explains. "But in the US there's no such seasonal bias. American consumers just want tulips, regardless of the season." The USA's cut flower market is also continuing to grow rapidly. Hans: "We're now exporting 20 to 30% more bulbs to the States, as US growers continue to expand their production." Triflor sells approximately 55 million bulbs per year worldwide

No-frills

Triflor has carved out a profitable niche market for its high-end, frilly-fringed and parrot tulips, like the Ria, Bell Song and Valery Gergiev varieties. "A niche market, yes, but a big one," Hans says, adding that the profit margins for the 20 million specialty tulips Triflor sells annually can be 50% higher than those for the ordinary, 'no-frills' tulip varieties produced by other companies. "Whenever I visit exclusive flower shops in places like Paris, London or New York, I always find our frilly-fringed varieties in stock."

Never-ending story

For a company whose prosperity depends on its ability to cultivate exclusive, specially shaped fringed and parrot tulips, Triflor's decision to start its own breeding group in 1979 was very wise one indeed. In 1999, Triflor sold its first self-bred variety, and has continued to introduce special new varieties each year since in what Hans calls "a never-ending story": "More than other flower types, tulips offer so many breeding possibilities. You really can breed tulips of virtually every shape and color imaginable."