Reproducing our lilies
Working with virus-free material
We work exclusively with virus-free material which originates from our own specially selected parties. As a result, we are able to deliver top quality products of unique stems to professional flower bulb nurseries and bulb exporting companies for global lily farming.
From Ardea BV, our quarantine nursery, all virus-free material is subjected to a virus-free check annually. Only 100% clean bulbs are propagated. We do the propagation with our own selected batches and from our own mother stock. This entire cycle takes approximately 5 years and takes place on 10,500 m² in a completely closed system. We comply with the Leliegarant quality mark, which is the highest certification for virus-free material. Based on this, we can supply a guaranteed virus-free product for our internal refreshment of the stall and offer a guaranteed virus-free program to fellow flower bulb growers.
Virus-free production
At Ardea BV, we produce between 3 and 4 million virus-free bulbs per year. To maintain our unique virus-free stems we implement extreme measures. Hygiene is the main priority at our company. We are able to track the history of our unique parties from the deployment on Ardea BV up to and including the end product which is grown in the Netherlands, France and New Zealand, through our automated track and trace system. The cycle at Ardea lasts 5 years, and subsequently 3 years must be added for outdoor growing. Top quality is our ultimate objective!
Northern hemisphere production
The Netherlands
Our Dutch Lilies are grown in the vicinity of Assen by one of our specially selected partners. To ensure our quality, we opt for large crop rotation.
France
We grow our 'French bulbs' in the Bordeaux region. There the lilies grow longer and they receive additional hours of sun. The bulbs are therefore better preserved and extremely suitable for planting during the summer months.
Southern hemisphere production
New Zealand
We have a nursery in the southern hemisphere to enable us to supply top quality products all year round. Our subsidiary, known as 'Bakker Bulbs Ltd', grows lily bulbs in the Canterbury Plains on the South Island of New Zealand.
Before we settled here, in the early 1990s, we were growing lily bulbs in Brazil, to improve our winter quality of our own flower production. However, the climate in Brazil was unsuitable for the stable production of lily bulbs. This resulted in us shifting our sights to a better geographical location.
For this reason we started in the south of the South Island of New Zealand in 1994. The results turned out to be far better than what they were in Brazil, although the climate, the type of soil and the availability of land were insufficient for further growth. We therefore started searching for a better place for growing in New Zealand in 1996, and in 1999 we started our own company in the Canterbury Plains. This resulted that from that moment on the company experiences continuous growth.
The team currently consists of eight skilled and enthusiastic employees, who manage a team of 55 people during the harvesting season. Besides growing and processing lily bulbs, we also ensure that everything is prepared and ready for export. At Bakker Bulbs Ltd we deliver a complete package from growing the bulb to loading the shipping containers.
The lily acreage covers approximately 50 ha, which is more like a 460 ha building plan. This building plan is focused on lily growing. We primarily grow above-ground arable crops, so that the soil is in top condition from the moment the lilies are planted. This enhances the internal as well as the external quality of the bulbs.
Together with our export customers, we are able to supply a high-quality product to the professional global farming of lilies, all year round. This makes us unique in this sector!
