By Rita Weerdenburg

It has now been many years since I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Felicitas Svejda, shortly before she retired from her long-time position as a plant breeder with Agriculture Canada. Still vivid in my memory is her account of the difficulties she encountered in choosing and registering appropriate variety names for her newly developed series of winter-hardy roses. Over the years, literally thousands of varieties of the very popular rose have been developed, named and registered by breeders around the world and finding as yet unused names can be a daunting challenge.

     I was reminded of this interview during a recent trip to the Netherlands which took me to, among other places, Horatia b.v., a cooperatively owned consortium of Dutch rose growers. The primary goal of this newly formed business is to preserve a marketplace position for that country's rose growing industry now threatened by extremely cheap labour costs from emerging economies such as Poland and Czechoslovakia. Finding efficiencies at every stage, but especially in the handling and packaging is an important part of the process, agrees company director Peter Cox, and one more easily accomplished on a cooperative basis. Their real strength, however, will lie in better marketing strategies.

     An important part of Horatia's strategy will focus on identifying and marketing roses according to attributes of specific interest to the consumer, rather than their promotion by variety or trademark name. The number of varieties available to the consumer is simply too overwhelming, believes Cox, and the dollars spent on promoting a single variety which is new for only a year or two is simply not practical. Instead, it should be up to the rose growing experts to be able to identify and communicate to the consumer specific characteristics, such as a good performing, floriferous, scented rose with an outstanding apricot colour, for instance. "Having more varieties is not going to expand consumer demand for roses," says Cox. "Making it easier for the customer to identify and find what he or she is really looking for, will."

     The same trip took me to Oosterwijk Jr. b.v., a large, established perennial grower. An interview with owner Henk Goeijers revealed that Dutch growers share with perennial growers around the world, the problem of an ever-expanding plant list. Continually adding the many new varieties which are introduced by plant breeders to the older, tried, tested and true varieties eventually results in lists that feature thousands of varieties of perennials. It's a problem, admits Goeijers, requiring a creative solution.

     At least part of the answer for Oosterwijk will lie in taking control of the demand side of the supply/demand equation through the aggressive marketing of selected varieties. Step one is the pre-selection of a good cross-section of those perennials that possess the attributes in current demand by the consumer. These are sold at the retail level through an integrated retail system consisting of benches, high quality POP signage and holders and, of course, coordinated labels. By taking charge of sales and marketing, Oosterwijk hopes to have better control over their inventory management, thereby increasing production efficiencies. And, as ruthless as it may feel to a nurseryperson whose first love is always plants, less reliable varieties will be crossed off the list and taken out of production.

     These two examples do not preclude the importance of new varieties to the marketplace. New varieties play an essential role in the ongoing popularity of perennials, and the ongoing supply of new varieties in any plant category is an important tool for the independent garden centre wishing to stay a step or two ahead of their box store competitors.

     Especially important are those new varieties that do more than offer the consumer a different colour of flower or leaf to add to their collections. Dr. Svejda's Explorer rose series, for instance, has not only made it possible for those people living in colder climates to enjoy the beauty of roses, but, at a time when identifying and preserving our Canadian identity has become a national pastime, we should be thankful that these beautiful and hardy roses appropriately bear the names of the early explorers of our great country.

     New is important, new and improved is even better. But in today's world, new and improved merchandising methods are just as, if not even more important, than new products.