There are now — amazingly — nearly a hundred different varieties of Gerberas to choose from. (And by the way, folks it’s pronounced with a hard G, not a soft one. Saying Jerbera will mark you as a bit of a rube). Plant breeders also keep coming up with more kinds. That’s because the once unsung Transvaal daisy (to use its common name) has become a titan in the cut flower market.
“We used to concentrate on roses in Ontario,” says Ralph DeBoer, operations manager of massive Rosa Flora greenhouses in Dunnville. “But we found we couldn’t compete any longer with cheap imports from South America. So we switched to Gerberas — and they’ve sort of taken over from roses. They’re a very trendy flower.”
So trendy, Rosa Flora now has 20 acres of greenhouses devoted solely to Gerberas. Other Niagara operations are producing loads, too. They come in both tall and shorter stemmed varieties, and get shipped all over Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Northeastern U.S. And here’s one plus for us: our proximity to the source means we can often buy them the day they’re picked.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Toronto Star
