keepitgreen.be
ENG
Platform for soccer and golf course managers.
The laurel is an evergreen. Literally – it stays green in winter – but also figuratively: it is a permanent fixture in many gardens and parks. Yet even this ancient plant is undeniably subject to trends and developments. They know this better than anyone at Laurica-Plants in Jabbeke, which has been growing Laurus nobilis for fifty years. Marian Maenhoudt lists the most important developments.
Laurica-Plants will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022. During this period, the family business has seen confirmation of the continuing – and increasing – demand for topiary laurel, but has also witnessed the evolution of cultivation methods, applications, and areas of focus. Today, Brexit, among other things, is having a significant impact on the nursery's operations; automation, climate change, and growing interest in unique specimens have already left their mark on the laurel plant market.
In recent decades, as in industry, there has been a race toward automation in plant cultivation. Many nurseries have invested in machines to organize their work more efficiently.
“In our case, this involves, for example, the use of plant forks or the addition of buffer and conveyor belts so that our staff can work at height,” says Marian Maenhoudt. “In other words, these are interventions aimed at improving ergonomics.”
“When growing and pruning laurel, the use of machinery is rather limited. After all, the value of the plant lies in the ornamental value of its leaves. If you prune mechanically, those leaves will be cut in half, causing you to lose an important aesthetic aspect. For that reason, our plants are only pruned mechanically to a very limited extent, and in recent years, topiary pruning has always been done manually.”
As in other sectors, nurseries now have to take much greater account of their impact on and from the climate. Marian Maenhoudt: “For example, for a number of years now, we have been laying mats on the potting soil of young plants. This limits the growth of weeds and, consequently, the use of sprays, although it also requires a different approach to fertilization, for example.”
“In addition, we must continue to use water more sparingly. We will therefore continue to invest in the construction of new container fields, ensure that water is directed to the plants as efficiently as possible, and collect all surplus water in a 4 million liter buffer basin. That water is filtered and then reused.”
The increasingly extreme weather conditions also have an impact on the plants themselves.
“The climate is not kind to us,” says Marian Maenhoudt. “Among other things, we have to protect our plants from the harsh wind. To this end, we have set up various systems to ensure that the plants, depending on their shape, do not blow over. The sudden transition from cold winter storage to warm, dry, and sunny spring days can also be hard on young plants. That's why we now let them acclimatize in an extra greenhouse after their winter storage before placing them outside again. Fortunately, that contrast will never be as great for most private individuals. There, plants can simply be placed outside again after the winter.”
And the trends? According to Marian Maenhoudt, they are still fluctuating. “Some shapes are always popular, of course. Think of the ball on a stem—as they say in the United Kingdom: the ‘lollipops’. They are still often used in pairs, next to the front door or to mark the boundary of an avenue or path. However, nowadays many other plants are also pruned into that shape. There are even flowering varieties. In that respect, laurel is no longer unique.”
Today, it is mainly the special shapes that make laurel stand out. “We are seeing enormous interest in plants with twisted or braided trunks. In that case, people opt for one large or medium-sized plant that will take center stage as an eye-catcher.”
More seasonal are the pyramids in red pots that Laurica-Plants offers in the fall. “They are bought as an alternative to a Christmas tree or to bring some extra Christmas spirit into the home, but afterwards they usually find a permanent place on the patio.”
