Imagine for a moment. An oasis of beautifully blooming lilies surrounded by lush green pond and aquarium plants. And that on an area of 15 hectares. You will find this simply in the Netherlands, at Moerings aquatic plant nursery in Roosendaal. With more than eight million plants a year, they are the largest in Europe. Together with representative René Verspuij, we dive into the story of the nursery.
From forgotten corner to spotlight
More than 30 years ago, Moerings’ first seeds are planted. Ronald Moerings helps sell the water plants his uncle grows as a hobby. He takes them to local garden centres but finds that they hide the water plants somewhere in a deserted corner of the shop. That could be done better, Ronald thought. And he comes up with a concept with an eye for presentation. Moments later, his uncle leaves the nursery to him and Waterplant Nursery Moerings is a fact. Today, they are the largest in Europe.
“Back then, Ronald had a particularly good view on how to present aquatic plants in a neat way. He sadly passed away nine years ago, but his expertise and dream live on in the company. The presentation of our plants remains a top priority. We provide inviting sales tables, banners with mood photos, pictures of the plants in bloom … And assist the garden centres with the care of the plants. Everything so that the plants are shown to their full advantage on the shop floor. And this throughout the entire water plant season: from the end of February to October.”
Largest assortment in Europe
Sixty species of water lilies, nearly three hundred different oxygen and pond plants, aquarium plants … Moerings has the largest assortment of aquatic plants in Europe.
The plants are available in different pot sizes, ranging from P9 to P25. They also put together mix baskets for patio ponds and sell the plants in boxes for landscapers.
“And we keep renewing our range. With water lilies, for instance, customers want more and more flowers and fewer leaves. We are now further breeding them to meet this. The Nymphaea Colorado is a fine example of this. Whereas in the native water lily, Nymphaea Alba, the flowers grow between the leaves, in this species they stick out about five to ten centimetres above the water surface. This makes the flowers stand out much more.
We feed our plants with the maximum amount of natural light. The result: beautifully intense colours. – René Verspuij
Another of our showpieces are the Nymphaea Tropical blue and the Nymphaea King of the Blues. These tropical water lilies bear beautiful lavender-coloured flowers from April to November. But soon they may even continue throughout the winter. We at Moerings are in the midst of getting tropical water lilies hardy. We are already far advanced, but need to test further first. If they actually pass all tests for one to two years, we will market the hardy water lilies. Exciting!”
Ebb and flow
A modern assortment from a modern nursery. Because the place where the water plants are grown is also innovative. Anyone who thinks a water plant nursery is under water all the time is wrong.
“People visiting the nursery for the first time invariably pull out their boots. Until they get to the plants and see that they are not flooded at all. Then a laugh is hard to suppress. Strange, you might think? Not at all. Our nursery works with an ebb-and-flow system. During the day, when our colleagues are working in the nursery, everything is dry. In the evening, our pumps jump on and the water flows to our plants until they are about ten centimetres under water. An excellent system, because it is a lot more pleasant and efficient work for our employees and the plants themselves can perfectly do without water for a while. Moreover, it is environmentally friendly, because we only use rainwater we collect ourselves.
Colourfast leaves
“Another misconception about our nursery is that we grow the plants indoors. The opposite is true: our plants are always outside. And that’s just a great asset. Because thanks to all that natural light, our plants produce incredibly colourfast leaves. Intense red, green, yellow, white… All that natural light also has a positive influence on the flower and bud development of our plants.
“As many as 12 hectares of our nursery is thus outdoor space. We also have three hectares of greenhouses. This is where our plants come in just before they go to the customer. To feed our plants with the best light even during this waiting period, we work with diffused light here. This way, at no time is there any shade in our greenhouse complex and our plants continue to enhance their colours.”
Sustainable efforts
Not only for their plants, customers and employees, Moerings strives for the best. They also make great efforts in terms of sustainability. For instance, all their transport trolleys are electric and they get energy from solar panels. They hardly need to heat their greenhouses. Freezing is sufficient and, thanks to the diffuse glass, it warms up quickly in there.
“As the largest aquatic plant grower, we have to keep up with sustainability. More than that, we have to be the first to comply with new guidelines. Peat, for example, is already banned in England and will soon be so with us too because it is too environmentally damaging. Therefore, we are in full search of more sustainable mixtures that are equally effective. Like coconut fibre and clay.
We also use virtually no pesticides, but use animals to control pests. Like ducks. They swim quietly among our plants and keep duckweed under control.
In the future, we also want to reduce our plastic use. An alternative to plastic pots is water-resistant cardboard or coconut fibre. Currently, these alternatives are still too expensive. Until we find the best solution, our customers can return the empty trays with a deposit and we will recycle the plastic.”
A valuable collaboration
A sustainable supplier. That’s what Floréac likes to work with. And the affection is mutual. “Our cooperation with Floréac has been running like a well-oiled machine for 15 years. In the autumn, we put our heads together. Which customers are there and what are their needs? How can we offer our plants in the best possible way? Always valuable moments of consultation. That way, Floréac acts as an intermediary between us and the end customer. Thanks to them, we keep our finger on the pulse and can respond to the customer’s wishes. Floréac also opens the door to new markets for us. Like the French, which we would find difficult to reach without Floréac.”
Green gardens
Finally, we take a look at the future. “Where tight gardens with lots of tiles used to dominate, we are now seeing a return to natural gardens. Without concrete, with more greenery and more water again. This is cooler, better for diversity, and frankly: more beautiful too. When I come into the nursery after seven in the evening, it’s like a sweet shop. Everything is in flower: the irises, swan flowers, Japanese orchid … Apart from a few frogs, it’s quiet as a mouse. And then I think, ‘this is the best job you can think of.'”