At the SAF Outstanding Varieties competitor , Deliflor ’s chrysanthemum Alma make headway the award for ' Best in show ' . Once at the convention , it was no picnic . 250 + varieties , from more than 95 companies . Time to check out the story of this dirty money winning chrysanthemum .

Juan David Lecuona , commercial-grade director of Deliflor Latin America , says : " It all started in Maasdijk ( The Netherlands ) around 2012 , where the Deliflor stock breeder cross some specimen to develop the code “ 56631 ” , that was Alma ’s nickname . The seeds obtained were germinated in 2014 , and after some evaluation , it was resolve that this “ 56631 ” clone had more potential to be grown in tropical precondition so they sent it to us in Colombia to be evaluate under our own conditions .

" The first time we ( Deliflor LatinAmerica ) saw it as code 56631 , was in November 2014 , this motley stick out out among the others on every rating we did , so in March of 2015 the computer code “ 56631 ” became semi - commercial .

" We started to evaluate more and more , we did tests at farms , to see how it developed on dissimilar areas of Colombia , and the outcome were great , so we decide to show it , as a computer code , on our one-year public trials ( Delishow 2016 ) in August 2016 . The visitant were amazed by its shiny white color , and the beautiful contrast with the green center ; the many efflorescence ( 10 to 12 ) ; the long vase biography , the bulk , the resistance to impairment , etc . So much that it was choose by the visitors , as the better variety of the Delishow 2016 , while still being a code .

" In 2017 we decided to name this miscellanea , we require a name that meant purity , white , Bob Hope . So , our Director Manuel Marin came out with “ ALMA ” which is the Spanish Holy Scripture for “ someone ” , so it was decided , this name “ Alma ” foregather all the adjective that we wanted to reflect , and we started to do advancement and selling .

" Because we really believe in this variety , we get in it to the “ 2017 SAF Outstanding Varieties Competition ” at Palm Beach Florida in 2017 , but , due to Hurricane Irma , the show was cancel , so we had to postpone it for 2018 at Palm Springs . "

The journey to Palm Springs"SAF Outstanding Varieties Competition attracts the industriousness ’s top buyers , and they go through the competing entryway with camera in hand , so we were very excited to enter at Palm Springs California , since the convention was cancelled the year before , so we selected the varieties we were start to go into in 2017 plus the unity for 2018 , so we had 17 variety show .

" We separated 2 bed to grow these mixture in order of magnitude to be quick to be transport at their perfect stage , but we did n’t take into account that “ Alma ” is a variety that has a very short cycle in the bailiwick , so when Alma was in full bloom , the others were just opening , but we needed to send our star to the competition . coincidently , that same week , we went to Galleria Farms to see some trials of other varieties they were testing , and taking advantage of being there , we ask them to show us how they were doing with “ Alma ” . We were so happy with what we realise , a glasshouse fill with “ Alma ” , they were doing a great job growing this variety , the uniformity , the bit of flush , it was all lily-white , it calculate like a cloud . So , we asked Mr. Andres Valencia for some bunches to go in at this contender , and he forthwith said yes , and check that this variety should be a part of this event .

" Galleria cave in it to us and we direct it , among the other 16 varieties through Cristina Alvarez and Marcela Caicedo from Uniflor ( Liberty Blooms ) , who kindly offer to deliver them via Fedex to Dramm & Echter , where Mr. Mike Mooney helped us taking them through the desert to Palm Springs and the normal .

" Once at the convention , it was no picnic . 250 + varieties , from more than 95 companies .

" We had to contend against Standard Roses , Garden Roses , Spray Roses , Chrysanthemums , Freesias , Gerberas , Alstroemerias , Dianthus , Potted Flowering Plants , Decorative Foliages , Hydrangeas , Ilex , Lilies , Anthuriums , Astilbes , Oncidiums , Proteas , Cotinus , Jasminoides , etc . , but at the end the “ Best in Show ” for the first meter ever was leave to a Chrysanthemum . ALMA a Deliflor variety grown by Galleria Farms , and shipped by Uniflor and Dramn & Echter .

" We extend our thanks to all the people who believed in “ Alma ” . This is a great winner for the Chrysanthemum industry .

" By the way , the other 16 variety we brought to Palm Springs also got 16 ribbon ( 7 sorry Ribbons and 9 ruby-red Ribbons ) . "

For more informationDeliflor Chrysantenwww.deliflor.nl