A visit to a Japanese Rose grower

Coming from Kenya where the average farm size is 60 hectares, it was fascinating to visit two rose farms that were 1.7 and 2.5ha respectively.

In Japan, traditionally, there were thousands of growers between 0.5 – 2 hectares, sadly now they are becoming fewer and fewer due to a combination of an aging population, rising costs and a desire to work in the big cities. As a result, many of these farms are having to close down.

We were visiting in the midst of winter where temperatures regularly reach 0 degrees, but the houses were still pumping with flowers, thanks to heat pumps and oil-fired heating.

The plants are put straight into the soil on reclaimed land.  The PH can be a problem as it varies from 5.2 to 7.5. They use rice kernels to sterilise the soil after each re planting.

They keep varieties in the ground for 7 – 8 years to really get the best production from them.  One farm we went to have 42 varieties on 2.5 hectares! The varieties they were growing included some of the well-known names we hear all the time: including Avalanche, Pink Avalanche, Halloween pink bi, Beehive pale orange and Jumilia.

Interestingly, they use two different types of lighting: UVB and LED. They use the UVB lamps to help with the Botrytis, these they have on for two hours per day.  The LED lights are used to really boost production and strengthen each stem.

All in all, these incredibly dedicated farmers in Japan make rose growing in Africa look like a walk in the park. It’s hard to see how sustainable the future of Rose growing in Japan is with ever increasing costs and the younger generations in Japan rushing to work in the big cities.

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