Colombia to celebrate all things Dianthus this week between 11-15 March 2024

Colombia, the unrivalled protagonist of the carnation world, will hold its annual Dianthus Week between 11 and 15 March 2024. The open-day event in Bogotá’s savanna region will feature showcases from nine carnation breeders, featuring 250 varieties in an astounding diversity of shapes and colours.

Anticipated is the presence of growers from Colombia, Korea, the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands to see the latest breeding breakthroughs in what is one of Colombia’s staple flowers.

Colombia is the world’s leading carnation exporter, with 12 per cent of the country’s 10,000ha planted with export flowers dedicated to members of the Dianthus family.

Between January and December 2023, approximately 48,000 tons of carnations, accounting for more than US$285 million, were exported from Colombia.

The primary export market for Colombian-grown carnations is the United States, with 40 per cent volume participation, followed by Japan with 15 per cent, Holland with 12 per cent, Poland with 5 per cent, and Spain with 5 per cent.

“Breeders have placed Dianthus on the spotlight of innovation at world wide level. Given the fact that Colombia has optimal conditions for producing and exporting cut flowers, the Dianthus Week is the best platform to show new varieties all over the world. Thus, it enhances the perception that carnation buyers and international customers have, reinforcing the concept that they are modern flowers with infinite textures and colours”, said Augusto Solano, CEO of the Colombian Floriculture Business Association.

Dianthus Week 2024 will allow breeders to present to producers, buyers, and other local and international stakeholders of the floriculture chain the new dianthus varieties developed and adapted in Colombia.

Dianthus Week will offer international guests to embark on farm visits, providing behind-the-scenes looks. “The commercial activities that will be carried out during Dianthus Week 2024 shall apply further strength to the export of this species, one of the most representative of Colombia in the world. It will be carried out by initiative of 9 important breeders, with the support of Asocolflores,” said Solano.

Carnation breeders in Colombia deserve credit for changing the consumer’s perception of the flower, which today is seen as modern and trendy.

To carry out a hybridization program with Dianthus, deep knowledge of the varieties is required, as well as a significant and well-documented collection of genetic material, to attain, year after year, the attempted crossing programs. Thus, thousands of seeds are graded and selected to obtain new varieties, a process that takes 4 to 6 years.

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The nine breeders hosting the event include:

• Ball
• BreierCross
• Danziger
• Dümmen Orange
• Propagar Plantas
• Santamaría
• SB Talee de Colombia
• Selecta One
• HilverdaFlorist Colombia