Three times Olympic champion in speed skating Irene Schouten opens the 12th Dutch Lily Days

Irene Schouten, guest of honour during the opening of the world stage for lilies; the 12th edition of the Dutch Lily Days.

Five-time Olympic medalist and a triple Olympic Champion in speed skating, Irene Schouten today opened the 12th edition of the world stage for lilies, the annual Dutch Lily Days.

Schouten was the guest of honour during the event’s well-attended opening ceremony at ’t Zandt-based Zabo Plant, which this year celebrates 40 years in business.

In February this year, Schouten ended her impressive career in speed skating, picking up many Olympic, world and European titles. She was best known for employing her power in the mass start and team pursuit.

The newly launched ‘Backhand’, touted as the first double-flowered LA hybrid.

To flourish like that, an optimal climate and intensive collaboration is needed in all aspects, along with dedication, insight and content. And it demands the ability to surprise where needed. This is something that the lily sector is also undertaking step by step.

Schouten is born the daughter of tulip grower Klaas Schouten who with his sons Simon and Klaas jr runs Bloomore, growing 55 million cut tulips per year. In addition, Bloomore has 80ha of land dedicated to tulip bulb farming.

At this year’s Dutch Lily Days, the news is the first-ever double-flowered, pollen-free LAs, a creation of Hobaho and with bulbs exclusively available through Zabo Plant.

Standing out prominently in Zabo Plant’s  demo greenhouse was the canary ‘‘Backhand’. The cultivar has a high bud count,  pollen-free blooms and a  9-10 week crop time.

It makes the perfect fit for lily growers focused on a quick turnaround without compromising on quality.

Available from February, ‘Backhand’ is is sold under the new Butterfly brand grouping versatile double-flowered LAs for use in mono bouquets, arrangements and retail bouquets.

LA stands for longiflorum asiaticum, denoting the cross between Asiatic and Easter Lilies (Longiflorum). LA Hybrids stand out for their tall and sturdy stems, long vaselife, subtle scent.

A group of horticultural journalists at Zabo Plant.

Attending the event is a group of horticultural journalists from abroad including Debra Prinzing from Slow Flower News, Ms Satono Akiba of Japan’s Floriculture Newspaper, Ms Wang Ya chin, media rep from the Taiwan Floriculture Development Association (TFGA), Mr Chris Vos from the Spanish language magazine Flormarket, FloraCulture International, and Ms Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Vi from Vietnam’s Lam Dong Radio and TV.