On 12-10-2023, after a lovely, extended late summer, autumn is now truly beginning. Outdoor temperatures are dropping from 20 degrees to 12 degrees during the day, and down to 5 degrees at night.

For us humans, it's a bit disappointing, but for the cymbidiums, it might actually be a good thing. Due to the beautiful weather of the past months, the flower buds have grown very quickly, and we have never been this early in the season before. This wasn't a problem, but the consequence is that we'll likely have a gap in production later on, which we'd prefer to avoid. Because it's precisely in the months of November and December that cascade cymbidiums are in demand in the surrounding countries.

The more southern countries like Portugal, Spain, and Italy prefer to have cymbidiums from January onward. This week, we have resumed delivering mixed boxes with three different varieties, and next week, two more varieties will be added. This is, of course, ideal for garden centers and florists.

Sometimes we think we know how to best cultivate cymbidiums, but each time, we are surprised by how the plants react to specific conditions or measures. This results in some decisions working out very well, but also in some hindsight where we think we should have done things differently.

In addition to cultivation, there are other concerns bothering us. Small businesses with cold crops like ours are facing a substantial increase in energy taxes. I don't mind looking at this differently than we did five years ago, but I advocate for equal energy taxation for all businesses. Why should we pay 40 cents more for a cubic meter of gas than a large horticultural company, not to mention the industry? And while there's still some gas to be saved, we have already done most of what we can to produce beautiful and healthy plants with as little gas as possible, making many people happy. The future will teach us, but for now, we still enjoy our beautiful cascade cymbidiums every day.