Maria from a hurricane to a flower

As we mention in a previous article, by the time Puerto Rico was hit by hurricane Maria, we were looking for names to identify our newest Ixora. This georgeus is a white variety exclusively developed by us at Vista Farms.

Today we share a picture of Ixora Maria. After the hurricane, we were certain there wasn’t a better name. These exquisite flowers showed us there’s beauty and hope after such atmospheric event. Somehow, Mother Nature reminds us the destruction leads the way to creation. We are well aware of the damages suffered by many. Luckily just 20% of our inventory was affected by the hurricane winds.

Besides, we want to share with you article written by our friends of Floral Daily regarding our experience with Maria. Floraldaily.com is the perfect meeting place online for the international horticulture industry. We invite you to visit it, since they upload interesting news from around the globe on a daily basis.

Vista Farms comes back strong after devastating hurricane

In September 2017, a substantial part of the Puerto Rican nursery Vista Farms was damaged by hurricane Maria. How is this farm that cultivates a variety of Bougainvillea, Hibiscus, and Ixora young plants doing now, about half a year later? We spoke to Jerome O’Neill, the owner of the company.

Jerome O'Neill at the IPM Essen 2018 in Germany

Jerome O’Neill at the IPM Essen 2018 in Germany

According to O’Neill, the actual damage to the farm was limited, but the main challenge was the aftermath of the strong winds. “At many farms in the area, the greenhouses were pulled out the ground. Fortunately, ours were not damaged as we could put the plastic down on time. Also the inventory was not damaged, which enabled us to ship out the young plants two weeks after the hurricane. The main issue, however, was to get the production of the cuttings back on track. 10 acres of stock was damaged by the strong winds and was defoliated. “We had to prune all of the defoliated branches and wait for them to grow back. It took about 6 to 8 weeks to get new cuttings and this resulted in an inventory loss of 1 million.”

Stock defoliated after the devastating visit of hurricane Maria

Stock defoliated after the devastating visit of hurricane Maria

However and fortunately, they were back on track quite fast. “It took some time to get the cuttings, but after we managed to foliate the stock again, we were completely back in business.” And business seems to go well. They sell to five continents directly and through brokers and according to O’Neill, the sales – particularly in Europe – are increasing.

Vista Farms in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, back in business again

Vista Farms in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, back in business again

What else did the hurricane bring? A name for one of their new Ixora varieties! “During the time of the hurricane, we were in the process of naming a new white Ixora variety. After the hurricane, we decided to name it Maria.”

Read the complete article here.
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At Vista Farms, we have great varieties of Bougainvillea, including RijnPlant, also a selection of ixoras and hibiscus. Our extensive stock and modern propagation facilities allow us filling up diverse your plantings needs. Contact us for more information.
So, if you’re all about flowers (like we’re) check out our Blog and our pages in Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Google+ …we love to share good stuff and hear from you!

By | 2018-05-03T18:58:55+00:00 March 28th, 2018|Ixora|0 Comments

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