This month we were invited by Kelly van Raadschelders Varens, with whom Blooms out of the Box been working together for 2 years.
How long has Raadschelders been around and who founded the company?
My father started growing roses in the 1980s and eventually moved on to ferns through houseplants. Together with my brother Sander, we have officially taken over the company from my father since 2018. That doesn't mean he isn't cooperating anymore; both he and my mother still work here regularly. We now have 27 employees, two locations of 6 hectares and we sell 2.5 million plants per year. We sell our plants all over the world!
Have you been involved in the nursery from an early age?
Yes, I really grew up in the nursery and of course I already worked in the greenhouse as a student. But I went to study Tourism because I didn't really know what I wanted at the time. By the time I graduated, the internet was already a way many people book their trips and the jobs were not readily available. And because of course I still worked in the nursery to earn some extra money, I actually fell into it automatically.
How did you get in touch with Simon?
Simon and I have known each other for a long time; from the time when he was account manager of the Plants at Albert Heijn. And then you regularly meet each other at trade fairs etc. When he wanted to start with Blooms out of the Box, I think it was a logical step for him to buy air-purifying plants from us.
Can you tell us something about the collaboration??
I like that Simon came to me with his idea and of course I believe that the the BloomsBox is a brilliant find! Sustainable boxes with air-purifying plants that you don't have to water every week and that look great on your desk or kitchen table, what more could you want I hope we will work together for a long time to come. Together we looked at which plants fit best in the Boxes in terms of size and type and which ones have a good shelf life. This does not mean that the plants do not change, a new variant of fern is sometimes added that also appears to fit in very well..
Nancy van Blooms out of the Box & Kelly van Raadschelders Varens
What is the best thing about sailing for you?
They are beautiful plants, nice and full and they brighten up a room immediately, it is not a plant that stands on a thin trunk!
But the best part is that last year we won the Royal Flora Holland Glass Tulip Award for novelties with our home-grown new fern variety: the Phlebodium Davana. And Davana stands for the names of my three daughters: Daisy, Silva and Naomi! It is a very beautiful variety with a graceful wavy leaf, so we are very proud of that! We also have plant breeders' rights to this plant, which you can also find in a BloomsBox.
Are all types of ferns air-purifying plants?
No not all ferns are air purifying plants, but a lot. Fytagoras, a research agency in the field of crops, knows which types of ferns are the most air-purifying. These then end up in the BloomsBoxes. For example, a stag horn (also a fern species) is much less air-purifying than Neprholepis (the most famous fern).
You are affiliated with Air So Pure, can you tell us something about this?
Air So Pure is a growers' association that has been around for about 10 years and focuses on air-purifying plants and tries to draw attention to this on behalf of all the different growers. We also believe that air-purifying plants are important and that is why we are affiliated.
Is sustainability also important to you and can you tell us something about this?
Of course we have all the certificates needed for environmentally conscious cultivation of ferns, including MPS (Milieu Plant Sierteelt) and we offer all possible (eco) packaging such as paper sleeves instead of plastic. Of course we try to work as environmentally conscious as possible!
Do you have any tips for caring for ferns??
Never let the root ball get too wet! The advantage of our BloomsBoxes is of course that they themselves absorb the right amount of water through the fuse that hangs in the water. But if you have a fern that isn't in a BloomsBox; better too little than too much water, the root ball should not get too wet. And don't pour water in the heart of the plant (it can cause them to mold), but on the side and on the soil. Spraying is not necessary, that certainly does not make the grey-tinted varieties more beautiful. There is another persistent misconception that ferns would do well in the bathroom because it is humid and warm there. That is not a requirement at all for a fern and sometimes moist is not even good. In fact, just like us, a fern does not want to go on a draft, not too hot, not too cold and not too wet or too dry.