The sky is high and the clouds are clear in Yunnan, and chrysanthemums and hydrangeas of various colors are quietly blooming with vitality under the sunshine of the plateau in the production greenhouses of Yunnan Fungdao Flower Co. When it comes to chrysanthemums, industry insiders will think of Fengdao chrysanthemums. Located in Kunming’s Fumin County, Yunnan Fengdao Flower Co., Ltd. is subordinate to Zhejiang Fengdao Co., Ltd. Since its establishment in 2004, it has been mainly responsible for chrysanthemum planting and production, and currently has three production bases in Fumin, Kaiyuan and Yanshan, covering a total area of nearly 1,000 acres, with an annual production capacity of 100 million chrysanthemum seedlings, 25 million chrysanthemum cut flowers, and 4 million pots of potted chrysanthemums, with an annual output value of nearly RMB 100 million, making it the largest chrysanthemum planting exporter in China. It is the largest chrysanthemum planting and exporting enterprise in China.
Being the leader of new varieties
Fengdao started from chrysanthemums, and in Yunnan, the paradise in the hearts of growers, they have made chrysanthemums bloom in a more splendid style. Yunnan Fengdao makes full use of the local climate advantages to assist production. In addition to making chrysanthemum seedlings, cut chrysanthemums and potted chrysanthemums top in the industry in terms of production, Fengdao has also cooperated with globally renowned chrysanthemum breeders such as Dekker, Orange DuoMeng, and Amada, and was the first one to launch the green chrysanthemums and the green multi-headed chrysanthemums in the country. After that, there were new chrysanthemums with single head, green ping-pong chrysanthemums, cut peony chrysanthemums, fireworks chrysanthemums, etc. Almost every new variety of chrysanthemums is in short supply in the domestic market. The development concept of Fengdao is to utilize the enterprise’s production and research strength to be the leader of new varieties, not to be a follower, and not to compete with low-priced products.
At the 22nd China Kunming International Flower Show held in September 2024, Fungdo made a huge “butterfly” with 5,000 dyed cut peony chrysanthemums, which amazed the audience from all walks of life, and demonstrated their professionalism in the production of cut flowers and dyeing process, which is still fresh in people’s mind. Visiting merchants from Malaysia, India, Singapore and other places said that they used to look for high-quality dyed peony chrysanthemums from Malaysia, but now it seems that whether it is the diameter of flowers, the stability of dyeing, or high-quality, high-volume, standardized dyeing technology for cut flowers, Fungdao has completely surpassed domestic and foreign counterparts, and has made international first-class products. The dyed chrysanthemums put on the market by Fengdao use more than 20 proprietary dyeing patent formulas, and the average wholesale price of a single flower reaches 4 to 5 yuan, with an annual output of 3 million, which has successfully allowed people to connect the dyed chrysanthemums with Fengdao.
In addition to growing and dyeing chrysanthemums, Fengdao also participates in the promotional layout of the retail market. They give the dyed peony chrysanthemums to floral art teachers for performances so that more people can recognize its beauty. The e-commerce trading platform “Huaji.com” belonging to the Fengdao Group gathers florists from all over the country. Yunnan Fengdao launched a campaign on the platform to register new florists for free and give away two dyed peony chrysanthemums in the hope that florists around the country will recognize this new flower material and use it together to promote it and make the market bigger.
Because there are constantly new chrysanthemum varieties launched, the flower color and pattern are getting richer and richer, together with the colorful dyeing effect, Fengdao makes the chrysanthemum fresh cut flowers break through the limitations of the traditional chrysanthemum application places and application time, together with the high degree of precise and standardized production, the life of the cut chrysanthemums in bottles can reach more than 15 days after harvesting, so that more consumers like the cut chrysanthemums.
Colorful Potted Chrysanthemums Amaze Gardens with Technology
In a Fengdao production shed in Fumin County, colorful potted chrysanthemums are blooming like a carpet of flowers, and are being prepared to be boxed and shipped. This is their exclusive product line – colorful ping-pong chrysanthemums. These potted chrysanthemums have four or seven ping-pong chrysanthemum seedlings planted in a pot. The chrysanthemum seedlings bloom at the same time to create a colorful effect.
The special feature is that each seedling in a pot comes from a different chrysanthemum variety, with completely different growth characteristics and blooming times. To adjust the height of chrysanthemum seedlings in a pot to similar heights and to bloom at the same time requires breaking through a series of technical hurdles. Now Fungdao has been able to make pots of multi-headed chrysanthemums with four colors and single-headed chrysanthemums with seven colors bloom at the same time, and mass-produce them for the market. The annual output reaches 3 million pots. The colorful ping-pong chrysanthemums are very suitable for flower beds and garden landscaping, and they are also very popular among ordinary consumers. In addition to ping-pong chrysanthemums, Fungtao also has four or five series of small chrysanthemums with multiple colors in a pot, single-headed chrysanthemums, etc. The price of four-color potted chrysanthemums in a single pot can reach 15 to 20 yuan.
Like the colorful ping-pong chrysanthemums, Fengdao potted chrysanthemums are resistant to storage and transportation. With standardized production, the flowering period of potted chrysanthemums can be up to 45-60 days, which is much higher than that of similar products in China.
Global Selection of Products for Anti-Seasonal Use
Although they are all located in Yunnan, each of Fengdao’s three production bases has its own focus. Kaiyuan has a warmer climate and is mainly used for winter production; the Yanshan base mainly produces anti-seasonal potted hydrangeas; and the Fumin base sees a wide range of products from Fengdao. In addition to chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, chopsticks, and weeping jasmine are also the main products of Yunnan Fengdao.
Potted hydrangea is one of the major production categories of Yunnan Fengdao. Hydrangea is a commonly used garden plant and cut flower plant, but in the past one or two years, the market competition has become more and more intense and the market has gone down. In order to avoid homogenization and low-priced competition, Yunnan Fengdao started to do anti-seasonal production of potted hydrangea three or four years ago. Through technical means, several varieties of potted hydrangeas are opened in January and marketed in winter, winning market share. Potted iron chopsticks are also its main product, providing flowering plants for the market from December to around the Spring Festival in the northern region, which has been mass-produced with high added value and stable market. Draped jasmine is the net flower of the past two years, with its large number of flowers and long flowering period, it is a favorite indoor flower. There are 200,000 to 300,000 pots in reserve at the Fumin base in Fungdo.
Novelty varieties, peculiar flower type is always the market’s favorite, using their own production and research strength, and further localization of new international varieties is the road that Fungdao people have been insisting on taking. Every year, we go around the world to select new varieties and pick some new and strange varieties to introduce into the domestic market, which is also something we have been insisting on doing. 2024 June, Toyoshima people visited the European Flower Variety Showcase and exchanged ideas with global breeders to look for new varieties with market opportunities, for example, they are starting to introduce the cultivation of potted colorful small tomatoes, which are fruiting well, but have thick skins and a slightly acidic texture. Toyoshima is in the process of improving the varieties to enhance the taste and hopes to cultivate red and orange fruits favored by the Chinese. With each successful introduction, Toyoshima is able to bring a wider variety of products to the market.
The Timeless Connection Between EverFlora and Yunnan
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