About the two-day study tour in Denmark

First published 2016

Details of the two-day study tour in Denmark in July 2016 to examine how cold stores were being used to hold, manipulate and schedule crops.

Back to: Cold store efficiency: What we can learn from Denmark

Set to unlock the potential of cold stores

During July 2016, a group of hardy nursery stock, bedding plant and pot plant growers visited a number of production nurseries in and around Odense, Denmark, as part of the AHDB/Dove Associates Denmark study tour.

The remit was to examine how cold stores were being used to hold, manipulate and schedule crops. Businesses visited included: Danplanex Ltd, a cooperative tree and shrub wholesaler based at Rodekro, Nursery Leif Larsen, a producer of forced cut tulips at Middelfart, GASA group headquarters at Odense and Nursery Schroll, Arslev, a producer of pot plant hydrangeas.

In the main, the stores were direct cooled (either purpose-built or converted), although a small number of jacketed cold stores were also visited.

At Danplanex Ltd, the main use of the stores was to extend the availability of plant material over the season and to assist in the bulking up of larger orders.

At Nursery Leif Larsen, the emphasis was very much on holding, scheduling and treating tulip bulbs, so that rooted bulbs in trays could be extracted sequentially and forced into flower throughout the production season.

At GASA, the priority was holding plant material back, whilst at Nursery Schroll, four large direct cooled stores were used to hold and vernalise hydrangea plants for as long as six or seven months to provide a constant stream of plant material ready to be brought into flower, either under protection or on outdoor production beds.

Thanks go to John Adlam, Dove Associates, for organising the study tour, and to the various nurseries who kindly hosted the group.