We use cookies on our website. Some are necessary for the operation of the website. You can also allow cookies for statistical purposes. You can adjust the data protection settings or agree to all cookies directly.
You can find projects by searching for:
Hessisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Klimaschutz, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz
Hesse
Mainzer Straße 80
65189 Wiesbaden
Website: External link to the authority
Sustainable poinsettias from Hesse
Nowadays, ornamental plants, such as the poinsettia, are grown under the best possible conditions. Production is usually cost- and energy-intensive and takes place in greenhouses. Peat is used extensively as a growing medium, which leads to a sustainability deficit. One consequence of the optimal breeding conditions for ornamental plants is that the plants are insufficiently adapted to the suboptimal indoor environmental conditions and consumer behaviour. This becomes visible when ornamental plants in urban environments show irreversible damage very quickly. The aim of the project is the sustainable production of poinsettias that are tailored to customer needs. The basic aim is to adapt the production conditions to the consumer's future environment. The focus is on the unique combination of social, ecological and consumer-related aspects of ornamental plants. Further project objectives are the adaptation of sustainable, peat-free substrates to a better usability by the consumer and the establishment of a regional value chain in poinsettia production.
Production with peat-free substrates is more problematic than with substrates containing peat. This requires constant monitoring of the relevant parameters (e.g. pH, N content, water availability), which must be carried out by means of analyses during production. Finally, the project was able to demonstrate that the production of high-quality poinsettias is also possible in practice from a sustainability perspective. The sales experiments showed that the sustainable poinsettias are competitive. A better sales success can be achieved with a communication strategy. The care instructions optimised in the project are perceived as clearer and easier to understand. In terms of care, the location of the poinsettias proved to be a particularly important factor for a long shelf life. Consumer preference clearly favours sustainable product characteristics, while price is still very important.
Rural development 2014-2020 for Operational Groups (in the sense of Art 56 of Reg.1305/2013)
Hochschule Geisenheim University
Von-Lade-Straße 1
65366 Geisenheim
Phone: 06722/502532
Email: heiko.mibus-schoppe@hs-gm.de
2019
completed
399,730