October 7, 2013.The new show house for Lex+ opened its doors in September when the breeder unveiled its current offices in Naivasha, Kenya, where its whole range of varieties are displayed.
The opening coincided with the opening of the Naivasha Horticultural Fair 2013 that kicked off on September 20- 21 at the Naivasha Railway Club in the flower city. Lex+ Operations Manager Peter Mwangi says the show house welcomes the flower industry fraternity to the company’s fresh world in its new home.
The development is a sign that the flower industry in the region is growing, and attests to Kenya’s respect for Plant Breeders Rights of which the country is a signatory. The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, a recognized certification agency in the world enforces the rights making the country a recipient of new varieties and a leader on the global scene.
Situated 22 kilometres on the Moi South Lake Road, The Lex+ complex comprises of four houses– a show house, bud wood house, code house and a breeding house, all developed to meet the breeder’s objective of supplying the grower with varieties that are well bred and tested in local conditions.
Lex+ is also conducting trials on new varieties in the various flower growing zones – Naivasha, Nairobi, Athi River, Thika, Nanyuki. The varieties cut across T Hybrids, Intermediates and a wide range Spray Roses thus covering the whole market segment..
“The breeder prides itself as the rose creator and has everything it takes to provide rose growers around the world with the very best. Traditional breeding and new high tech breeding goes hand in hand and enables the breeder to create the best varieties, like the well-known brand name Avalanche+. This year for the first time, Lex+ launches two mutations of the variety Avalanche+ into the East African market.
“The plus in Lex+ means that we will always go that extra step for our customers to help them in growing our varieties”, said Mr. Mwangi.
Lex+ headquarters is located in Kudelstaart, the Netherlands. The flower industry is like the fashion sector where consumers are always looking for something new, interesting and exciting be it colour or general physical beauty outlook. But unlike the fashion industry, it takes four years to develop a new rose flower variety, which makes breeders a key player in the chain.
The Naivasha show house is the centre of the breeder’s East African operations and is in line with Lex+ strategy of offering unique products portfolio and adding value to the entire supply chain by bringing innovative products and marketing concepts. ‘Here, we will incorporate a growth strategy and continuously invest in R&D, product quality and marketing to ensure the highest level of quality and service to customers”, said Mr Mwangi.
Lex + is part of DNA Green Group, a leading consortium floricultural breeding companies focused on cut flowers, pot plants , bedding plants and perennials. The company includes well-known brands like Red Fox, Fides, Barberet & Blanc, Ecke, Bartels and Lex+.
The group is currently the largest cuttings producer worldwide trading over 1,4 billion cuttings per year. It has a strong reputation in Chrysanthemum, Carnation, Rose, Kalanchoe, Poinsettia, phlox, Solidago, Hypericums and spring annuals like geraniums.
Lex+ THE ROSE CREATORS
Moi South Lake Road,
Naivasha,
Kenya.
Tel: +254 728 961 656,
+754 726 212 520,
+254 734 700 077
www.lex.nl