For some growers, their passion lies mainly in their products and a little less in the digital world. Ruben Bruins is one of them. Ruben is a grower who is mainly occupied with his work; growing beautiful peonies, astilbe and other perennials. A good reason for us to pay a visit and put this enthusiastic grower on the map.

Ruben and Monique Bruins
Ruben and Monique Bruins live in the beautiful town of Smilde in the north of the Netherlands where they grow perennials, mainly astilbe and peonies for cutting and as plants. Before Ruben became an independent grower, he worked as a freelancer for growers, doing maintenance of the machines as well as work in the crop. However, independent cultivation appealed to him. In 2006 he started his own cultivation of cut shrubs and peonies on a piece of land owned by his parents. After three years it turned out that peony cultivation suited him better, after which he said goodbye to his cut shrubs.
Little by little he was able to expand his land, install a shed and focus entirely on his own cultivation. In 2015, Monique appeared in his life. In 2019 they decided to become a V.O.F. and not long after that, Monique quit her job as a pharmacy assistant to fully continue in the company with Ruben.
Today, Ruben and Monique have 8.5 hectares of peonies, 9 hectares of astilbe and 1.5 hectares of other perennials. This year they also planted a piece of land with eremurus to see if they also like this cultivation.

Three-year cultivation
Peonies are plants that can grow quite old. Because Ruben cultivates peonies to be sold as cut flowers as well as plants, his peony cultivation is three-yearly. In the first year, only growth is important for the plant. The second year Ruben can cut a number of flowers, the third year the plant gives full production. Ruben finds this process beautiful to see and experience every time. “A small plant that is planted and after three years has grown into a beautiful plant and produces such beautiful flowers. Peonies are powerful flowers, seasonal and early in the season people come to your door to ask if they are there yet. Peonies really live among people, the demand is high, they are grateful flowers in the vase and if the appreciation is good, that makes growing them so rewarding!”
After the third year, the plant is harvested. Some of them are sold as a plants, the rest is used for producing new cuttings that are planted back into the ground after which the three-year cycle starts again.

Outdoor cultivation
Peonies grow outdoors, Ruben is therefore dependent on the weather conditions. A hailstorm late in the spring or a heavy storm can cause considerable damage to the quality of the leaves or the flower. Ruben thinks the quality of his flowers is important. If his flowers are damaged, they are no longer sold as cut flowers, but are harvested in the autumn to be sold as a plant.

Hobby
In addition to his profession as a grower, Ruben also has a technical hobby. To keep his land clean, he has adapted his agricultural machine in such a way that he can work very accurately. As his property expands, he also expands his machines. Despite the fact that Ruben really likes this way of automation, growing peonies really remains a craft. Harvesting, sorting, fluffing and bunching, the entire process is done by hand. Ruben's selection is strict, he prefers to have all his flowers in his hands in order to guarantee the uniformity and quality of his product. Expanding his cut flower cultivation is therefore not really an option, because handing everything over to staff… he would rather not do that! His own eyes are the strictest when it comes to quality. 

FloraPodium, 09 June 2022