G. de Wit & Zn is a true family business and Maarten de Wit gave us an interesting tour. He spoke very enthusiastically, but modestly about the company. For almost 35 years they have specialized in producing and supplying a high-quality collection of cut hyacinths.
The focus within the company is on growing the bulbs and forcing the flowers. Per season, about sixty to seventy percent of the bulb cultivation is used for forcing the flowers. The other numbers are sold as bulbs. By using their own bulbs for the cut flowers, they know exactly what nutrients and treatments the bulb has had and can guarantee that the hyacinths have been grown sustainably. The forcing of the flowers is also a sustainable process. G. de Wit & Zn is therefore Global Gap certified.

Eighteen varieties of hyacinths are being grown this season. Maarten says that quality is of paramount importance. The bulbs are planted with care and attention. Water is only given during planting and during growth. After that, no more water is used, says Maarten. Even after harvesting, the bulbs are not sprayed clean. This prevents the packaging from getting wet after rolling and it prevents the stems from still absorbing water. This could cause length differences between the flowers in cold storage because the stems start to grow. A team of employers manually sort the hyacinths according to flower quality and length.