For over 15 years, Eyco has been the specialist in high quality Agapanthus. We spoke with co-owner Bianca van Eijk, who told us all about their stunning Agapanthus varieties, the nursery and what the future holds for Eyco. Within the blink of an eye, she turned us into even bigger Agapanthus’ fans than we already were!

About 15 years ago, I started ‘Eyco’ together with my brother. We are located in Pijnacker (the Netherlands) and have about 1,6 hectares of Agapanthus, of which 2/3 is blue and 1/3 is white. Right from the start we focused on the higher segment Agapanthus and mainly sold our products to wholesalers and specialty shops. It was not long after that retail companies approached us; they were looking for the same quality Agapanthus we were breeding but at a lower cost. To be able to meet that demand, my father started a branch in Portugal where he has about 3 hectares of land.  

Our Agapanthus produces two cuts per year. In the Netherlands, our main production is during springtime and runs from week 12 to week 24. We will be back in production around mid-August; this is however about 20% of what we produce in spring. After this, we need the winter’s cold in order for the plants to produce new flowers. During this time, we completely turn off the heating in the nursery. In Portugal, we grow the Agananthus outdoors and production begins in January but the main production is from week 20 to 30. 

Although we grow Agapanthus of the same quality in Portugal and the Netherlands, we still see those two locations as two separate branches of Eyco. We entered a partnership with Coloríginz for our Portuguese branch. We deliberately wanted to keep the Dutch and Portuguese Agapanthus separate. If we send the Portuguese Agapanthus to the nursery in Pijnacker, it is harder for the customer to believe that they got the real Dutch Agapanthus, instead of a Portuguese one. We wanted to make it as clear as possible for our customers. For this reason and for the services that Coloríginz provides us, we have been working together for about 5 years now. 

No leaves please

In our nursery in the Netherlands, we grow both cut flower Agapanthus and Agapanthus for the garden or in the home. We are also breeding a completely new product for us, Cyranthus that resembles a small Amaryllis. Cyranthus flowers in August, which is very favorable in terms of production, because it comes after our main Agapanthus production. 

In Portugal, we noticed that Agapanthus is a seasonal product. This is why we run tests with other products as well, Carthamus is an example of these tests and we currently working on Callas. Kniphofia is also a product that emerged from those tests. In Portugal, we also grow large tulips in the spring (the so-called ‘unique’ varieties) in order to remain busy all year round. We actually only grow products without leaves. That is mainly because of my father, he says that leafs are an extra concern to keep well and does not think that is worth the effort.
 

All or nothing

It challenges me to breed new varieties. When we think we have found a new species, we test it extensively; does it look nice, how long does it stay pretty in the vase? The strength and quality of our varieties are our main selling point - we cannot settle for mediocracy.

What I have learned over time is that you really have to enjoy what you do and, perhaps most importantly, have passion for your products. From time to time, I visit fairs where I speak with florists and designers. I love sharing my passion and enthusiasm about our products with others, if I would not be passionate about our products that wouldn’t be possible of course. When I do not love a new variety for the full 100%, I would rather throw it in the bin. Yes - even if I can earn money of off it. 

We really believe in our product, but we had to fight hard for our place. When my father started growing Agapanthus, it yielded maybe 30 cents per stem. Now, we can get up to 80 cents per stem, which was unthinkable when we started 15 years ago. This is only possible because we have shown buyers repeatedly that our products are always of good quality. 
 

What the future holds

To be able to offer products year-round, we recently partnered up with a grower in Zimbabwe. In the Netherlands, we want to specialize in smaller, more specialist products. Especially because we are noticing that many growers, who specialize in those products, are slowly retiring. In Portugal, we want to become more interesting for retail by expanding and broadening the season. We want to do this with special products and not those mass products you can get everywhere. You cannot excel in products that are already abundantly available on the market.

Click here to go the the current Eyco assortment.