Manawatū flower farmer, Martin Wilson runs the business with his wife Jennifer.
Manawatū flower farmer, Martin Wilson runs the business with his wife Jennifer.
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Originally published April 7.
Wilflora flower farmer MartinWilson is used to his blooms bringing joy, and sometimes romance, to others, especially since his farm is the setting for his own love story.
Working in a small team and surrounded by flowers all day, with row upon row of iridescent blossoms and enchanting aromas wafting through the air, Wilfora is the perfect setting for a love story.
Wilson said the couple now run the business together.
“I couldn’t do it without her support.”
Wilson is a specialist freesia and mixed-cut flower farmer at Wilflora, which is in the Manawatū-Whanganui region.
The farm was initially purchased by his parents and he said he was proud to continue the family legacy.
“When my father first purchased this block of land in 1973, it was completely bare. He started the farm as a grow-your-own veggies garden until the flower crops were established.”
For Wilson, blossoms are in the blood. His mother was a florist and he spent his childhood days lending a hand on the farm.
“Back then, the farm operation was very small, we only had two or three staff working on the farm so I always helped after school,” he said.
“It has always been a part of who I am. We live and breathe the flower industry.”
The farm has expanded rapidly over the years and what began as 4500sq m of greenhouses has now more than doubled.
“I love working in the greenhouse. It can be a miserable day outside but as soon as you step inside, it’s warm and you get an overwhelming scent of flowers.”
Wilson said the greenhouses operated at an optimal temperature, so were warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Even more greenhouses are on the cards, as he hopes to expand the business into his very own flower empire.
“We are in full expansion mode, we have a team of eight staff members to help with our operations.”
New Zealand’s wholesale flower industry that Wilflora supplies to utilises the Dutch auction system, which is used to sell flowers across the country.
The Dutch auction starts with a high asking price and incrementally lowers until a bid is placed to buy.
With prices fluctuating regularly, Wilson said it was important to establish good connections with partners to ensure the best sales.
“Our products are perishable, so you need to have trust from the buyers.”
With more than 10,000sq m of greenhouses growing flower crops in the soil, crop rotation is not a possibility, and so the risk of soil disease increases.
To control this, Wilson has established a deep soil steaming drainage system with a large network of drainage pipes, allowing for the best-quality flowers to be grown.
“We needed to build a huge network of drainage pipes under the flower beds, the area we needed to trench to grade was 7000 metres long,” he said.
“This was no small task, having to complete trenching in between the change of crops.”
He purchased a Kubota excavator for the trenching.
Wilson said people initially questioned why he’d need one for the farm but once the draining operation was finished, he bought another one for bigger jobs around the property.
“Farmers are now asking to hire it because it’s been so useful.”
