Blooming LOVE
Wilflora Flower Farm
WILFLORA lives and breathes the flower industry
For Wilflora Flower Farm owner Martin Wilson, the joy of business comes from knowing his work will make someone’s day. Whether it’s for a special occasion or no particular occasion at all, the specialist freesia and mixed cut flower farmer works hard to provide Kiwis with top quality flowers, all year round. Located in the Manawatū-Whanganui region in New Zealand, Wilflora was initially purchased by Martin’s parents. He says he’s proud to continue the family legacy. “When my father 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 Martin, 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,
so I always helped after school. It has always been a part of who I am. We live and breathe the flower industry.” Working in a small team and surrounded by flowers all day, the setting became the catalyst that began Martin’s love story.
Row upon row of iridescent blossoms. Enchanting aromas wafting through the air. Wilflora Flower Farms is the perfect setting for a love story. And for Martin, it was. “I met the love of my life, Jennifer right here on the farm,” laughs Martin. “She started working here when she finished her studies in 2003. Surrounded by flowers, working side by side all day long, one thing led to another.
“We now run the business together. I couldn’t do it without her support.” The farm has expanded rapidly over the years. What began as 4,500 square metres of greenhouses has now more than doubled. Martin wouldn’t want it any other way. “I love working in the greenhouse,” he says. “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. The greenhouses operate at an optimal temperature – warm in the winter and cool in the summer.” And even more greenhouses are on the cards, with Martin hoping to expand the business into his own flower empire.
“We’re in full expansion mode; we have a team of eight staff members to help with our operations.”
The wholesale industry in New Zealand that Wilflora supplies flowers into uses a Dutch auction system to sell flowers across the country.
The Dutch auction starts with a high asking price, which incrementally lowers until a bid is placed to buy. “We sell all the flowers we produce at United Flower Growers auctions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the country.
“This is where wholesalers, florists and flower resellers participate in the auction to purchase flowers. Our partners have the chance to bid on the flowers that we send to auction in the consignments freighted overnight. They get sold early the next morning and in the afternoon. “The way the auction system works is like sudden death. If you want the flowers, you have to press the button and make your bid. Otherwise you’ll miss out.”
With prices fluctuating regularly, Martin says it’s important to establish trust and good connections with partners to ensure the best sales. “Our products are perishable, so you need to have trust from the buyers. Our partners see our products once we’ve sent out the boxes to auction, so we always make sure we have the best quality flowers in the market.
“My team just focuses on the growing side. If we can provide our partners with the best flowers, the sales just follow through United Flower Growers auctions. It’s just about doing our job right.” To ensure Martin produces the highest quality flowers, he relies on high-quality machines to help his daily operations. “We can’t afford to slow down. We’re always on the go here at Wilflora, and we need our machinery to keep up with our pace.”
With over 10,000 square metres of greenhouses growing flower crops in the soil, crop rotation isn’t possible. This increases the chance of soil disease. To control this, Wilflora set up a deep soil steaming drainage system with a large network of drainage pipes, allowing the best quality flowers to be grown.
"I WAS TOLD IT COULDN’T BE DONE... BUT IT CAN BE DONE"
For Martin, creating this network marked the beginning of his relationship with Kubota. “As our farm has been expanding over time we had to build a huge network of drainage pipes under the flower beds.
“The area we needed to trench to grade was 7,000 metres long. This was no small task having to complete trenching in between the change of crops.” Martin says Kubota’s easy-to-use machines were the perfect fit for working indoors, providing him with exceptional power-to-weight ratio.
“We purchased the Kubota U17 excavator for trenching, but 18 months later, once the drainage operation had finished, I realised how handy it is to have the excavator around. If a crop comes out with too much residue, we just use the excavator to easily scrape it out and put it straight onto the trailer. It’s also been really helpful with levelling off the growing beds.
“We have now purchased our second excavator, the Kubota U55, in March this year, as it’s perfect for the bigger jobs around the farm. Kubota just keeps ticking all the boxes performance-wise and allows us to continue to innovate our operations.
“People initially questioned why we were purchasing an excavator for our farm, but farmers are now asking to hire it because it’s been so useful.”