Flowers
Why we pre-cool roses before they fly
Forced-air pre-cooling takes a box of roses from 18 °C to 2 °C in ninety minutes. Here is what it buys you at the Aalsmeer clock.
Wanjiru Kamau, Nairobi hub
5 min read
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A rose cut at 07:00 in Naivasha is still breathing at 18 °C by the time it is packed. If it goes onto an aircraft that warm, it spends the first hours of the flight heating up the boxes around it.
Ninety minutes that matter
Forced-air pre-cooling pulls cold air through the boxes until the stems are at 2 °C. It takes about ninety minutes and adds almost nothing to the cost of the lane.
What changes at the auction
Growers who pre-cool with us report two to three extra days of vase life, and that shows up in the price at the clock.
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Pre-cooling, hydration and the auction clock.
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