Lily League confirms global trends with new top five

This year's top five consists of Blizzard, Touchstone, Diantha, Strong Love and Zambesi. In addition, promising varieties from previous years gained a much higher ranking. Highest new entrant is Butterfly Sparkle. This is one of the new double LA hybrids launched during the Dutch Lily Days. Thus, the Lily League proves that the market is ready for a renewed look at lilies. During the 2024 Dutch Lily Days, the lily trade worldwide physically visited various test greenhouses in the Netherlands. People also managed to find the voting button for the Lily League online.

Challenge in supply and demand
The most important lily colour remains white according to many voters, followed by pink. These colours are in high demand worldwide and are found in all lily groups. The increasing demand for double-flowered lilies currently exceeds what the market can supply. However, growth in available double-flowered acreage also appears to be continuing. This year, double lily varieties make up more than a quarter of the top 50, compared to just 12% in 2023. Onings Holland is curious to see the percentage in the next edition of the Lily League.

The search for resistant and vital varieties is also topical in the lily sector. To grow in a sustainable way, there is also a growing demand for varieties that are less susceptible to viruses and extreme weather influences, among other things. During the 2024 Dutch Lily Day, Onings Holland Flowerbulbs' test greenhouse also featured test results of green crop protection products and trials of vital varieties. Experience shows that the sector is well on its way in this and still sees opportunities to take steps.

OT hybrids dominate the list
Onings Holland Flowerbulbs gathers market information on the lily daily and is the initiator of the Lily League. A striking feature of the Lily League's top five is the dominant presence of OTs. Furthermore, a third of the list consists of OT hybrids.

In preparation for the Dutch Lily Days, 360-degree footage of Onings Holland's entire test greenhouse was shot on two occasions. The images before flowering and after flowering can be seen on the website. Of the 50 lily varieties that received the most votes, a beautiful poster was again printed. The posters are distributed to growers and flower markets around the world. This way, everyone can clearly see in multiple ways in which direction the lily market is moving.

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