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TANGO LILIES Tango Lilies are bold and spirited, each variety wildly speckled with rich, dark contrasting hues. Bring your arrangements to life with a jolt of contrast and texture-with a great vase life! SEE THEM HERE!	HUMBOLDT MADE Thank you to "Humboldt Made" for including us as one of their featured local businesses and for creating this video segment about Sun Valley! SEE IT NOW!	JAN VAN DER WERELD HONORED AT SAF Jan van der Wereld, the late founder of World Flowers, B.V., in the Netherlands and a founding partner of the Sun Valley Floral Group in Arcata, Calif., was honored as the 2009 recipient of the SAF Gold Medal Award. Kees van der Wereld accepted the award in his father's name during the Awards Dinner at SAF Phoenix 2009. The Gold Medal Award honors the originator and introducer of a widely distributed plant or flower that has become established ... more>
FLOWER RESOURCE PAGES AVAILABLE Sun Valley has handsome new info sheets (pdfs) that provide you with tips about specific crops, their availability, care/handling and more. Utilize these today to help in the promotion and enjoyment of Sun Valley flowers! Click Here	SOIL GROWN VS WATER TULIPS SOIL VS WATER: Sun Valley Tulips are grown just as Mother Nature intended: in soil, after going through a nice, cold winter. Only premium size bulbs are grown producing a sturdy plant with larger buds, darker foliage and a superior vase life. Study after study confirms that the quality of soil grown tulips surpasses water grown tulips! WEIGHT: Sun Valley Tulips weigh 45 grams average (more than double the average of others). Their impressive weight ... more>	IFE SHOW International Floriculture Expo was a success! (Formerly the Super Floral Show) Miami Beach, Florida June 22 - 25 We showcased some of our fantastic bouquets!

JAN VAN DER WERELD HONORED AT SAF

Jan van der Wereld, the late founder of World Flowers, B.V., in the Netherlands and a founding partner of the Sun Valley Floral Group in Arcata, Calif., was honored as the 2009 recipient of the SAF Gold Medal Award. Kees van der Wereld accepted the award in his father's name during the Awards Dinner at SAF Phoenix 2009.

The Gold Medal Award honors the originator and introducer of a widely distributed plant or flower that has become established as an outstanding product of significant horticultural and commercial value. "By that standard Jan ... deserves the honor several times over," said SAF Awards Committee member Terril Nell, Ph.D., AAF, of the University of Florida in Gainesville, as he announced the winner.

Few producers can lay claim to so many successful varieties across such a wide swath of the bulb market, said Nell. Over the course of 40 years, van der Wereld's businesses originated, introduced, bred and grew upwards of 40 notable lilies, tulips, daffodils, anemones, irises, crocuses and fritillaries. The list includes these outstanding tulips: World's Favorite, World Legend and Pink Impression as well as these premier Lilies: Royal Sunset, Yelloween, Shocking, Oriental Crystal Blanca and Royal Trinity. In Easter Lilies alone, three varieties he developed - White Fox, White Elegance and White Heaven - today represent 70% of production worldwide.

"Jan was a visionary fascinated by the development of new bulb hybrids and releasing the potential of lesser-known varieties," Nell said. One example is the miniature daffodil Tete a Tete. With blooms so tiny it has been described as the "miniature of miniatures" Tete a Tete was assumed to have little market value. "Jan was one of the first to see its pot potential," said Nell. "Today Tete a Tete is the most popular potted daffodil in the world."

Constantly in search of things that were new and different, van der Wereld was a driving force behind six companies on three continents. A bulb farmer since 1954, Jan helped found the tulip breeding group Vertuco in 1979; created World Flowers, B.V., and acquired Belgium's World Bulbs, B.V.B.A., in 1982; established World Breeding, B.V., in 1990 with Pieter Jan Kos; and, in 1991 with Jacob Rooyakkers and Lane DeVries, the Sun Valley Floral Group in Arcata, California. Sun Valley has since expanded operations to South Africa.

Jan van der Wereld retired in 1998 to make room for the next generation and died in May of 2002. "His mark on the bulb trade," Nell said, "is everlasting."

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