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In 1985, Bjarne Nyholm Larsen and Niels Larsen set up the plant breeding firm of Sunny® for the development of new Osteospermum varieties.
Initially, the aim of the breeding operation was to stock their own nurseries with new varieties. But the varieties were so exciting and sought after that Sunny® quickly developed into a business involved in global sales, and today Sunny® is one of the leading plant breeders in the world when it comes to Osteospermums.
More than 100 different varieties are cross-pollinated at Sunny® each year. The principle behind plant breeding is to transfer pollen with a brush from one variety, acting as the male plant, to the stylet of the variety that acts as the female. At Sunny® we undertake a minimum of 300 cross-pollinations a year, from May to July.
The female plant then develops seeds. At Sunny® we sow on average 10,000 seeds a year.
All the seeds germinate and develop to become different plants, each with its own characteristics - just as children differ. Once the seedlings mature and flower, we single out the varieties that look most promising. The varieties that have been selected are then trialed three times in production in our nursery. Only the most attractive and healthy eventually make it to become production varieties. Every year Sunny® introduces 4-6 new varieties.
All new varieties are tested at an independent variety testing station in Europe. This checks that the variety is stable with regard to the various characteristics and that it is clearly distinct from other varieties. This test is the user's guarantee that the variety is healthy, unique and deserving of being a new named variety.
