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Florist grows five million flowers to meet demand

News imagePA Media A man in a dark blue polo shirt is crouched down in a field looking at a flower in front of him. He has a brown cap on and black sunglasses. All around him are hundreds of red and pink aster flowers in bloom, emerging out of grass.PA Media
Managing director James Lacey of L&D Flowers has been busy getting his asters in bloom to meet the increasing demand for the flowers

Flowers grown in Lincolnshire which were popular in Victorian times are making a huge comeback, according to a major supermarket.

L&D Flowers, based in Pinchbeck near Spalding, is the UK's biggest producer of asters and the company has grown five million stems for this season to meet demand.

The desire for bouquets of asters, daisy-like flowers that come in several different colours, has risen by almost 350% over the last two sales years at Tesco.

James Lacey, managing director at L&D Flowers, said: "We've really been taken back by just how popular the flower has become in so short a space of time."

Asters, which bloom in late summer, were popular in 19th Century England when floriography, the language of flowers, was used as a subtle way of expressing feelings.

News imagePA Media A bird's eye view of rows and rows of red aster flowers in bloom. A man can be seen sat in between one of the rows with a blue top on as he inspects the flowers.PA Media
The aster seeds are sown into plugs, transplanted out into the field and then take about 12 to 14 weeks to flower harvest

Mr Lacey said L&D Flowers started growing asters three years ago, and made enough to create 100,000 bunches.

He said they were told these bunches "flew off the shelves" in 2022.

"This year we've grown enough for 1.2 million bunches which is an increase of 1,100% on our initial planting," he said.

The asters are grown on grade one silt soils in south Lincolnshire which Mr Lacey described as "very fertile" and "retains moisture well" which has helped the business during the summer heatwaves.

News imagePA Media A close-up of a honey bee on a crop of asters in bloom. The flower the bee is on has purple petals and a yellow middle, with some of the same colour surrouding it as well as one with red petals and others which are in bud but have not flowered yet.PA Media
Asters come in many different colours such as blue, purple, pink, dark pink, red, and white all with a bright yellow centre

Tesco Flowers expert and technical manager, Jamie Simpson, said the supermarket started selling asters in 2022 "not only because they look lovely but also because they are such great value for money".

Mr Simpson said in 2022 they sold 215,000 bunches and the popularity rose in years following that with 500,000 sold last year.

"This year we hope to sell nearly double that," he added.

Asters are native to Japan and are a member of the Asteraceae family, along with other popular flowers including sunflowers, dahlias, and chrysanthemums.

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