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The Bloom Farm Blog

Notes from the
flower supply chain

Sourced, cited writing on the operational realities of growing and exporting cut flowers — from cold chain physics to EU phytosanitary rules.

Rose bushes flowering in rows inside a greenhouse

Industry News

LatestJuly 14, 20268 min read

Ethiopia's Rose Industry at a Turning Point: What 2026 Looks Like

Ethiopia is the continent's fastest-rising cut flower origin, and the mix on the beds is changing. Here is what the shift to intermediate and spray varieties means for growers planning the next cycle.

4 cited sources

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A rose bud opening on the bush, surrounded by unopened buds

Compliance

10 min readJuly 8, 2026

False Codling Moth: Why Zero Tolerance Changed Everything for East African Roses

EU border checks on Kenyan and Ethiopian roses tripled, and 2.1 million Kenyan stems were destroyed in a single year. A practical look at what a Systems Approach demands from a farm.

5 sourcesRead

Freshly cut stems standing in hydration buckets

Post-Harvest

9 min readJune 30, 2026

The Cold Chain Is the Product: Practical Post-Harvest Handling

Vase life is decided in the first hour after cutting, not at the florist. A field-to-container guide to temperature, hydration, and the sanitation habits that quietly cost farms days of shelf life.

5 sourcesRead

Workers sorting and packing along a production line

Quality

7 min readJune 22, 2026

Grading Roses Consistently: Turning a Judgement Call Into a Standard

Stem length, bud size, colour uniformity, structure. Grading looks simple until two graders on the same table disagree by a full grade. How to make the standard reproducible.

5 sourcesRead

Logistics

8 min readJune 15, 2026

Sea Freight vs Air Freight: The Numbers Behind the Shift

Ocean is roughly 40–50% cheaper and dramatically lower carbon, but it demands a post-harvest discipline most farms have not built yet. An honest comparison.

5 sourcesRead

Nursery beds growing under a covered structure

Sustainability

9 min readJune 5, 2026

MPS, GLOBALG.A.P. and Fairtrade: Reading the Certification Map

Three overlapping schemes, one farm, and a lot of duplicated paperwork. What each certification actually asks for, and where the premium is.

4 sourcesRead

Bunches displayed outside a florist shop

Operations

8 min readMay 28, 2026

Planning for Valentine’s: The Season That Starts in October

Peak week is won six months earlier, in the pruning schedule. A planning guide for the crop cycle, the labour surge, and the packaging that always runs out.

4 sourcesRead

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Notes from the flower supply chain

Ethiopia's Rose Industry at a Turning Point: What 2026 Looks Like

* All articles

False Codling Moth: Why Zero Tolerance Changed Everything for East African Roses

The Cold Chain Is the Product: Practical Post-Harvest Handling

Grading Roses Consistently: Turning a Judgement Call Into a Standard

Sea Freight vs Air Freight: The Numbers Behind the Shift

MPS, GLOBALG.A.P. and Fairtrade: Reading the Certification Map

Planning for Valentine’s: The Season That Starts in October

Get new articles as they publish

Notes from the
flower supply chain