荷兰 瑞洛克花卉球茎 Ruigrok Flowerbulbs – 450 余种球茎的出口农场

从德齐尔克的一块菜地开始

一八八〇年，威廉·瑞洛克在荷兰的德齐尔克种水果和蔬菜。那片沙质沿海地后来成了今天荷兰球茎产区的中心。种菜的同时，他也开了很小一片花球苗圃，球茎这门手艺是从这里起的头。

一九一〇年，儿子卡罗勒斯二十岁，自己也做起了球茎生意。父子俩盖起第一座仓房，四面都开门，好让空气穿堂而过，这个做法在当时还算新鲜。没多久，卡罗勒斯就把货卖到了欧洲各地。

一九四六年，十九岁的那趟美国行

战后欧洲经济残破，年轻人一批批往美国走。一九四六年春天，卡罗勒斯把十九岁的儿子西蒙送上船，去跑美国市场，第一批球茎就这么发到了美洲。西蒙后来在美国和加拿大跑了五十多年。

西蒙成了合伙人，两个弟弟安东和科尔也陆续进来，公司改名 C.J. Ruigrok 与儿子们。他们同时在美国另设了 Ruigrok Bulbs 公司，起初只是新泽西州威科夫的一个小分拨点。后来买下两家本地批发商，DeGroot Bulb Company 与 George Alkemade Inc.，合起来就是今天的 A.D.R. Bulbs。西蒙请表弟沃尔特常驻美国去管这块生意，沃尔特的儿子克里斯后来也进 A.D.R. 做销售。

A.D.R. 随后搬进纽约州切斯特的一座新仓房，三万三千平方英尺，配了现代储藏与冷藏设施。近几年又和蒙维尔的新泽西国际球茎公司联手，把东北部的盘子做得更稳。

三百英亩，和按规格算的尺寸

如今他们每年在产区的几处地块上种三百多英亩的郁金香、风信子、水仙和番红花，种、包、发全在自家手里。强项是达尔文杂交系和胜利系郁金香，以及东方风信子；目录里其余品种向长期合作的好种植者收购，靠这一头把春季货单撑到四百五十多个品种，夏季另有二百来个，两年翻新一次目录。

球茎只做顶号，尺寸写得明白：郁金香 12/+ 起，水仙 14/16 或 12/14，风信子 16/17。出口前每批都要过检查，其中包括核磁扫描，以及荷兰、加拿大和美国农业部门的预检。货不对、长不好，他们按承诺换新，不问缘由。

一家五口，和一座郁金香谷仓

现在管着农场和出口的是西蒙和莉安，加上两个儿子卡洛和菲利普。按家里的辈分算，这是第五代球茎农；卡洛从 HAS 应用科学大学园艺专业毕业，进公司时算第六代，跟他父亲当年一样跑新英格兰的客户。

二〇二一年，最小的女儿罗米在海勒霍姆边上办起 The Tulip Barn。每年春天开门，游客走进地里看花拍照，上一个春天来了五万多人。这片地同时是试验园——目录里的每一组混色，都先在这里种一遍、看过效果才上架。

五条卖法，和屋顶上的板子

货分五路走：给温室催花的、给景观工程的、给公园与公共花园的、给零售商的，还有给自采郁金香农场的。最主要的市场是美国和加拿大，货从荷兰的仓房直接发到客户手上；东岸靠切斯特的合作仓，到货快。

仓房顶上装了两千六百块太阳能板，一年发电约七点五兆瓦。公司有 MPS 认证，作业流程按工作条件和环境安全来管。旺季在夏天，人手会临时加上一批。

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Starting from a Vegetable Plot in De Zilk

In 1880 Willem Ruigrok was growing fruit and vegetables at De Zilk in the Netherlands, on the sandy coastal ground that later became the heart of the Dutch bulb district. Alongside the vegetables he kept a very small bulb nursery, and that is where the trade in bulbs began for the family.

In 1910 his son Carolus started a bulb business of his own at the age of twenty. Father and son put up their first warehouse with doors on all four sides so the air could pass straight through, which was a modern idea at the time. Before long Carolus was selling into markets across Europe.

The Crossing in 1946, at Nineteen

With Europe’s economy wrecked by the war, young people left for the United States in numbers. In the spring of 1946 Carolus sent his nineteen year old son Simon across to work the American market, and the first consignment of bulbs went with him. Simon went on to travel the United States and Canada for more than fifty years.

Simon became a partner, his brothers Anton and Cor joined in turn, and the firm was renamed C.J. Ruigrok and Sons. They also set up Ruigrok Bulbs Inc. in the United States, at first no more than a small distribution point in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Two local wholesalers were bought, DeGroot Bulb Company and George Alkemade Inc., which together became today’s A.D.R. Bulbs. Simon asked his cousin Walter to move over for good and run it, and Walter’s son Chris later joined A.D.R. as a salesman.

A.D.R. then moved into a new warehouse in Chester, New York, 33,000 square feet with modern storage and cooling. In recent years the company has also joined forces with International Bulb Company of Montvale, New Jersey, tightening its hold on the Northeast.

Three Hundred Acres, and Sizes That Are Spelled Out

Each year roughly three hundred acres of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and crocus are grown on several plots across the bulb district, with planting, packing and shipping kept in house. The strength of the farm is Darwin Hybrid and Triumph tulips and Oriental hyacinths; the rest of the list is bought in from long standing partner growers, which is how the spring programme runs to more than 450 varieties, with about two hundred more for summer, refreshed every two years.

Only top size bulbs are sold, and the sizes are stated plainly: tulips from 12/+, daffodils at 14/16 or 12/14, hyacinths at 16/17. Every lot is inspected before export, a process that includes MRI scanning along with pre-inspection by the Dutch, Canadian and American agriculture departments. If a lot does not perform, it is replaced without argument.

One Family of Five, and a Barn Full of Tulips

The farm and the export business are now run by Simon and Lian together with their sons Carlo and Philip. By the family’s own count this is the fifth generation of bulb growers; Carlo, who took a horticulture degree at HAS University of Applied Sciences, came in as the sixth and travels New England for customers much as his father did.

In 2021 the youngest daughter Romy opened The Tulip Barn on the edge of Hillegom. It opens each spring and visitors walk out among the flowers; more than fifty thousand came through last spring. The same ground serves as a trial garden, and every mixture in the catalogue has been grown and looked at there before it goes on sale.

Five Ways to Sell, and Panels on the Roof

The bulbs go out along five lines: for forcing in the greenhouse, for landscaping, for parks and public gardens, for retailers, and for U-pick tulip farms. The United States and Canada matter most, and stock ships from the Dutch warehouse direct to the customer; on the East Coast the partner warehouse at Chester keeps delivery quick.

Some 2,600 solar panels on the warehouse roofs produce around 7.5 megawatts of electricity a year. The company holds MPS certification and runs its processes with working conditions and environmental safety in mind. Summer is the peak, when seasonal staff are taken on.