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Founded by Georges Delbard in 1935, the Delbard group today
is one of the major horticultural companies in the world.
The group covers the businesses of variety creation, production
and distribution. It addresses both the amateur garden market
and that of professional horticulturalists, the only one to
do so in France.
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| A dynamic distribution network
present in 4 complementary fields: |
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Fruit trees and roses, annual and perennial plants, climbing
plants, ornamental shrubs, spring and autumn bulbs etc. Gardening
accessories, products for plant treatment and care, tools, decorative
items for the garden and house.
Today Delbard offers its collections and the products bearing
its brand name via four distribution networks:
> The Web site
> Mail order, with a mail order catalogue with an annual
circulation (in the spring and autumn) of 1.2 million copies.
> The sale of Delbard brand products, in France and abroad,
to distributors specialising in the garden sector (independent
garden centres or those under other names, seed stock businesses
and self-service stores for agriculture).
> The 17 garden centres (shops specialising in the sale
of plants), that are real havens in which to enjoy a taste
of nature.
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| Production destined
for professional horticulturalists |
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While he laid out the 600 hectares of nurseries
at Malicorne in the Allier département, how many
times might Georges Delbard have thought with envy of
the huge arable plains of France! Nice flat fields, good
rich earth easy to cultivate - but once he had got over
the worst of the problems he never regretted his choice,
indeed, on the contrary.
It was a real challenge attempting to create an industrial
scale nursery in a region of pastureland at an altitude
of 400 m on the granite foothills of the Massif Central.
The microclimate at Malicorne exposes the plants alternately
to extremely cold and hot weather. This bracing climate
in fact has a positive effect on the strength and hardiness
of the plants, and encourages excellent root formation.
These qualities ensure they grow away well after replanting.
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| Research policy : Technological
innovation and creativity |
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Research is the strong point that makes Delbard stand
out as a company, and on which its development is based.
Since 1950 DELBARD has studied over 12,000 fruit varieties
in the experimental orchard at Malicorne and has successfully
launched a large number of new varieties of apples and
pears. Starting back in 1954 DELBARD created new rose
varieties that have since become great classic varieties.
The active and original policy for rose creation has enabled
DELBARD today to have leading varieties in both the garden
rose sector and that of green house roses.
In addition to the know-how and mastery of traditional
skills the Group has made considerable developments in
technological innovation. Pioneer of industrial scale
in vitro vegetative propagation of ligneous plants, DELBARD
is the undisputed leader for in vitro production of roses
and fruit tree rootstock.
"In vitro" cultivation is an important part
of the Group's production business. In particular it lies
behind the commercial success of the rose variety "Madame
Delbard®deladel", which has been one of the most
planted varieties in the world.
"In vitro" production has not only enabled most
of the problems inherent in plant production in the open
air to be avoided (continuous production, elimination
of uncertainty due to the climate) but also to prepare
the production and variety creation techniques of tomorrow,
such as regeneration of genetically transformed roses,
which was a world first.
The whole Research sector for the Group has just been
re-centred at Commentry, including the rose research and
production unit formerly located at Hyères.
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