GARDEN CENTER BRÖNNIMANN

As in every story, it all started from almost nothing. From a simple seed that, over the decades, has grown into a beautiful plant, firmly rooted in the Vaud landscape. It was 1954, and Jean Brönnimann was producing mainly young geranium plants for Swiss growers and mass retailers. In 1987, the company was taken over by Michel Brönnimann. A visionary, he breathed new life into the business initiated by his father and opened the first garden center in Noville. Since then, Brönnimann has been sharing its know-how and passion for beautiful plants with lovers of beautiful gardens, lush flowers and quality shrubs.

While the company has diversified, offering some 200 varieties of flowers and plants lovingly cultivated in 1.5 hectares of greenhouses, geraniums remain a real specialty. In February, Brönnimann’s horticulturists receive 3-4 cm geranium cuttings, which are then repotted before being cultivated in the greenhouse and put on sale from late March, early April. “Growing geraniums requires daily attention and special care dedicated to each variety,” stresses Nicolas Brönnimann, the founder’s grandson, who has just taken over management of the garden center. “Every day, we take a walk in the greenhouses, water them more or less depending on the variety, feed them with a mixture of nitrate, potassium and nitrogen and finally, little by little, we harden the plant, acclimatize it to local climatic conditions.”

Between the end of March and the end of June, Brönnimann sells no fewer than 100,000 geraniums in its two garden centers in Noville and Gruyère. A success that rewards over 60 years of know-how and passion handed down from generation to generation.

Brönnimann is…

1954 Jean Brönnimann founded the company.
1987 Noville garden center opens to the public.
100,000 The number of geraniums grown each year.
1994 Opening of a garden center in Gruyère.
2,300 kg, equivalent to the weight of a car.
4000 The number of m2 of greenhouses dedicated to geranium cultivation.
200 The number of plant varieties grown in 1.5 hectares of greenhouses.

Expert advice on choosing the right geranium

To be right, you need to know how to observe. As with all living things, Nicolas Brönnimann reminds us that the signs of good health are unmistakable. The foliage should be dark green,” he explains. It should also be very full. Choose a stocky, well-rooted plant. The roots should be white and numerous. Finally, choose a plant that already has a few flowers and lots of buds. Then, of course, the choice of color remains a matter of taste. But Nicolas Brönnimann has already announced that the trend this year will be towards flashy hues. Intense purples, fuchsia pinks and scarlet reds for bright, cheerful window boxes.