The founder of our company was Piet (P.C.) van Haaster, originally a cattle farmer in De Zilk who also grew some vegetables and bulbs. It was very common at that time to grow multiple crops.

After the war years, two sons joined the business: Johan and Albert (J. & A. van Haaster), who continued the company with an emphasis on flower bulbs. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the cows and vegetables disappeared and flower production slowly began to take hold. This mostly involved leftover bulbs that were unattractive or unsaleable and were forced into bloom.

When a successor presented himself in the mid-1980s, the two brothers separated. Albert and his son remained in De Zilk, while Johan moved to Vijfhuizen with his family in 1987. Johan’s sons Rob and Jacques joined the company quite soon afterwards and took it over entirely from their father in 1995.

The bulb acreage then grew from around 6 hectares to 80 hectares today, as the small-scale flower forcing with leftovers developed into a serious line of cut hyacinths that is just as important as bulb cultivation.

The continued existence of our wonderful company is assured. Han and Lex, the fourth generation of the Van Haaster family, are now at the helm, with new ideas, new techniques and a major expansion already planned for this year. Ready for the future – and we couldn’t be prouder!