25 years of Lubera - Kitchen Garden Magazine

Leading fruit producer celebrates a quarter century and 10 new varieties in 2019

Swiss fruit nursery Lubera is celebrating 25 years in business… rather to the bewilderment of the team themselves. Owner and founder Markus Kobelt says, “Right at the beginning of our venture, we did not think about counting the years. We just concentrated on the fact that cultivation takes a very long time in our long-term crops; an apple variety needs up to 15 years, with a raspberry or a currant variety more like 10 years, until the end product comes to market. It is no coincidence that gardeners say that patience brings roses, or that it bears fruit!”

This autumn, Lubera received the Innovation Award from the regional economy association in Werdenberg in Switzerland. Lubera received the prize for its breeding work, which is focused on the home garden, and also for its marketing and branding innovations. Markus Kobelt says, “We are particularly proud that this time a company from the horticulture sector has been selected, whereas in the past only tech companies belonged to the laureates. Even we in horticulture can be innovative. It just takes time – just 25 years – until the seed rises!”

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Lubera is expanding its breeding portfolio towards stone fruit and vegetables, with its first stone fruit varieties set to be released this year. Over 10 new fruit varieties will be launched in 2019, including blackcurrant ‘Black’n’Red’, an addition to Lubera’s Cassissima range, which boast large, sweet, juicy fruits, accompanied in this new variety by beautiful red leaves with an almost metallic sheen, which adorn the bushes until well into autumn. It will be available from http://www.lubera.co.uk/ from mid-February.

Photo: New blackcurrant ‘Black ‘n’ Red’

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Steve Ott

Steve Ott is editor of Kitchen Garden magazine and started his career as a professional grower, producing everything from cut flowers to vegetables. He has been growing fruit and veg all his life and spends most of his spare time in his garden in the East Midlands. He loves to experiment with crops and varieties he has never grown before and when he isn’t gardening is to be found out in the countryside bird watching and walking his dog Ted.