“It will only be in two to three days that we will know if the root system of our plants will have resisted the flood or if the chrysanthemums will wilt as if they had lacked water. »
Met on Sunday noon, October 13, 2024 in the middle of the land on rue du Docteur-Faton, still largely submerged, nurseryman Laurent Neilz does not hide his concern. “We know that here, the water can rise, which has already happened, but never in October, two weeks before All Saints’ Day. There, it is the work of six months which risks being swept away. »
“It’s the work of six months that risks being swept away”
This is the first time that the professional is faced with this situation, just like his uncle Jacques Neilz, now retired. “Rue Lemyre-de-Villers, I experienced the flood of January 3, 1961, that of the end of January 1966, that of April 1983 and that of the end of January 1995 which had more or less drowned our greenhouses opened since 1850 by the family Mouillère, but it was a lesser evil. At the start of the year, production has nothing to do with that of October! »
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And to take a worried look at the approximately two hectares of crops in the annex of the historic site established in 1993 on rue du Docteur-Faton. Santolinas, wallflowers and hundreds of pots of chrysanthemums in bud emerge from the water, in the middle of the watering system completely disrupted by the current.
Concern also for the myrtles whose foliage has lost its brilliant green and has become gray green due to the muddy water which has left its mark. “We are going to test to see what we can do to restore its beautiful green color and check the root condition. Did three days in water suffocate the plant? »
The two professionals are even more perplexed as part of the production is being delivered to wholesalers and supermarkets.
“From Thursday October 10, when the first information about the flood, with the entire team of ten employees reinforced by relatives, we put up on the rollers and moved everything we could into the greenhouses, far from imagine that the water would rise that much. »
Fortunately, the flood did not reach the tunnels where perennials, aromatics, wallflowers, pansies and cineraria flourish.
Starting this Monday, the team will get back to work to move the pots and see what can be saved.
