Save Soho Rose Farm

Soho Rose Farm is in urgent need of support after a hail storm devastated the acres of roses one week out from their first big flush of the season. The loss of income that Kristy faces due to this storm is on the back of the 2020/2021 pandemic years which brought the industry to a screeching halt. We are trying to raise $40,000 to get Soho through this crisis and prune the 13,000 plants ASAP so they can bloom again.

Soho Rose Farm is the longest standing garden rose farm in Victoria. With 13,000 plants spanning acres, the Farm is one of the largest suppliers of garden roses. Kristy Tippet is the woman behind the operation based in Dean where she lives with her husband, Brock a potato farmer and their 6 children.

With the pandemic devastating the flower industry over the last two year, Kristy and her team had no choice but to keep tending to the 13,000 rose plants with basically no return. Every prune takes 7 people 5 weeks, costing between $12-$15,000. Soho Rose Farm wasn't eligible for any Government grants as they fell into that grey area for a number of reasons.

After so long of running at a loss due to the pandemic, Kristy really needed this season's orders to be able to keep things afloat (the rose season is between November - April/May). The roses were ready to flush right in time for the long list of orders she had and in the most cruel and unfortunate set of events a huge hail storm completely destroyed every single plants opportunity to bloom. 13,000 plants and nothing to show for it. This hail storm devastated many of the surrounding farmers crops including her husbands potato farm. In order for the roses to flush again in 3-4 weeks, Kristy needs to pay for the pruning all over again plus the many overheads that come with running an operation of that scale.

After two years of running in the red due to reasons that are completely out of her control, Kristy has nothing left to be able to keep the business going. Soho Rose Farm is an integral part of the Victorian flower industry, growing more varieties than anyone else with quality that is unparalleled.

Kristy needs $40,000 to keep the business afloat at this point and to have the plants flush again so she can finally sell her flowers. This is a small business that would otherwise be thriving if it weren't for this series of unfortunate and devastating events. Please consider giving as generously as possible to help this small business survive. With the nature of well... nature, this is quite time sensitive as the season is only 6 months long and the plants need time to re-grow after being pruned.

It goes without saying that this has taken an enormous toll on Kristy as someone who is dedicated and passionate about growing these roses. This is something that she never wanted to have to do but a few of us in the industry have realised that this business which is vital to our industry is in crisis and urgently needs support.

Thank you in advance for you help and support.

Images of Kristy in the Soho Rose Farm fields shot for The Design Files by Dan Roberts.

The images below show how the roses have been damaged to a completely unsellable point.