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Table of Contents

February 2016 Volume 26 Number 2

Cover story: LM Flower Fashion puts luxury Dutch flowers on the world stage It has been said that life is sweetest when you ‘stop and smell the roses’. LM Flower Fashion wants you to not only revel in their beauty and scent, but also remember their name. by Brittany Posey

Feeling part of the a(u)ction

CHINA IN FOCUS

‘You should not be shy to take a serious look at the Chinese market’

Industry veteran Henri van der Borg has a wealth of experience in floral wholesale business. He currently specializes in connecting floral businesses with the Chinese market. As suchheshowsgreater-than-averageinterestin the world’s largest flower auction’s efforts in breaking into the Chinese market. by Ron van der Ploeg

CHINA IN FOCUS

From plant crash to plant crush

Exotic Plant, a leading provider of Bromeliad young plants from Laarne, Belgium, establishedasecondbranchofitsownyoung plant business in Shanghai in 2007. The company has navigated the many ups and downs that a plant nursery goes through and today has found its path to sustained growth. by Ron van der Ploeg

CHINA IN FOCUS

China in focus

Aucxis, a leading provider of automation solutionsforflowerauctionsworldwide,most recently completed the installation of a giant Light Emitting Diode (LED) display at the Dounan flower auction in Kunming. by Ron van der Ploeg

21 Years of floral celebrations in Melbourne

Flower and plant growers attending the General Members’ Meeting (GGM) of Dutch flower auction FloraHolland left Naaldwijk on Thursday, December 17, 2015 in an upbeat mood.

by Ron van der Ploeg

Growing miniature pot roses in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands

Nestled in the lush green surrounding of Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands, 150km north of Kuala Lumpur, ornamental plant nursery YG Park Sdn. Bhd. grows a wide range of pot plants. Miniature pot roses from Danish breeder Rosa Eskelund is among their cream of the crop.

by Ron van der Ploeg

Future innovations will be tailored for specific greenhouse concepts

This year, hothouse builder BOM Group celebrates marks its 50th anniversary. FCI sat down with current director and co-owner Rob Grootscholten to reflect on half a century of change and progress in greenhouse horticulture.

by Harmen Kamminga

Joy to the World! New 2017 Floradecora show announced

Launching next year in Frankfurt at what is touted one of the world ‘s largest consumergoods trade shows (2,873 exhibitors from 67 countries), the new Floradecora show, will show interesting ways to blend fresh cut flowers, pot plants and home decor accessories.

by Ron van der Ploeg

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) comes again to World Heritage Listed Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens South in 2016 for its 21st Year. by Audrey Gerber

Polish nursery stock industry has great potential for development

Exports from the Polish nursery stock industry go to no fewer than forty countries, and the range offered is impressive: it includes fourthousandspeciesandvarietiesofwoody plants! by John Sutton

Departments World News International Events Advertising Index

08 30 39

Columns From the editor Buon Giorno Happy Gardening Dutch Comfort

07 12 27 37

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

FloraCulture The business magazine for worldwide floriculture

Editorial & Administration Offices Angie Duffree

FloraCulture International Postbus 1000, 1430 BA Aalsmeer, Netherlands T +31 6 533 46 605 Circulation Administration: FBW Woerden P.O. Box 612, 3440 AP Woerden, the Netherlands T (31) 34 84 31 393 E info@fbw-woerden.nl Editors:RonvanderPloeg(ron@floracultureinternational.com) Editorial team: William Armellini, Chris Beytes, Alicja Cecot, Aldo Colombo, Arturo Croci, Audrey Gerber, John Ingwersen, Jaap Kras, Marie-Françoise Petitjean, John Sutton, Anthony Tesselaar and Jennifer Zurko. Founding editor: Debbie Hamrick Published by: FloraHolland Frequency: FloraCulture International ONLINE serves our digital and mobile audience monthly, while FloraCulture International in print is a quarterly magazine, published four times a year. FCI’s four major PRINT issues will divide the year infourseasons:Spring(March),summer(combinedJune/July issue), autumn (October) and winter (January). Circulation: FloraCulture International appears in print and online and has a circulation of 104,000 subscribers (16,000 English-language print issues, 66,000 English-language online format, 5,000 Mandarin Chinese-language print issue, 7,000 Mandarin Chinese-language online format and 10,000 English-language newsletters) in 142 countries. Englishlanguage online format for India and local language edition in Italian and Russian. Printer: Muller Visual Communication Amsterdam. Designer: Finnmedia, Aryen Bouwmeester Copy correction and sub-editing: Brittany Posey

World Wide Advertising Office Europe, Africa, Asia/Pacific International Accounts Management: FloraCulture International, Postbus 1000, 1430 BA Aalsmeer, Netherlands T +31 6 533 46 605 Angie Duffree (angie@floracultureinternational.com) Dr. Sun Italy, Southern France: Jing Xian Arturo Croci, (acearturo@yahoo.it) USA, Canada, Central America: Paul Black (pblack@ballpublishing.com) Ball Publishing, 622 Town Road, PO Box 1660, West Chicago, IL 60186, United States T (1)6 30 23 13 675 F (1)6 30 23 15 254 Miami: William Armellini (william@floracultureinternational.com) China: Dr Sun Jing Xian (consultingflower@yahoo.com.cn) Niranjan Deshpande India: Niranjan Deshpande (team@kisan.com) T (91) 20 302 52 000

From the editor by Ron van der Ploeg

Great Britain was this year’s Partner Country for the 2016 IPM Essen show in Germany. As such the director general of the Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) Sue Biggs addressed the opening ceremony. Her speech couldn’t have been more on point. After thanking the organisers for the privilege being one of the speakers at the ‘world’s leading horticultural trade show’, Biggs offered a heartfelt speech voicing her frustration over how undervalued the horticultural industry is. Taking a look at the business economy, the RHS director said that annually horticulture contributes £10.4 billion to the UK economy and employs around 300,000 people. “But all too often I come across people a little annoyingly patronizing our industry, how lovely it must be to walking through a flower bed on a daily basis. I guess we haven’t done too good a job to explain how amazing a career in horticulture is,“ Biggs said. How many people really know about the technical advances in our industry, the health and social benefits of horticulture?, Biggs questioned. Horticulture has an important role to play, at community level, but also across education, training, housing, business, health and employment. Launched at the 2015 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the Action Plan to help secure the future of UK industry draws all these areas together in a strategy that is not only interesting for our British industry peers, but for the global horticultural business community at large. Key actions include stopping home owners paving over their front gardens, encouraging customers to purchase plants for pollinators, encouraging young people and career switchers to join an immensely diverse industry, promoting garden tourism and quality green infrastructures in towns. The chairman of Germany’s Federal Association of Horticulture (ZVG) Jürgen Mertz touched down on the nation-wide marketing campaign that coincides with the country’s current Wertschätzung’s debate concentrating on the real value of the product in relation to its price. One of the aims is to help consumers make informed floral purchase choices and ultimately encourage them to buy flowers and plants that are grown in Germany. Mertz said the campaign has been rolled out to reverse the decline of flower and plants sales. Germans continue to spend less money on flowers and plant in 2015, with new reports founding average spending per person on ornamentals fell by €3 (Overall floral consumption per capita is currently around €100). Confidence among consumers is stable, price stability exists and the country’s unemployment most recently fell to a record low. “If there is a good business environment why is that our industry is unable to translate this through improved sales?”, questioned Mertz. Sshin-nyen haoww, (loosely translated as Happy New Year). This year, Chinese New Year - The Year of the Monkey - begins on Monday February 8 and lasts until Jan 27th, 2017. According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, people born in the Year of the Monkey are thought to be curious, innovative and energetic, but it is also believed to be one of the most unlucky years in the Chinese calendar. Bad timing for horticultural businesses to move things forward in China? FCI sat down with a number of horticultural entrepreneurs to get the full story. Page 13.

Follow us on facebook and twitter FloraCulture International is published monthly. Worldwide distribution. ©2016 FloraCulture International magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of editorial may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Publisher is not liable for advertisements using illegally obtained images. Send address changes to FloraCulture International magazine, Postal address: Postbus 1000, 1430 BA Aalsmeer, Netherlands

Ron van der Ploeg, editor ron@floracultureinternational.com

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

World News The Netherlands OK Plant: big in mini orchids If you’re done with the standard-sized Phalaenopsis, it’s worth taking a look at OK Plant’s range of mini orchids that are available for order under the Little Kolibri brand name. Proudly standing out is their Little Kolibri Victoria Falls with cascading plant habit. These Phalaenopsis orchids are grown in 9cm pots and trained to tumble and flow in a stream of virgin white colour sure to delight any customer. Celebrating its silver jubilee last year, OK Plant is a 5.5ha plant nursery owned by the Olsthoorn family. Specialists in mini orchids and seasonable production of bedding plants, OK Plant has evolved into a household name for miniature potted orchids which are sourced from home and abroad. Global suppliers find themselves in Taiwan, China and Japan. Aside from the Little Kolibri Victoria Falls, OK Plant’s portfolio is comprised of Little Kolibri Liberty (unstacked mini orchids for a natural look), the newly launched Little Kolibri Big Sensation (featuring a giant 12cm flower size), Little Kolibri Exclusive (striped and dotted varieties) and Little Kolibri Collection (including the more mainstream range

Showing off Little Kolibri Big Sensation miniature orchids is sales rep Thijs van der Valk who started working at OK Plant when he was 13 years old. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMJyLaK5WZc#action=share

of miniature orchids in different colours). The annual output of the OK Plant nursery

USA

is 60,000 plants/year and this includes seasonable crops. |||

TPIE elevated expectations for 2016 and beyond The Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE) launched a bold theme for 2016 – Elevating Expectations. Already known as the industry’s most unique and inspiring trade event, TPIE set the stage for a higher level of presentation and interaction as more than 6,200 exhibitors and buyers from 43 U.S. states and 46 countries met to experience TPIE in Ft. Lauderdale. As part of its promise to Elevate Expectations, TPIE set itself apart as the show to learn about key trends for use in planning 2016 and 2017 sales. Christine Boland, international trends analyst and thought-leader, opened TPIE with a keynote session focused on Shifting Perspectives. A full-house audience heard Boland's perspective of our global society and how shifts transfer to marketplace trends. Boland named eight consumer needs which plant products and services can satisfy: Longing for Grip; Desire for the Human Scale; Rediscovering the Senses; Striving for Balance; Defining a Personal Pace/Rhythm;

Taking Responsibility; Reconnecting to Nature; and, Cultivating the Uncomplicated. Plant design and interior design styles were matched as part of an inspiring and creative TPIE display featuring three interior room vignettes, each showcasing a trending design style. Featured designs were: reclaimed; modern; and, children’s spaces. As a unique fundraiser for the National Foliage Foundation (NFF), attendees voted with dollars for their favorite room. By the show’s end, the Reclaimed Room, designed by Mary Daugherty, FCHP and Roy Daugherty, earned the most dollars for NFF. |||

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

France

Sweden

Nordic Flower Expo cancelled due to lack of interest

EU reaches compromiseonnew phytosanitary rules

This year’s Nordic Flower Expo show, the country’s leading horticultural trade show, has been cancelled but the show’s organiser promises it will return next year. Event organiser Nova Exhibitions BV from the Netherlands said that the event originally was set to take place at Malmö’s MalmöMässan convention centre from March 15-17, 2016. They added that cancelling this year’s show is because of a lack of support from the industry’s stakeholders. Nova Exhibitions made the following statement. “The organisers of the Nordic Flower Expo have set itself the goal to organise a targeted trade exhibition,

which enables exhibitors to establish new contacts, strengthen their business and obtain the relevant market information. Because of the current circumstances, which we encounter in the Nordics, our exhibition committee finds in advisable to postpone the exhibition until 2017. We will inform everyone as soon as possible about possible new dates. We regret having to take this difficult decision but trust on your understanding. We hope to welcome you again in the near future.” |||

Germany Costa Farms wins highest accolade in global horticulture Costa Farms, USA, has been awarded the accolade of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) International Grower of the Year 2016. Celebrating the world’s best ornamentals growers, the AIPH International Grower of the Year Awards 2016 – Gala Dinner took place on 28 January 2016, during IPM Essen, Germany. FloraHolland CEO Lucas Vos was at hand to present Costa Farms with the coveted Gold Rose, awarding them the global status of AIPH International Grower of the Year. Costa Farms is one of North America’s largest growers of ornamental

plants regularly bringing new products to retailers on an international scale. It grows a wide range of plants, including houseplants, orchids, indoor and outdoor cacti and succulents, tropical shrubs, annual bedding plants, and perennial bedding plants. Ornamental growers from Canada, China, Germany, Netherlands, Turkey, UK and USA were all finalists receiving the following awards: • F inished plants and trees Gold – Costa Farms, USA • Cut flowers Gold – Arcadia Chrysanten, Netherlands • Young Plants Gold – Florensis, Germany/Netherlands AIPH President, Bernard Oosterom, said: “Tonight has been a wonderful celebration of the best of our industry. I would like to offer my congratulations to Costa Farms and all the winners of these awards.” For more information visit www.aiph.org/groweroftheyear |||

The European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament have reached a compromise agreement on the new plant health directive, following weeks of intensive debate. The last round of informal negotiations between the three EU institutions were held on Wednesday December 16, 2015. At stake was a set of new phytosanitary plant protection measures aimed at avoiding the spread of pests and diseases via imported plants. Following a fierce debate, a compromise emerged. It was decided that a preliminary risk analysis is required for imported, ‘high risk’ plant material A set of criteria will outline what is considered to be high risk, but Germany’s Federal Association of Horticulture (ZVG) is urging the decision makers to define a clear and more precise set of regulations. Time will tell if the newly decided upon agreement really guarantees higher protection against pests. The ZVG has announced it will be closely monitoring the results. The final agreement and confirmation by the European Council and the European Parliament is expected in the beginning of 2016. The ZVG has been actively involved in the negotiations and they strongly opposed a ‘closed system’ considering the import of plant material, because that would have meant risk analysis for all imported plant material. The ZVG considers the result an acceptable compromise, but according to the association it is necessary to be more detailed and precise with the implementation of the import strategy. Other points of the regulation refer to compensation schemes. The ZVG is satisfied with the results and the agreement between the institutions. The originally specified limit of 10 percent for a list of priority pests will be removed as it was arbitrary and would have excluded special crops from compensation payments. |||

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

In memoriam

World News Italy October 2015 was not so rosy for Italian growers

Inmemoriam:DoekeFaber by Jaap N. Kras Doeke Faber, aged 73, passed away on Monday, January 4, 2016. Doeke was an idealist and dedicated his entire life to serve and contribute to the world. Doeke served the VBN (Dutch Association of Flower Auctions) as Chairman from 1996 to 2009. He was a dedicated and warm-hearted ambassador, a good lobbyist and a strong fighter for the floral industry. Over the years, Doeke fulfilled various management roles in organisations and working groups. Everyone in the industry praised Doeke for his tireless efforts for the greater good of the global industry. In March 2009, at his VBN retirement party, Doeke was made an Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau. Doeke served the ornamental horticulture and gardening industry at home and abroad. He was President of AIPH (Association Internationale des Producteurs de l’Horticulture) from 2003 to 2012. Here he used his leadership to bring a number of Asian countries together to become AIPH members. Doeke was an intelligent, charming and hard-working man who always put in an enormous amount of effort, regardless of the goal. To quote his succeeding AIPH President Vic Krahn: “This is the end of a valiant life. Doeke was a strong advocate for ornamental plants and flowers and a champion for the Green City. Through his tenacity, determination, focus, vision, his immense internal strength and his ability to suppress - and to a certain extent deny his physical discomfort, he made a nine year commitment to be the President of AIPH and to lead as no leader had done before him.” Doeke was beloved an honoured in many countries by many organizations and their people. He was a strong, sometimes stubborn fighter and fought a seven year battle against cancer. Born a Frisian, Doeke is buried in his beloved Frisia, a province in the northwest of the Netherlands. We will remember his valuable contributions to the global ornamental horticulture and will miss him dearly.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

A recent market research study by the Istituto di Servizi per il Mercato Agricolo Alimentare (ISMEA) provides the latest statistics and industry trends in Italy’s ornamental horticulture for the month of October 2015. In Italy, the extremely long and hot summer has a significant impact on the production of ornamental plants, trees and shrubs for autumn sales, which traditionally are dominated by seasonal plants such as Chrysanthemum, Cyclamen, Erica and Calluna. In Chrysanthemums supply exceeded demand resulting in a sizeable number of unsold plants in October while the same product was scarce in November. The demand for houseplants, especially for the full range of tropical foliage plants, was rather sluggish. In October 2015, some Italian growers were faced with plant health issues that limited that export of Italian ornamentals. Overall, apart from some exceptions to the rule, October 2015 has been testing time for the Italian industry. As for the typical crops grown in the Albenga area, Cyclamens production suffered from extreme summer heat, which resulted in poorer product quality and plant loss. Sales of Chrysanthemums were hesitant, but lower production levels eventually caused demand to increase. For a more detailed market analysis (in Italian) please visit http://www.ismeaservizi.it/flex/cm/pages/ ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/6332 |||

Revolutionary vegetable grafting technique results in dual-cropping plants Following the successful debut of the dual cropping plant TomTato at last year’s IPM ESSEN show, British seed company Thompson and Morgan has granted Dutch plug producer and plant breeder Beekenkamp the exclusive right to produce young plants and market the UK breeder’s next world premiere in 2-in-1 cropping. The news for the moment is GineTato® a plant that allows home gardeners to produce aubergines and potatoes on the same plant. This hand-grafted plant does not contain any GMO. Following the phenomenal success of the hand-grafted Tomtato® plant, Beekenkamp Plants BV from the town of Maasdijk in the Netherlands, carried out extensive grafting trials to create the next step in space-saving, dual-cropping vegetable plants with the GineTato®. “For the hobby vegetable growers this is a real novelty in the development department. For those without the luxury of a large garden, it makes the

most of the available space in the garden. Even the smallest patio or balcony can accommodate a pot-grown GineTato® plant. Pair it with a Tomtato® plant and you’ll have three easy to grow crops from just two pots”, explained Beekenkamp’s marketing manager Sirekit Mol. She added, “The plants have a great novelty factor for kids and kids at heart.” Above ground you will harvest an average of 3 to 4 large tasty aubergines. Below ground, harvest between 300 and 1000 grams of delicious white potatoes which are incredibly versatile. The GineTato® should be available for order April 2016. |||

Belgium Rhodo Fragrance makes successful debut Rhododendron specialist Wuloplant has announced its latest variety – ‘Rhodo Fragrance.’ It is the first rhododendron with a strong scent and has huge clusters of flowers with small, violet flowers. Founded in 1984, Wuloplant offers no fewer than 200 Rhododendrons varieties. Among their product offer are young plants, finished plants, specimen shrubs and rhododendron hybrids trimmed in ‘lollipop’standards. The newly launched Rhodo Fragrance is a strong evergreen and winter-hardy plant to -27. |||

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Enforcement Buongiorno! by Arturo Croci

A review and preview of Italy’s horticulture industry Italy’s agriculture and viticulture industry can look back on a good year. The wind of change has started to blow at trade exhibitions such as Vinitaly and Macfrut, reporting an increase in both exhibitors and visitors. It makes me think of some good old days, as excitement and optimism also ruled the period between 1960 and 2000, when the Italian ornamental horticulture industry too was blossoming. In today's ornamentals production all is not so rosy. Over the past fifteen years, the economic crisis has taken its toll on horticultural businesses. Many were forced to close their doors, while those able to respond quickly and nimbly to the changing environment survived and are now impatiently waiting for market demand to pick up. The year 2015 was a tragic year in terms of bankruptcies and business foreclosures. Following the collapse of the Ciccolella Holding International BV on February 10, 2015, the Court of Trani, declared Ciccolella SpA bankrupt. On July 10, the Court of Appeal of Bari, suspended the bankruptcy and procedure of liquidation of assets. On October 9, 2015, the Court of Siena declared Floramiata SpA bankrupt. The company currently finds itself in a transition phase employing no more than 74 people, compared to the former 250 employees. In March 2016, a tender model will be prepared to decide the company’s new ownership. In the province of Pistoia, known for being Italy’s epicentre for nursery stock production, multiple companies have gone bankrupt over the past few years. No fewer than forty disputes are ongoing regarding TFR* and salary claims. In Lombardy, as well as in many other regions of Italy things are not better in the horticulture sector. The world of Italian trade fairs is changing at rapid pace. New trade exhibitions such as Milan’s MyPlant&Garden and FloraTrade Rimini are taking up the fight against the long-established Flormart show in Padua. It is still unclear where the final path will lead: Milan, Padua or Rimini? On June 15, 2015, Flora Firenze, the company behind the flower show with the same name, filed for bankruptcy. What was announced as being Italy’s largest spring flower show turned out to be one big and wilting disaster. But there is also room for bloom instead of all gloom and doom. Several companies have invested in wood burners in order to reduce costs and energy dependence. And the Milan Expo proved to be the perfect shopping window for Italiangrown flowers and plants. B2C events such as Masino and Orticolario are also doing well and attract record attendance year after year. * TFR is the acronym for ‘Trattamento Fine Rapporto’ and is money paid as compensation to an employee who loses his/her job or when an employee leaves the company.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

On October 13, 2015, KME Italy SpA, a renowned metallurgical company, announced a project which will see their Fornaci di Barga (near Lucca) plant transform into one of the country’s largest hydroponic greenhouses, including 40ha of tomato production. The company will employ 400 personnel, and the investment in three years is said to be between €50 to 60 million. Two other major greenhouse projects are also underway: one comprises 10ha of greenhouses in Puglia and another relates to a new company for the production of potted herbs. The 67th AIPH Congress held in October in Stresa (group photo) helped to promote Italian specialties. After years of absence, Italy sees itself once again represented, this time by ANVE, the Italian trade association for nursery stock production. In politics, it is worthwhile to mention a multitude of Rural Development Programmes. On April 28, 2015, for example, the draft law No.1896 was presented that, if approved, will allow Italians to deduct investments in gardening on their taxes. On May 29th, 2015, at the 152nd meeting of the EU Customs Code, the Italian proposal to update the Chapter 06 on "Live trees and other plants” was approved. On October 19th, at Expo in Milan was the venue for the launch of the new Italian eco label Vivaifiori. And finally, after 36 years of honorable activity in the horticultural business, including 26 as director of Coop. Flormercati, Enrico Delucchi decided to retire. The announcement was made during the company’s Open House on November 20, 2015. On that occasion, Giulio Beschi, president of Coop. Flormercati presented Henry Delucchi a plaque for his contribution to the growth of the cooperative, members and floriculture. I believe that in the years ahead, Italy’s life style horticulture industry has great potential for growth and positive indicators bode well. I wish you a good and prosperous 2016. Viva la vita!.

Arturo Croci is the founder of Italy's leading horticultural business magazine Flortecnica and a walking encyclopedia of Italian horticulture. arturo@floracultureinternational.com

China Industry veteran Henri van der Borg has a wealth of experience in floral wholesale. He currently specialises in connecting floral businesses in the Chinese market. As such he shows greater-thanaverage interest in the world’s largest flower auction’s efforts in breaking into the Chinese market.

by Ron van der Ploeg

Intriguing images from the Beijing flower market; flowers with open buds, 28C and no refrigeration and flowers being covered with plastic until the next day.

‘You should not be shy to take a serious look at the Chinese market’ H

enri van der Borg was born and raised in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. After an eighteen-monthstintinMinnesota, USA, for a floral wholesale company at that time called Vans, he worked for nine months at Zurel Holland which led him to open Zurel USA in 1982. He ended up building and owning Duamex LLC, which included companies Zurel USA and Everflora New Jersey. Henri was granted the rights to also buy Holex Flower B.V. from the Zurel Group, which he did in cooperation with the Dutch Flower Group. He was one of the first with lilies in Costa Rica, Brazil and Chile, and also with peonies and tulips. Due to a perfect storm in 2007, Henri was in a divorce privately, as well as with partners in business, and also became ill, leading him to close Duamex LLC and after deal with Cauda Equina Syndrome for three years. In 2010, he joined The USA Bouquet Company LLC headquartered in Miami as business consultant and later division manager to the traditional retail outlets. Henri left the company in June 2015 to pursue with his Taiwanese-born second wife Tricia Tang-Van der Borg, his dream to help the Chinese develop their national floral structure. Tricia, was eight years old when immigrating to the USA, has over 20 years of floral experience in retail, wholesale and e-commerce and started with Van Den Bos China in October 2014. As of the end of 2015, she has taken over the management of the bulb division in China. Henri consistently keeps himself abreast of the latest developments

Husband and wife team Henri and Tricia van der Borg. The picture was taken at the farm of Mr. Yang, a grower, specialising in wax flower, lepto, Hydrangea and garden rose.

in the worldwide floriculture industry.Mostrecentlyhewatched Lucas Vos’ vlog #4 on China and felt the need to share his opinion with FCI readers. Paraphrasing his statement, Henri believes that FloraHolland CEO Vos is very correct in his assessment of the Chinese market. However, he also believes that the focus on Dutch production, the preparation of bouquets in Holland and shipped to the various ports of entry in China is a seriously and potentially very costly error.

Henri, your over 34-year experience in the industry is impressive and needs no further explanation. But some say humility is the true key to success. So let me ask you first on what grounds do you feel you have the right to think of yourself as a business consultant urging FloraHolland to do a review of its China strategy?

“I am known to be direct and open. Sometimes too direct and open for my own good. Experience is some-

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

>>> 13

China whereitcounts.Justbecausetherose production in Holland dwindled down to 250 hectares, does not mean equally less roses are sold in Holland. I am talking about novelty tulips, Amaryllis, garden roses, Hydrangea in off season, peonies and of course any flower in shortage during the holidays. It’s just like the American market, where you can still sell pink spray roses for Mother’s Day in big quantities, but few for the rest of the year.”

thing you do not learn in school. I have had the best teachers as customers, vendors and three employers like Zurel - Robert Zurel’s memoires just got published and I had the pleasure of helping him with the English translation - the USA Bouquet Company and Vans. Trial and error is a great teacher, especially when it concerns your own monies AND your losses! Furthermore, I see a lot of similarities between the USA floral industry and developments in China.”

Apart from a handful of enlightened individuals and good Samaritans, everything we do we do ultimately for our own benefit. How would you benefit from an auction adopting an alternative strategy in China?

“Anenhancedproductassortment, especially with shortages in the local market, will enhance the variety availability and the sales of flowers in China. The more variety, quality and affordability to the consumer, the more floral business, especially in a ‘virgin’ market such as China.”

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

China is often touted the largest flower producer on earth with possibly 150,000 to 300,000 ha used for floriculture (flowers, pot plants, bulbs, seeds, nursery stock, young plants). Do you agree?

Back to the core of your message. You say that Holland as well as Central and South America, Kenya and Ethiopia, can be of added value to the Chinese market and consumption. The final production of bouquets should however be done on location in China using local or a mix of locally produced and imported flowers. What makes this so important?

“It is not only about perceived value, it is also about real value. Yes, I have always believed that the connection with Holland in flowers is an added value. Hence, when I started in Costa Rica, we would pack our lilies like in Holland in red, white and blue boxes, which featured the ‘Dutch Quality Grown In Costa Rica’ tagline. A lot of customersonlyfocusedontheword ‘Dutch’ and were willing to pay a higher price. But today we can deliverequalorbetterbouquetquality with a combination of sources at a substantially lower cost to the consumer. It is all about ‘added value’ and Holland should put its efforts

“In size you are probably correct, but in output of production - far from it. In flowers there are maybe 20 largeandquality-mindedgrowersin Kunming but also thousands of little growers who have no post-harvest and cold chain control. And the quality of the starting plant material is sometimes questionable.”

In Kunming, China’s epicentre of cut flower production, the Yunnan Flower Association (YFA) works tirelessly to develop an export-worthy flower industry. You say Yunnan and other areas do grow good flowers. The current problem is, however, that once they arrive at market, the quality has decreased substantially. What does this tells us about the cool chain and logistics? What about phytosanitary control? Carnation stalls.

“Product handling, cold chain and proficient logistics are the biggest challenge all over China. Phytosanitary control exists with the few proficient growers, but not with the Mom and Pop growers who bringtheirflowerssevendaysaweek by moped to market, being the KIFA auction or the Dounan markets, both located in Kunming. However, the good news is that the Dounan Flowers E-Trade Center kicked off last month. It has its own distribution area closely linked to an auction system. This will be a major improvement if all works out correctly! It is

last year, about 20 Ecuadorian growers had shipped products for the show. Only one really got through customs in time…Last but not least, don’t forget about the transportation costs within the country.”

Rose transport.

too bad, however, that everything cannotbehandledbyonesystem, asthesameproductsareauctioned at different times only 1000 meters apart...”

Yunnan offers cheap labour, cheap land and an eternal spring for off-season production. Why is it that so few Flying Dutchmen have landed in Kunming apart from Anthura and Vd Berg Roses, for example?

“The Chinese are the best in copying whatever you create. Growers haveexperiencedthat,overnight, their company was copied and their key staff had been taken over. Few of these copycats rarely succeed, but it is still a major setbackforforeign-ownedcompanies in China. However, I believe that the Chinese government is becoming more and more supportive for foreign initiatives, helping the inland future consumption as well as exports.”

In previous interviews with horticultural entrepreneurs it was said that Kunming is a far too remote destination where Dutch people find it hard to live and work, as the living standards are so completely different. Do you agree?

“Going back ten years, you are probably right. But today the city of Kunming is not far from half the population of Holland. It has great malls, cinemas, hotels, you

name it. This year, a bullet train will bring you from Kunming to Shanghai in eight hours, a trip which until now takes 28 hours! Yes on my last trip a crown was placed back by a local dentist for €5, but it was done in a professional dentist setting...”

You stressed that small growers have to be educated to help improve their standard of living. How?

“It starts with improving the tradebetweenthegrowerandthe final customer. For this, the key words are: logistics - cold chain – marketing – payables - transparency. Currently, 15 percent of the grower’s price is lost between 10 percent to KIFA and a five percent calculation for bad debt. In such a situation the flowers have not even left Kunming yet! The Dounan initiative can solve a partofthepost-harvesttreatment problem, however, and started grading products.”

You have said that producing bouquets in Holland and shipping them to the various ports of entry in China is too costly of an exercise. You mentioned that “into China imports” must add about 30 percent in duties and other cost factors to their final cost. What other cost factors? “Inefficiencies in clearance. At the IPM show in Shanghai

At FloraHolland’s latest General Members’ Meeting (GGM) Lucas Vos mentioned explicitly the potential of the 1.3 billion Chinese. We all know the rosy stories of 1.3 billion consumers and what would happen if only ten percent of the Chinese population would buy cut flowers and pot plants. Meanwhile, one person in ten in the country remains poor. How well-estimated or overestimated is the nation’s buying power?

“China is experiencing serious growing pains. It will be tough for a few years. But let’s be frank, which other economy of the size of China still grows say 6 percent real instead of the reported 6.9 percent? The key is that China’s infrastructure is developing at an unbelievable pace in terms of airports, air travel, railroad systems and roads, harbors etc. And look at the boom in e- commerce with Alibaba and JD.com serving as good examples.”

A different reality is China’s stock market crash in September 2015 and on 4 January 2016. Do you think there will be a sharp structural slowdown in China and how will all of this affect the industry and the willingness to invest in China?

“Whenever real monies are destroyed it will affect real consumption, especially if it is not lost by the wealthy but by the middle class, which was the case now. However, in percentage of total growth, it is relative. If you grow a good product or have a good service that fits the Chinese market, you should not be shy to take a serious look.”

Doing business in China is not only about well-thought business plans and doing the right math, it is also about understanding cultural and social differences in order to succeed. Henri, apart from guanxi and mianzi what should one really understand first when doing business in China?

“This is a key point. That is why in my case, without my wife Tricia, I would have never considered coming here. I am learning every day. By nature I have little patience, but I am being taught that here. When in my mind something will take two days, you better reserve six. On the other side, if the government decides to run a new speed train track from Beijing to, let's say, Amsterdam, it is there quicker than expected. Moreover, I can recommend you to read the book by Henry M. Paulson, JR, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary who saved the world from the 2008 financial crisis, “Dealing With China, An Insider Unmasks The New Economic Superpower”. This book is a real eye-opener.”

What do you personally like the most about doing business in China?

“Theopportunities,thepossibility to make a real mark not only in the industry as a whole, but also inpeople’sindividuallives.People who are eager to learn but need direction.”

You do extensive travelling across China. Tell us about the most remarkable and mention-worthy, from our industry’s perspective.

“How thousands of growers work all day in their field or greenhouse, then go on their moped for two to three hours one way to be at the Dounan market at eight in the evening to market their product. And when you put it all together, you do have an amazing flower supply....” ||| Do you want to comment? henrivanderborg@hotmail.com

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

China Exotic Plant, a leading provider of Bromeliad young plants from Laarne, Belgium, established a second branch of its own young plant business in Shanghai in 2007. The company has navigated the many ups and downs that a plant nursery goes through and today has found its path to sustained growth. FCI sat down with company owners Luc Pieters and Caroline Pieters-De Meyer to get the full story.

From plant crash to plant crush: plant growing in a volatile environment

usband and wife team Luc and Caroline look back on seven extremely busy years. Their work on the expansion of the Shanghai branch has now successfully moved into the third stage. “Back in 2007, the first thing we did was build a 3500m2 tissue lab and a 15000m2 greenhouse; the second stage of construction saw the addition of an extra 8000m2 to ourgreenhousecomplex.Lastyear, we acquired our neighbour’s land including a 7,000m2 greenhouse. Formerly owned by local authorities, this three hectare plot of land was just what we needed. Last year, KP Holland granted us the exclusive license to produce Kalanchoe, Spathiphyllum and Curcuma young plants for our Chinese customers. Additionally, a range of pot chrysanthemums (including some Armada varieties), the renowned Belgium Mums grown in big pots withtheirperfectlyroundedshape, were successfully put to the test. As such, some extra space was more than welcome.”

Diversification

by Ron van der Ploeg

Caroline added that the company’s diversification is a strategy for future growth. “We find ourselves in a situation in which our Bromelia young plants have become dis-

tributed within a Chinese market to the fullest possible extent. One should avoid the continuing focus on one single product as this would make dependence too big. You’d better spread the risk by extending your product portfolio.” What’s more is that an additional, separategreenhousesavedthePieters a lot of hassle. “Retrofitting our existing Bromelia greenhouse to suit Kalanchoe, Spathiphyllum and Curcuma production would have required quite some modifications which now are unnecessary.” Luc agrees that product diversifying also comes with higher risks as it requires an organisation to take on new experience and knowledge outsidetheexistingBromeliamarket.

IP protection: a different stand than 7 years ago EP-Exotic Plant, from its very first day in business, has been about making a profit based on innovation, creativity and artistry from the hands of expert Bromelia breeders. Adequate protection of these core values in China, a country with the dubious reputation with regards to intellectual property, is vital. IP protection is still a key issue, but the Pieters have to admit that, over the years, they have changed their attitude towards the subject. Cheap knock offs - often referred to as shanzhia are still anchored in Chinese society. “Of course copy cats cause us trouble, but there is little you can do. Today we take it more-or-less for granted that novelty plants will maintain their exclusivity no longer than five years. Meanwhile we attach great importance to doing the right math for our customers. Once you have proven that strong and healthy young plug plants eventually yield much more than mutant-sensitive varieties of inferior quality in poor black peat, they will remain committed to us,” Caroline said.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

“It’s a gradual process in which one modest step is carefully taken after another. Sometimes it takes a fall to know where you stand but we make sure that we always stay close to the ground. Belgium Mums have particular potential for growth. Chinese know the product but the locallyproducedspecimensdefinitely don’t live up to Belgium standards. Our challenges lies in making the Chinese acquainted with pot mums of the finest quality.”

WFOE

Seven years have passed since EP Exotic Plant opened its doors in Shanghai. Back then, starting a new branch, 9000 kilometres away from their headquarters in Laarne was giventhoughtfulconsideration.“At that time, 30 to 35 percent of our revenuesweregeneratedfromplant sales to China. One year earlier, one of our competitors had teamed up with a Chinese partner in a joint venture to produce its plants with the help of cheap Chinese labour. Ultimately, we felt we had no other choice than to jump on the Chinese bandwagon.” Different from their competitors in the market, Luc and Caroline decided to take matters into their own

smaller brokers and everything in between, which is a lot compared to Western Europe.”

A sense of calm

hands. Instead of a joint venture, they started their business through the set-up of a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise and limited liability company, known in China as WFOE. Luc agrees that among all mandates for successful business in China, a local partner to help get a Chinese branch up and running is highly recommended,butstressedthatboth he and Caroline were already familiar with the Chinese market. “In China, both Bromelias and Calatheas are considered being the ‘odd men out’ in pot plants. We pride ourselves on having a long-standing tradition of Bromelia and Calathea export sales to China and Taiwan since the 1980s. To make a long story short: when we started in China there was little risk for failure as we already enjoyed a verystrongbrandrecognitioninboth countries and, more importantly, we could offer our customers much cheaper plants as we skipped brokers andotherintermediarysalespersons.” Caroline mentioned that there were alsosomeseriousconcernsregarding theprotectionofIntellectualProperty Rights - in the ornamental plant worldbetterknownasPlantBreeder’s Rights (IP Protection in China page 16). “Over the years, we have put an awful lot of energy in creating novelty Bromeliads, and it needs no explanation that we were rather reluctant to leave them in unknown hands. Setting up a WFOE provided more control over who has access to breedingbreakthroughs,technology and know-how.” Carolineagreesthatajointventureoffers clear advantages to a WFOE but is also time-consuming. “In a joint venture structure, a Chinese partner is offering you a helping hand, but for realizing a WFOE there is a lengthy approval process with a bureaucratic apparatus that constantly changes rules. Compared to 2009, the nation’s

levelsofbureaucracyhasgottenmuch worse,” said Caroline, citing this as one of the major reasons why smaller companies decide to move to other Asian countries.

Side shoots

Meanwhile, Exotic Plant Shanghai is deeply rooted in Chinese soil, but Luc says rout sprouts and side shoots have developed along the way. “The year 2013 saw the election of a new Communist Party Chief and soon a new wind of austerity chilled China’s overheating economy.” Therippleeffectsreachedallsectorsof the economy, including ornamental horticulture. At the time, the BBC reported that flower sales across the country were dramatically plummeting, with stall owners telling the broadcaster that their business was down at least 50 percent due to the ban on floral displays at official functions.“FewsectorsoftheChinese economy have been immune to this new situation and all of a sudden there was this full blown crash in ornamental plants. Our Chinese customerswereleftwithoutthenecessary money to maintain their crop in goodshape,beingawakeatnightwith unsold plants piling up. Affected by little or no demand the industry as a whole took a battering,” said Luc. However, the Chinese ornamental plant sector underwent a wave of consolidation and was quick to recover. Luc noted that, even though thecompany'srevenuenumberswent from positive in 2012 to moderately negative in 2013, they were quick to rise again in 2015. “The situation has improved dramatically and this was partly thanks to our customers, who don’t have the luxury of having an auction. As such, they were forced to reinvent themselves by finding all kinds of alternative sales channels varying from bigger wholesalers to

A sense of calm appears to be returning to the market. “Acknowledging that your customers are no longer completely focused on government sales, that they have taken up a managementroletobecomeamaster of their own destiny, feels like as some type of guarantee,” said Caroline. But things will never be leaved to fate and destiny. Plants sales in China are highlyseasonalwithdemandpeaking in March, April and May, with high sales slowly tapering until early November.MostchallengingareDecember, January and February as growers needtospendextramoneyonheating their greenhouses while demand dramatically drops. Luc: “This made us opt for an additional plant range thatwebelievewillincreaseyieldsduring the winter months - Belgian pot mums, Lavandula, pot Aster, Skimmia japonica, all of which come in big pots for colour and impact.”

Growing middle class

Meanwhile China’s middle class, concentrated in the big cities, is on the rise. Surveys have shown that China’s per capita income increased fivefold between 2000 and 2010 and that is good news for the nation as the cut back in urban poverty goes hand-inhand with more spending power. But Luc was quick to warn against overestimating the nation’s buying power as one in ten Chinese remains poor. “We all know the big and rosy stories on 1.3 billion Chinese and what would

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February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

China A firm favourite

Bromeliads are a firm favorite with Chinese consumers. Caroline Pieters- De Meyer recalls how, at a Chinese flower trade show, fifteen years ago, she managed to chat with people from outside the business; the ordinary consumer. She quickly learnt that, contrary to Europe, everyone could tell the plant’s name in Chinese it is commonly referred to as Fung li, which loosely translates as pineapple plant. Almost all (80%) Bromeliads in the Chinese market come with inflorescences on a red spike of vivid red bracts. White is a colour associated with death and mourning, while colours such as orange or purple are impossible to sell. Bromelias are commonly found in hotels, airports and government buildings, but the Pieters have every reason to believe that their plants are increasingly used to brightening up the Chinese people’s living spaces, based on the sizeable number of flower stalls across the country which are selling Bromelias. Bromelia, Calathea and orchids are among China’s most popular indoor plants. The Taiwanese played a pivotal role in enhancing standards of professionalism in the market, as they learnt the ropes of Bromelia growing from their Belgian and Dutch fellow growers. Once they had acquired sufficient knowledge of the different growing techniques, the Taiwanese started purchasing Bromelia young plants from EP-Exotic Plant, amongst other. Attracted by cheap land and labour, some Taiwanese Bromelia growers moved to mainland China, specifically Guangzhou. In the early days, the Pieters delivered to only a handful of these growers, but their customer base expanded quickly to over 100 customers. Regarding EP-Exotic Plant’s customer base the Pieters say the business environment is constantly changing, although half of the customers from the early days are still up and running. The year 2010 saw a significant influx of young growers followed by a drop in newcomers after the 2013 crisis. According to Luc, today’s customer base is comprised of both small-to-medium sized companies in all corners of China and a number of Asian export destinations. Bigger growers can have a few hectares, while others grow on an area not bigger than 3000 or 5000m2. But, stressed Caroline, it is important to debunk the myth that Chinese horticulture is about peasants and small-scale farmers. “There are shining examples of how these peasants from the early days evolved into real entrepreneurs growing their plants in professional greenhouses.”

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

happen if only 10% of the Chinese population would buy plants. This kind of math is too quick as today no more than one percent of the Chinese population purchase ornamental plants.” Another myth is the quickly increasing number of millionaires and billionaires. The 2014 Forbes Billionaires list reported that China had 152 US$ billionaires (up 30 percent from 2013) 9 percent of theworldtotalandsecondafterthe US (492 people). “All this is easily misjudged. Over the past seven years,wehavetravelledextensively throughout all corners of China gathering a lot of knowledge. It is important to be aware that there are, especially in rural areas, still an awful lot of people living in questionable conditions.”

Stock market crash

A darker reality is China’s stock market crash in September 2015 and January 2016. Caroline and Luc said these stock market matters go somewhat beyond their comprehension and are better left in the hands of expert economists. “Following China’s leading horticultural trade show – Hortiflorexpo IPM from May 11-13, 2016, we mightbeabletoprovidesomemore market insight. So far the outlook for our business is positive with two million extra plants sold in January 2015 compared to the same period in 2014,” Caroline said.

Building relationships brick by brick

Doing business in China is not only about well-thought business plans and doing the right math. It isalsoaboutunderstandingcultural and social differences. Over the past seven years, Caroline and Luc feel they have become much more integrated into Chinese society, although the language is still an important trade barrier. Asked about guanxi, loosely translated as relationships, Luc needs no further explanation and said that building a network of mutually-beneficial relationships which can be used for business purposes is extremely important. It is built brick by brick. “We first started to get acquainted

with public servants from the Jinshan district, then with the secretary and finally the mayor. In turn, themayorwillreportoursuccesses to the provincial government.” The couple also uses Flemish friendliness to their advantage. “Next to guanxi, mianzi is equally important and is the principal of neverlettingaChineseperson‘lose face’Alwaysavoidbeingtoopushy, andrememberitisalwaysbetterto reach a compromise,” Luc added. Reflecting on one of the best parts of doing business with the Chinese, Caroline was quick to mentiontheprepaymentculture,a practice stretching across a variety ofsectorsandcompanies.“Prepayments are everywhere in China. If only this practice was common in Europe! It would be such luxury!” said Caroline, basing her findings on the difficulties she encounters when collecting money from her European customers.

Jinshan district

EP-Exotic Plant is located in the province of Jinshan, a suburban districtaboutonehour’sdrivefrom downtown Shanghai. It is an attractiveplacetodobusinesswhere thePietersdifferentiatethemselves in the market by being the only youngplantproducersinthatarea. “Agricultural and horticultural activity has a long standing tradition in Jinshan hosting a sizeable number of fresh produce companies. Following an extensive search, we opted for this area, which, at the time, was designated as a future greenhouseclusterinagovernmental attempt to wipe out poverty among local farmers. The district has been very good for us. It comes under the Shanghai government which offers an attractive climate for foreign investors including subsidizedloans.Whenwefirstbegan the Chinese branch, Shanghai and horticulture frequently made the headlines with the fledgling Shanghai Flower Port, a 35ha greenhouse cluster offering a mix ofcommercialgreenhouseproduction, R&D and flower shows for big audiences. One thing is for sure, the love for flowers is in the Chinese genes.” |||

China Aucxis, a leading provider of automation solutions for flower auctions worldwide, has successfully completed a major project in Dounan, China. The company fitted the Dounan Flower Market’s new-build auction room with the latest technology, installing all the necessary software and hardware, including three huge multicolor LED-screens to display auction clocks and an additional LEDDisplay for crop and grower information.

The new-build auction room at the Dounan flower market.

Dounan project successfullycompleted with the help of Aucxis

unming is slowly but steadily progressing into a flower auctioninghotbed.Overthe past few years, the KIFA (Kunming International Flower Trading Center) and Dounan flower markets in Kunming have enjoyed a sustained period of stable growth with trading volumes of fresh cut flowers continuously increasing. Both auctionsareDutchstyledescending priceauctions;theauctioneeropens with a high price and lowers it until a bidder accepts the current price. Dounan Flower Market and KIFA areliterallyneighbours:bothbuildingsarelocatednexttooneanother. The Dounan Flower Market recently underwent a major overhaul with Belgian Aucxis fitting the auction’snew–buildbuyer’sgallery with integrated buyer electronics andauctioneersoftwarewithinterfacetowardstheback-officesystem of DFETC.

Language

by Ron van der Ploeg

According to Aucxis business development manager Patrick Bauwens the revamped Dounan auction offers space for 3306 buyers. “The auction gallery comprises nine rows of 17 buyer desks, each deskprovidingbiddingfacilitiesfor 2 buyers.” One of the biggest challenges to be overcome when installing the auction system was the language.

“When doing business in China, hiring an interpreter is vital to the success of the project. The language barrieroftenisanobstacleduringthe projectdevelopment,”saidBauwens. Headded,“Agreementsmadeondifferent levels can be easily misunderstood. Preliminary operations have to be followed closely, but this really applies to every remote project.”

It is often said that key to doing successfully business in China is having a local partner. But Aucxis hadn’t any. “We teamed up with our customer to successfully install the project and put it into service. The Dounan Flower Market provided all the cabling works, installed the metal frames for the buyer desks, the LED screens as well as the central network infrastructure,” explained Bauwens. It is often said that China is in lax in protecting Intellectual Property. When asked about protecting the highly specific automation solutions for auctions against copy cats, Bauwens said, “The gallery hardware and auction software are the fruit of 30 years’ experience in developing automation solutions for flower auctions. It might be tempting to copy our systems, but it would take a new party many years to overcome teething problems. Dounan Flower Market choose to

implement Aucxis technology as they wanted to be assured of having astableandprofessionalsystemrunning on the agreed date of delivery.”

Remote buying

According to Bauwens doing business in China is an exciting experience.“Chinesepeopleareverysocial and friendly and it is a real pleasure to being invited to participate in their culture, which is quite different from ours.” With the booming digital sales channel in China, with Alibaba as prime example, making the headlines every day, the question is why the Chinese did not opt for a remote buying system. “In China, the quality of the Internet lines is often not sufficient or stable enough to have a real time KOA system accurately up and running.Aweb-basedsolutionsuch as Alibaba is less time-critical than a real-time remote bidding solution for a flower auction. But I believe these problems can be overcome in the short term. There is great interest in remote bidding, but at first, buyers at Dounan Flower Market will have to get familiar with the auction system. Once this has been achieved,remotebiddingcanbeintegrated. China is a very big country and a KOA platform at the flower markets could boost sales at home and abroad.” |||

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Auctions Feeling part of the a(u)ction I Flower and plant growers attending the General Members’ Meeting (GGM) of Dutch flower auction FloraHolland left Naaldwijk on Thursday, December 17, 2015 in an upbeat mood. The old General Membership Meeting had been redesigned as a theatre-inthe-round so the audience really felt part of the a(u)ction. FloraHolland CEO Lucas Vos, however, recalled that not everything comes up roses

by Ron van der Ploeg

n the arena stage, FloraHolland Chairman Bernard Oosterom, CEO Lucas Vos and CFO Rens Buchwaldt were the stars of their own show, exuding a mix of thoughtful reflection, dynamism and humour that visibly energized their audience.

Rich in presentation but poor in attendance

In his welcome address, Chairman Oosteromoutlinedwhytheauction has decided to drop the floorplan that has been used for so many decades, noting that the auction aims toshortenthedistancebetweenthe cooperative and its members. A raised podium with a head table spanning 15 metres across and a multitude of board members overlookingtheir‘subjects’aredefinitely not the best ingredients for boosting interaction and engagement. The biggest question, however, is if this new, more-intimate setup can stoptheongoingdeclineinmember attendance at the event that is held twice a year. Registration for the December GMM was poor with no more than 254 members present, which equates to only 4.3 percent

of FloraHolland’s total membership. Butatleastthosepresentpredominantly looked at the bright side of life - in a test vote 90.4 percent declared themselves optimistic about 2016.

Optimism reigned supreme

Optimism also reigned supreme during the short video shown during the GMM in which both auctionmembersandcustomers looked back on some of the highlights of 2015. Patio plant grower Fred van Luijk of De Veranda Nursery said 2015 was a really good year for the horticultural industry,includingfreshproduce as well as flowers and ornamental plants, a welcome boost to the sector as a whole. Floral wholesaler Gert de Mooij of Hoven& De Mooij thought trade was relatively smooth sailing and tulip grower Edwin de Wit even talked about record sales for the 2014/2015 tulip season. The geopolitical situation in Russia was worrying in the beginning of the year, but it all turned out particularly well, De Wit said. Tropical plant grower Louis Bakker from MondoVerde noted a change in consumerbehaviortowardtropical foliage plants with improved sales for his company.

Not all is rosy

The pressure on Phalaenopsis prices persists.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

FloraHolland CEO Lucas Vos recalled that in 2015 not everything cameuproses;Chrysanthemums and Gerberas prices tumbled 5.6 and 6 percent respectively, while the pressure on Phalaenopsis prices persists. “It has been a difficult year for Phalaenopis growers faced with a drop in prices and marketsaturation.Assuch,growers tend to react by increasing production volumes to reduce costs which puts prices under even more pressure,” said Vos. He is also concerned for the Dutch tulip growers who are be-

comingmoredependentoncertain brokers, drawing a comparison between the tulip sector and the Dutch fresh produce industry and expressing his hope that Dutch tulips will not follow the same fate. “We all know how bad it ended for the Dutch fresh produce business,” he said. In roses, the unfavourable euro-todollar exchange rate proves to be testing for growers in Kenya and Ethiopia alike. They are facing an immediate 30 percent increase in costs. Vos also presented more blooming businessresults.“Tulipgrowerssaw their prices increase by 10 percent and both Lisianthus and houseplants performed well. Interestingly, clock prices reported an increase by 15 percent. Meanwhile, the loss of members seems to have slowed. Over 2015, the auction lost 21 members which is a very small decrease.”

Are we going fast enough?

Vos questioned whether the auction’s new business strategy for 2020 moves at a fast enough pace to really make a significant difference. “Making the FloraHolland 2020 strategy successful is not an easy task. Are we moving quickly enough?” Vos asked himself, referring to the auction’s jungle of 175 different and outdated computer andoperatingsystemsthathavenot helped the auction gain a competitive advantage. “Following the merger it was decided to combine the best of both worlds which eventually was unwise. Back then, onesingleoperatingsystemwould have been a far better option. In 2015, we removed 36 systems with another 40 systems to say goodbye to next year.” Also creating somewhat of a headache is the auction’s high sickness absencerates.”Therateshavefallen compared to 2014 but, with 5.3 percent, are still relatively high. Our workforce is under pressure with a

n at Royal FloraHolland’s GMM results in a blue print by Spring 2016.

A boom in Chinese e-commerce

challenging relationship between speed and accuracy,” Vos said.

Open heart surgery

Summarizing the key issues of FloraHolland’s new business strategyVosmentioned‘Auctioning 2.0’, a completely new approach to auctioningbasedondisconnecting the price setting from the logistic process. “Ultimately, the main goal is to offer the grower an efficient market and meeting place with the most stable and the best possible price at the lowest cost. Ex Works (read Ex Nursery) Auctioning is a scenario that would allow for significant cost savings,” Vos said. According to the FloraHolland CEO, 86 percent of the members consider Ex Nursery Auctioning

FloraHolland CEO Lucas Vos questioned whether the auction’s new business strategy for 2020 moves at a fast enough pace to really make a significant difference.

as the first logical step toward cost savings. This ‘Auctioning 2.0’ should be combined with anadvancedtransactionsystem, but Vos refused to take a clear stancewhetherthisshouldbethe auction clock or an alternative selling system. He was quick to add that, “There is quite some reluctanceatgrower’slevel.Over decades, the auction clock has treated them so well, but this doesn’t keep us from putting the clock under scrutiny. But caution is commendable as this is something at the core of our business…call it an open heart surgery!” A team of experts is currently assessing all the Do’s and Don’ts of the new auctioning which will

Progressing at rapid pace is the World Flower Exchange (WFE), thenext-generationonlinetrading platform. The goal is to replicate the physical FloraHolland in the virtual world. Embarking on a royal trade mission to China last autumn, the WFE team discovered the untapped opportunities the Chinese marketplace has to offer. “First, there are plenty of rich Chinese, and secondly mobile online shopping in China is booming. It is said that B2C online sales in China are growing at an annual rate of 25% with smartphone playing an important role. Over 30 percent of all purchases are done from a smartphone, while in the Netherlands this is only 4 percent,” said Vos. A boom in Chinese e-commerce goes hand-in-hand with a mega investment in logistics. “For the next five years, China has announced an $85 billion investment in its cool chain,” Vos said, adding that the Dutch Tulip Day will make its debut in Beijing in 2016. Expectations are sky high. “Our country is very popular with the Chinese, recognised and is recognised agricultural powerhouse,” Vos stressed. “And, if I am well informed in Chinese, the word ‘Holland’ is pronounced using the words Ge which is Lotus and Lan which means Orchids. So, by mentioningHollandtheyautomatically refer to two types of flowers.”

Lean Six Sigma

Meanwhile, Vos announced that, contrary to the success of the WFE, a higher consumer expenditure on cut flowers and plants is much more difficult to achieve than expected. “The ambitions are high. A 20% increase in floral purchases means a growth of €5.7 billion,” Vos said. “This is not an easy job

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February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Auctions

and remains an extremely big challenge. And, in all honesty, I don’t think we have discovered the right recipe yet.” Vos also announced that FloraHolland will focus on the principles of Lean Six Sigma, a discipline that increases revenue by enabling an organisation to focus on customers and quality. It is about cost savings and passing these savings onto the company’s customers to offer value for money. Vos believes significantsavingscanberealisedin the field of logistics. “The amount of transport flows between our different branches in Naaldwijk, Rijnsburg and Aalsmeer involves a lot of waste, empty kilometres and we need to find a way to get this resolved,” he concluded.

On track

Financially, Royal FloraHolland is on the right track for 2020. At the GMM, members gathered to vote on the rates for 2016, the standard repayment of a members' loan annual instalment and various appointments. “Last year we plotted a clear direction to take with 2020 as our target on the horizon. It is good to see that we are on track to achieve the set goals,” said Vos. Traditionally, during the GMM in December,thecurrentfinancialstatus and the annual plan and budget

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

The old General Membership Meeting had been redesigned as a theatre-inthe-round.

for next year are reviewed. FloraHolland CFO Rens Buchwaldt (who is to retire as of March 1, 2016), briefly explained the plans for modernizing the financing of the cooperative, which will take on concrete form in 2016. According to Buchwaldt, the Management Board of FloraHolland expects an increase in sales of just over 3% in 2016. While the clock sales continue to decline, FloraHolland anticipates seeing the initial results of the growth-oriented initiatives from FloraHolland 2020 in 2016. “Although we are leaving the rates unchanged, we still expect to cover the costs of implementing FloraHolland 2020 with our income,” confirmed Rens. “With thepromotionalcontributionfrom the trade, we can also carry out additionalsector-widepromotional activities next year via the Flower Council Holland.”

Elections

During the annual GMM, two supervisorydirectorswerere-elected. Jack Goossens has been a member of the Supervisory Board since 2014, and Mariëlle Ammerlaan will begin her last three-year term. Louis Bouman, who has occupied administrative positions in FloraHolland since 2003,

resigned. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board and the audit committee since 2014. His position will not be filled, because the Supervisory Board hasdecidedtoreducethenumber of its supervisory directors from eleven to nine. Bouman received the FloraHolland Diamond Pin for his leadership, vision and commitment. Lucas Vos wrapped up the meeting by saying that the ambitions, opportunities and challenges for the sector are enormous. “The world never stands still, which is why we have to continue modernizing. The cooperative must be the connector in the horticultural sector and support the growth of our customers and members. We connect,share,facilitate,innovate and spur our members and customerstobeevenmoresuccessful. To achieve our aims in 2020, we must examine not only what we do but how we do it.” Vos presented the new identity of the Royal FloraHolland cooperative, which is another milestone on the path to 2020. “This new identity makes our mission tangible and strengthens our message. We are Royal and we can be proud ofthatdesignation.‘Floweringthe world’ is what it is all about and what drives us every day.” |||

Growing miniature pot roses in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands F CI sat down with the company’s production manager Ms Lee Chiat to find out why the company opted for Roses Forever and Infinity pot roses. “We choose Roses Forever Mini Roses and Infinity Roses because they are suitable to be grown in small, 10.5cm pots. Roses Forever’s creations are special, heat tolerant and longer lasting as their shelf life is around 3 to 5 weeks. Some varieties are even nicely scented.”

Sharing plant expertise

by Ron van der Ploeg

Ms Chiat said that the Danish breeder constantly comes up with newbreedsanduniqueinnovations. “Roses Forever is willing to share plant knowledge. We find Ms Rosa inspiring and her burning passion

for roses has been told in many internationalbusinessmagazinesand newspapers. When working with Roses Forever, signing an agreement and contract for mutual understandingispartofthedeal.They stipulate the criteria which should be respected by licensed growers. Also we are submitting production figures monthly for royalty payment purpose. In turn, we received a growing manual and from there westartedtoproduceourpotroses. WesoughtconsultationfromRoses Forever’s Mr Harley when we faced technical challenges and needed assistance.” Ms Chiat added that Roses Forever apart from crop assistance, provides marketing tools such as special sleeves, brochures, CD and catalogues. “They also gave us conceptual forms and labels for the monitoring of the production progress.Weweredeeplyimpressed by the innovative character of the company. Both Harley and Rosa are trustworthy persons, friendly and very pleasant to cooperate with.”

Malaysian pot plant business

Ms Lee Chiat Wong explained that the company finds itself in an agricultural area, known for the production of tea, fresh produce and ornamentals. “The company

El Paso tm Roses Forever ®

Pot plants

has 5 hectares with 1 ha dedicated togrowingRosesForeverminiature pot roses in 10.5cm pots. But we also grow other pot plants such as Begonia, Saintpaulia, ferns, Anthurium and some carnivorous plants. Our annual output is around 337,480 pot roses. We grow mainly the Roses Forever series and Infinity series (SnowballTM and Princess Infinity) and a few varieties for Edible Roses series (BariTM, Pink BariTM, CubaTM and Hot YellowTM). Our main market comprises whole salers, plant retailers, florist shops and supermarkets.” With regards to the floral preferences of most Malaysians Ms Chiat said that firm favourite are bright colored roses especially the double colored (orange+yellow), red, pink, orange, yellow, purple etc. Most of them dislike the very light colored plants especially the white ones. In Malaysia, the New Year (Hari Raya) and Chinese New Year are the most important floral holidays with sales peaking dramatically. According to Ms Chiat, the best colors mixture consists of 35% red, 20% orange; 20% pink, 15% yellow, 7% purple, 3% white. Ms Chiat expects 20% annual growth for the pot plant business in Malaysia. The most challenging problem to be overcome is the limited availability of land in the Cameron Highlands. |||

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Marketing It has been said that life is sweetest when you ‘stop and smell the roses’. LM Flower Fashion wants you to not only revel in their beauty and scent, but also remember their name.

LM Flower Fashion puts luxury Dutch flowers on the world stage F

by Brittany Posey

lowers have been an integral part of both art and marketing since the beginningofrecordedhistory,from ancient tapestries adorned with

Jeff Leatham - The Rockstar Florist

hand-stitchedpetalstoCleopatra’s rose-filled living quarters that wooed Marc Antony.

Outside the box

Today flowers remain closely intertwinedwithartandbranding, but in their relationship with other products, the bloom often takes a supporting role. LM Flower Fashion set out six years ago to change that by teaming up with luxury brands, world-renown florists, celebrities and royalty to help bring high-quality Dutch flowers – and their growers – into the spotlight. “LM Flower Fashion is a promotional platform for flowers and plants but specific to highquality growers who dare to think outside the box, who want to distinguish themselves and who work so hard for their beautiful

products that it is important to tell and show the world where their flowers or plants come from,” said Marc Knijnenburg, cofounder of LM Flower Fashion. He added, “Their company name is a brand that represents their high quality product – the flower or plant.”

True experts

The idea began in 2010 when Dutch duo Marc Knijnenburg and Raymond Bogaarts joined forces to createfloralarrangementsforphoto shoots. It was immediately obvious that, although the flowers weren’t intendedtobethefocus,theyoften sparked the most conversation and emotion. Knijnenburg and Bogaarts decided to capitalize on the impact of flowers and created LM Flower Fashion with a mission to generate interest in Dutch growers and breeders with

Jeff Leatham

To help create this emotional impact, LM Flower Fashion also works closely with the world’s first rockstar florist, Jeff Leatham, to create floral arrangements that you have to see to believe. Most recently, Leatham worked with LM Flower Fashion to source thousands upon thousands of stems of Dutch flowers which were used in Colombian-American actress Sofia Vergara’s star-studded wedding. “It took us a full day and a half to just put the flowers in water,” Leatham said of Vergara’s wedding. “I don’t know anyone, to be honest, that is doing what LM Flower Fashion does. That’s why I’m such a supporter of them and their mission,” Leatham said. “I think it’s incredibly innovative for Marc and Raymond to do this for the growers to get them more of the attention they deserve. People in America obviously know about Dutch flowers… people always know that flowers come from Holland. But they need to get the word out more. There needs to be more ‘in your face’ action towards that. I do such high profile events, and I’m able to use Dutch products that we can talk about in the press, the papers and the magazines.”

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

The project uses thousands of stems of the highest-quality flowers to create breathtaking displays used during the events, product launches, exhibits, celebrations and photoshoots of some of the most-exclusive and innovative brands in the world.

Avalanche+ roses and roaring twenties combined at Kris Jenner’s birthday party.

worldwide media and consumers. Whereas some luxury brands have their own ‘floral lines’ (think the Vera Wang Floral Collection by Interflora), LM Flower Fashion leaves the brand in the hands of the true experts – the growers themselves. Today, the floral promotion power couple currently represents 11 Dutch growers to position their companies as luxury brands with their flowers as luxury products. The goal of LM is to have the names of the growers and their products on as many lips, social platforms, websites and magazine pages as possible, and they are doing so for Anco pure Vanda (exclusive Vanda orchid), Fransen Roses (Red Naomi! and Myrna+), Marginpar (exclusive summer flower varieties), Meijer Roses (top brand in Avalanche+ roses), My Peony and My Blush (group of Peony and cut foliage growers), Vollering Hydrangea (Hydrangea as cutflowers), Walter Grootscholten Orchids (cut Phalaenopsis), HVS Orchids (cut Cymbidium), Primera Fashion Flowers (producer of high quality wax roses), Sion (grower of topmodel Phalaenopsis orchid

plants) and Zentoo (high quality chrysanthemums). Royalty bouquets. Pictured left to right are Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Queen Máxima of The Netherlands.

Great ambassadors

To say that LM Flower Fashion createsglamorousandsophisticated experiences with Dutch flowers would be an understatement. The project uses thousands of stems of thehighest-qualityflowerstocreate breathtaking displays used during the events, exhibits, celebrations and photoshoots of some of the most-exclusive and innovative brands in the world such as Dom Perignon, Givenchy, Chloe, Disneyland Paris, L’Oreal, Harrods, Bulgari and the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, amongst others. It is a marriage between products wheretheflowersandtheirgrowers finally get a fair share of attention. “Flowers and plants can be seen as a piece of art. It’s the beauty of flowers, the color or the structure of the leaves of plants that can inspire the designers of fashion brands to create a collection. Or the fragrance of flowers and plants that’s an ingredient for some of the mostfamous perfumes in the world,” said Knijnenburg. “Movie stars and singers are creative people too and that’s one of the reasons most

of them love flowers and plants. Their lifestyles inspire others, and that’s why well-known people are great ambassadors for flowers and plants.” Who are these well-known ambassadors? Just a few friends of LM Flower Fashion like the

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Marketing of the first clients of LM Flower Fashion. “The wedding of Tina Turner was a great opportunity to show our quality roses; a wall made of thousands of roses was created. We have done many other projects, too – our flowers have decorated fashion shows, dinners of the Dutch Royal Family, the Queen Latifa Show and have had several exposures in the George V Hotel in Paris.”

Luxury floral branding’s future

LM Flower Fashion provided flowers for Kylie Minogue’s Sleepwalker video which was played on large-projection screens during her Kiss Me Once Tour. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz1JyoXvZXk

Royal Dutch Family, Tina Turner, Kris Jenner, Kylie Minogue, Sofia Vergara and Queen Latifa, to name a few. And, when you have thousands of stems of flowers delivered from Holland to help an artist complete their craft or celebration, it does not go unnoticed: when LM Flower Fashion provided flowers for Kylie Minogue’s Sleepwalker video which was played on large-projection screens during her Kiss Me Once Tour, Minogue sent individual thank you letters to each grower. Such a personal,emotionalresponseelicited by the beauty of the Dutch flowers is not uncommon among the artists.

Flower Fashion’s network, styling, photography,pressreleasecreation and social media. The work comes with a price tag, but the growers receive a service not available anywhere else in the world. “It is amazing to see your own product this way,” said Ramona Fransen of Fransen Roses, one

“LM Flower Fashion will work more and more international. We wanttocontinuebringingthefloral industry together with the fashion and lifestyle industry. We know how to accomplish this, but there are so many more opportunities,” said Knijnenburg. Knijnenburg emphasized that the relationships and ambassadors are key in elevating each brand, and Dutch entities especially support LM Flower Fashion’s mission. “We have a very good relationship with the Dutch ambassador and his wive based in the residence of the Netherlands in Paris and style the flowers from our growers in the residence for political to royal occasions. Working together with theEmbassy’sopensdoorswillhelp promote the flowers and plants on

A 24/7 job

In the digital age, luxury consumer goodsaren’tsomuchaboutspending high dollar amounts but more about participating in a luxury experience. With social media buzzing around the world every minute of the day, this means the work day is never over for LM Flower Fashion. “We work 24 hours a day. We live for the flowers and the brands, and becausesocialmediaissoimportant, our work never stops.” Forabasefee,growersreceiveon-call marketing as well as access to LM

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

Pictured left to right are Raymond Boogaarts and Marc Knijnenburg: floral promotion power couple.

HappyGardening by Anthony Tesselaar

The nature reboot Stop… and take a look at the image above. It’s a lovely shot so you probably won’t mind admiring this classic English Royal Horticultural Society landscape – the sweep of the pond at Wisley marking the point where water meets the land; the lush green turf; the mass of flowering colour; the trees which break the horizon; and above it all, the moody sky. Now I’ll explain what’s really going on. Taking a break – even one as short as 40 seconds – has an astonishingly positive effect, and I’m happy to announce (yet again) that Mother Nature is the reason why. But first, here’s the proof. A University of Melbourne study (published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology) asked 150 students to do a boring, attention-sapping task in front of a computer screen. Then, midway through the exercise, half of the group were asked to look at a scene of a rooftop meadow while the others spent their 40 seconds gazing at a bare concrete equivalent. The results were compared and the students who’d enjoyed the greener vista made significantly fewer mistakes in the second half of the exercise than the bare concrete group. The researchers’ conclusion was that the green roof provided a restorative experience which boosted those mental resources that control attention. Of course it did! Everybody knows that walking in the park, sitting under a tree at lunchtime, even bringing a pot plant inside to sit on your desk help your day go along so much better.

Jan Taminiau catwalk show.

a worldwide scale,” said Knijnenburg. “We also work together with FloraHolland and we are going to do somegreatthingstogethertorepresent flowers and plants from Holland. We launched a campaign called ‘Share Your Love with Flowers’ together with FloraHolland, Sion, Westland Marketing and Mirakuleus. It’s all about these collaborations. Working together makes everybody who is involved stronger toward reaching our goal…showing the beauty of flowers and plants from high-quality Dutch growers with perfect products.” Knijnenburg added as a final note, “Follow us on social media. We promise we will keep you posted and show you gorgeous flowers along the way.” The perfectly-planted floral marketing seed. |||

This Melbourne University study was designed to try to better understand the relationship between people and the natural environment. It shows nature can boost our focus, but there have been many others that show a range of benefits. Green spaces in and around hospitals help people to heal. Trees and seating, set into gardens at the base of high-rise housing, attract people to gather and help communities to build. In stressed neighbourhoods, community gardens and street plantings reduce anti-social behaviours. The point I’m making here is that the leverage remains the same – it’s that powerful, fundamental relationship we all have with nature. Of course we all know this, but do we actually think about it? And how many of us make use of it? I know it and I use it as a practical tool. When I’ve spent too long at my desk, I take what I call a green break. I’m lucky, as are most people who work in horticulture as we’re often surrounded by living green at work. I put the kettle on, then walk out into the trial garden for a few minutes. But as that Melbourne University study showed, any green vista will do. Look out the window, or freshen up a vase of flowers. Just be sure to take your eyes off the screen for a few minutes. Suggest that your subordinates do likewise. And show your children how to use the nature reboot tool. Do all this for a good reason. Yes, it’s about improving performance but it’s more about the restorative power of Nature.

Anthony Tesselaar hails from Anthony Tesselaar International, an international project management company dealing in plants, horticultural research & development and strategic water management. www.tesselaar.com / ATesselaar@tesselaar.com

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Technology In 1966, Piet Bom founded a company specialising in the manufacturing of commercial glasshouses in Holland’s famous Westland region, which is supposed to have more greenhouses per capita than anywhere in the world. Today, Bom Group turnkey greenhouse projects can be found around the globe from Canada to Belarus, from Saudi Arabia to Japan. This year, the company celebrates its 50th anniversary and FCI sat down with current director and co-owner Rob Grootscholten to reflect on half a century of change and progress in greenhouse horticulture.

‘Future innovations will be tailored for specific greenhouse concepts’ G

rootscholtenhasbeenwith the Bom company for almost forty years. “When I joined the firm in 1977, the development of longstanding relationships with customers were key to our success. We mainly built greenhousesforregularcustomers in the Westland. If one year we sat down with some grower to decide on adding 3,000m2 greenhouse space to his existing company, we were pretty sure that we would be back in a year or two to build the next 4,000 m2.” Grootscholten sets off talking before he is even seated at his desk. As if he already knew that it would take at least two hours to review fifty years of Bom Group history.

Build to last

by Harmen Kamminga

Most recently the Bom Group moved to a new location. The greenhouse building company is now conducting business out of a new building on the Kulkweg in Hoek van Holland, the Netherlands. The move follows strong growth for the company that over the years has evolved

Den Berk Nurseries, Belgium.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

Rob Grootscholten.

frombeingprogressivegreenhouse builders, heating engineers and screenspecialistsintointernational turnkey specialists in horticultural projects. This growth required all of their projects to be supported by an efficient logistics process. The company’s new premises in Hoek van Holland are fitted with stateof-the-art logistics facilities and are located near the port of Rotterdam. The new building will provide enough room for all departments with further expansion planned. “We are truly an international business with scales of operations beingmuchlargerthaneverbefore. It may seem that convincing investors with a sound project concept, promising a healthy return on investment,hasbecomemuchmore importantthanlongtermcustomer relations. But we have never been in for a hit-and-run strategy. That is not in our company culture. We build to last," said Grootscholten.

Much change

Grootscholten, Bom Group and the Dutch greenhouse building sector have gone through much change over the years. Marking its time in history was the energy crisis that affected Dutch horticulture in the 1970s. It was followed by an economic decline that rocked Dutch horticulture all the way into the eighties. All of a sudden the self-evident growth scenario of decades vaporised, leading to a decrease in demand for greenhouses and contractors such as Bom. At that time, Grootscholtenwitnessedhowkeen entrepreneurshipcanmakethedifference.“PietBom sawthegrowing demandforenergy-savingmeasures suchasscreensystemsandcameup with clever ways to integrate those in the greenhouse construction to prevent loss of light. It resulted in the launch of the company’s own screening division.”

Valley Grown Nurseries, Great Britain.

Estidamah Nurseries, Saudi Arabia.

Innovation

At Bom Group innovation fuels business growth. “Company founderPietBomwouldponderon a question for a while and then go sit and sketch out a solution. I have witnessed many great technical improvementsingreenhousedesign beingconceivedlikethat,”enthused Grootscholten. “We also spent a lot of time, effort and money developingdefectiveprototypes.Suchisthe cost of innovation. We learned not to shy away from innovating. We usedtohavethreeemployeesinour R&D-department. That is a lot for agreenhousecontractor.Butitgave usacompetitiveedgeinthe market place.”

Revolutionary technologies

Bom established its name as a leading company in greenhouse construction with revolutionary introductions such as the narrow aluminium gutter to replace the

oldheavygalvanisedsteelguttersin 1982. Or the ABS slip block for its screensystemsin1994.“Customers could be sure we would take our innovative approach to any project we worked on.” The millennium brought a new generation of management and a saturated home market which urged Bom Group to expand beyond Western Europe. “By integrating greenhouse construction, screening and heating into one company and surrounding ourselveswithreliablepartnersand suppliers we have well-positioned our business for the complex turnkey projects in the international market.” Still the alignment to the international market with its different business cultures and large scale projects have taken a lot of effort of the Bom organisation in recent years. Its new premises in Hoek van Holland is the temporary final piece of that process. “At our old

Thanet Earth Growers, Great Britain.

place in Naaldwijk we ran out of space to keep up with the increasing logistic demands. At the current long distances logistic failure can be a neck breaker. With our new 4.000 m2 assembly area we can meet any current and future demands.” Meanwhile Grootscholten an exciting future lies ahead in the field of greenhouse building. “Some said as early as in 2000 that developmentsingreenhousedesign were done. But growers have been using glass greenhouses for over a century and as long as they keep doing so, we will improve them.” Most recently, Bom Group doubled its R&D staff. “Since all different crops grown by different growers in different regions of the world require their own specific greenhouse concept, future innovations may be more tailored and less generic than they were in the past. But that will not make them less innovative.” |||

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

International Events 2016 February 2016 3 to 5. Germany Fruit Logistica Berlin, the world’s leading trade fair for the fresh fruit and vegetable business. www.fruitlogistica.de 16 to18. France 31st Salon du Végétal at the Parc des Expositions in Angers, France. salon@bhr-vegetal.com www.salon-du-vegetal.com 24 to 26. Italy The 2nd edition of Myplant & Garden at the Fiera Milano RhoPero convention , Milan, Italy. www.myplantgarden.com 26 to 27. United Kingdom RHS London Botanical Art Show. A celebration of botanical art and horticultural masterpieces from around the world. www.rhs.org.uk 25 to 27. Poland Gardenia, nursery stock trade show at Poznan’s International Fair. www.gardenia.mtp.pl March 2016 2 March. Belgium Florall. In 2014, Belgium’s leadingtradeshowforthelifestyle horticultureindustrywasreduced to a one day event. www.florall.be 4 to 6. United States Northeast Floral Expo at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel Springfield, MA. www.northeastfloralexpo.com 5 to 13. United States 2016 Philadelphia International Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia. www.theflowershow.com 9 to 10. The Netherlands FloraHolland Seasonal Trade Fair & Florist Event events@floraholland.nl www.floraholland.com/tradefair 9 to 11. United States World Floral Expo in Los Angeles. www.hpp.nl 14 to 18. Canada International Green City Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia. Come explore Canada’s beautiful West Coast andexperiencethefusionofgreen and urban. Vancouver is hosting

the 2016 Green City Conference, a place that is setting the standard in green industry practices. Set to become the greenest city in the world by 2020, and with numerous projects underway, it is sure to amaze and inspire. www.cnla-acpp.ca/greencity 14 to 15. United States 36th Annual Congressional Action Days www.safnow.org 17 March. China PMA Fresh Connections China in Shanghai. Access exclusive market insights that will help you capitalize on China's rapid economic growth. Build your network by connecting with Chinese retailers and importers. www.pma.com 16-20. Switzerland Giardina, the country’s leading home and garden show at the Messe Zürich convention centre. www.giardina.ch 16 to 20. Australia Melbourne International Flower and Garden (MIFG) show at the Royal Exhibition Buildings Melbourne,Nicholson St Carlton www.melbflowershow.com.au

15-17. United Kingdom RHS Flower Show Cardiff at the Bute Park in Cardiff. www.rhs.org.uk 20 – 24 April. The Netherlands 69th Flower Parade (Bloemen corso van de Bollenstreek). This year’s theme is Flowers & Fashion. www.bloemencorsobollenstreek.nl 22 April – 1 May. Belgium Floralies Ghent. Floralies Ghent will debuting as an outdoor plant and flower event in Kunstenkwartier of the city. www.floralien.be 23 April to 30 October. Turkey Expo2016 Antalya, an international horticultural exhibition devoted to nature, the environment, children and future generations. It’s an event that revolves around the theme of ‘Children’, reinforced by cultural, historical and artistic activities. www.expo2016antalya.org.tr/en 25-29. Turkey AGM 2016 will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, April 25-29. T +49 40 555 63 702 www.ciopora.org

April 2016

29 April to 15 May. Korea International Horticulture Goyang Korea 2016 10th International Flower Exhibition at Lake Park, Goyang City near Seoul. bom@flower.or.kr www.flower.or.kr

1-2. United Kingdom RHS Spring Plant Extravaganza at the RHS Horticultural Halls. Featuring the RHS London Orchid Show. www.rhs.org.uk

29 April to 16 October. China Tangshan International Horticultural Exposition 2016. www.tangshanexpo2016.com/ english/ www.aiph.org

30 March – 1 April. The Netherlands Tulip Trade Event, www.tuliptradeevent.nl

5-6 April. United States Fresh Connections Retail in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA Network with leading retailers, explore consumer trends and uncover new business opportunities. www.pma.org 9 to 14. United States California Spring Trials. www.horticultureevents.com 11 to 14. Turkey 3rd International Symposium on OrganicGreenhouseHorticulture in Izmir, Turkey. www.oghsymposium2016.org 12-14. Ukraine Flower Expo Ukraine at the International Exhibition Centre (IEC) in Kiev, Ukraine. www.flowerexpo-ukraine.com

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

17-19 May. Australia Fresh Connections Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane, Australia. Get direct access to the movers and shakers of the Australasian fresh fruit, vegetable and floral industry. Stay ahead of your competition with cuttingedge education on the latest technologies and global trends. www.pma.org 19-21. Azerbaijan Caspian Agro, the country’s largest agricultural trade show taking place at the Baku Expo Center from May 19-21. T +99412 447 4774 F +99412 447 8558 caspianagro@ceo.az www.caspianagro.az 23-26. Spain II ISHS International Workshop on Floral Biology and S-Incompatibility in Fruit Species in Murcia, Spain. www.verticesur.es/congresos/ FBSI2016/ 24-28. United Kingdom RHS Chelsea Flower Show. www.rhs.org.uk June 2016 2 to 6. Ireland Bloom Ireland, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 9am – 6pm www.bloominthepark.com 3 to 4. United Kingdom RHS London Rose Show. www.rhs.org.uk 7 to 10. The Netherlands Dutch Lily Days. www.dutchlilydays.com

May 2016

8 to 10. Kenya International Floriculture Trade Expo (Iftex). www.hpp.nl

5-8. United Kingdom RHS Malvern Spring Festival www.rhs.org.uk

14 to 16. The Netherlands GreenTech at the RAI convention centre in Amsterdam. www.greentech.nl

11 to 12 May. Mexico Fresh Connections Mexico in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. Tap into new business opportunities in Mexico and other global markets. Acquire solutionsforincreasedoperational productivity. www.pma.org 11 to 13. China 18th Hortiflorexpo IPM Beijing. www.hortiflorexpo.com

14-17. Germany/Netherlands 2016 Flower Trials. 49 Breeding companiesinthreeregionspresent their latest innovations and future developmentsinpotandbedding plants. www.flowertrials.com 20 to 22. United States International Floriculture Expo, United Fresh, FMI Connect and Global Cold Chain Expo at the McCormick Place, Chicago. info@floriexpo.com www.floriexpo.com

Events Launching in Frankfurt at what is touted as one of the world‘s largest consumer-goods trade shows (2,873 exhibitors from 67 countries), the new Floradecora show, will show interesting ways to blend fresh cut flowers, pot plants and home decor accessories. With the flower industry increasingly interested in doing business with large retailers and the predominant do-it-for-me trend among consumers, the Disney-inspired floral extravaganza, to be held in conjunction with the 2017 Christmas World show has every potential to sparkle (Christmas) trade.

by Ron van der Ploeg

Joy to the World! New2017Floradecora show announced S

haring their views on the new Floradecora event with a packed audience of international trade press in Frankfurt on Saturday 30 January were Detlef Braun, member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt, Christmasworld director Eva Olbrich, Green Team Consultancy co-owner Ronald van den Breevaart and Pascal Koeleman from 2Dezign.

Deliciously addictive

“Floradecora will make people genuinely happy and is a new deliciously addictive show, a must see and the perfect platform to open new retail markets and drive impulse sales for SME’s in the ornamental horticulture sector,” said Detlef Braun adding that the choice for Frankfurt’s Christmas-

world for hosting Floradecora is only natural. “Not only is Germany thebiggestEuropeanbuyerofflowers and plants, the decorative items showcased at Christmasworld are more or less recession proof. “Last year, German consumers spent €2.69 billion on items for Christmas and other festivities,” he said.

Shining examples

With the other festivities clearly in mind Pascal Koeleman and Rudi Tuinman of 2Dezign designed their plans for a 12,000m2 pavilion that will combine literally shining examples of in-store shops, merchandisingconcepts,hardware showcases and side-by-side flower and pot plant trials, bred by predominantly Danish and German growers. Ronald van den Breevaart added that talks with German growers are underway to cater for German grown flowers and plants. Real Christmas trees are also on the agenda, with fire safety regulations currently being double-checked.

Sneak preview

Following the press conference journalist were offered a preview of things to come next year. For the occasion the Galleria area was turned into a shopping street where Dutch flower and plant growers such as LG Flowers, Anco Orchids and Decorum provided some exciting ideas for how to successfully blend home décor and flowers. Christmasworld is one of the biggest trade shows of its kind. The previous event in 2015 attracted approximately 911 international exhibitorsand36,000tradevisitors. The four-day event brings together shopowners,wholesalers,andleading stores from the retail industry to see the international trends in consumer goods. Christmasworld 2017 will be held in Frankfurt from 27 to 31 January, 2017. The Floradecora show in Hall 11.1 will close one day earlier to guarantee the freshness of the products. |||

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Events The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) comes again to World Heritage Listed Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens South in 2016 for its 21st Year.

The Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne is a beautiful venue for floral displays, workshops and floristry competitions. (Photo credits: Melbourne Flower Show).

21 Years of floral celebrations in Melbourne O by Audrey Gerber

n the other side of the city the sound of engines will be quite a contrast, as, for the first time, the Australian Grand Prix is on in Melbourne at the same time as MIFGS (16-20 March) due to a decision by F1 to condense their calendar.

Flower show contrasts with F1 Grand Prix

Initially, MIFGS organisers were concerned about the overlap of dates. “We were worried about conflictingdemandsforaccommodationandothertourist-relatedservices”, said Genevieve McCaskill, Marketing and Events Coordinator for Flowers Victoria. “After some gooddiscussionswithoursponsors and tourism partners, we recognise that our initial concerns are manageable,andfaroutweighedby the benefits.” The different nature of the two eventssuggestsadifferentvisitorprofile. MIFGS organisers are confident that there is mutual benefit to both events in attracting accompanying travellers,eithercorporateorprivate. And the city is proactive in providing additional public transport options to benefit both events.

Floral displays lit by evening entertainment WAFEX, one of the leading Australian cut flower distributors.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

A highlight for MIFGS this year is an evening of socialising and

entertainment, with parts of the exhibition open until 9.30pm on Friday evening. ‘Gardens by Twilight’ is a strategy to extend the type of visitor to MIFGS, and, by association, expand interest in gardens and flowers beyond the average visitor numbers of 105,000 over the five-day show. ‘Gardens by Twilight’ highlights the lifestyle connection with flowers, reaching out to sectors who may have little interest in actively gardening, such as urban professionals or young families. The combination of food, drink and entertainment in a beautifully lit Carlton Gardens, will enhance the atmosphere of floral displays.

Business returns to exhibitors emphasised

It is hard to define in financial terms the impact of investment of an exhibitor at MIFGS to business returns. The show generates over 1,500 items of media coverage, reaching an audience of over 78 million through written, TV,

The intention is that visitors will see the flowers creatively displayed and be inspired to purchase some to take home with them.

radio and social media. A large part of Genevieve’s enthusiasm since becoming involved with MIFGS in 2015 has been devoted to encouraging exhibitors to recognise that the show has commercial benefits. Activities and displays that highlight locally grown flowers aim at generating requests for product at the point of sale. Genevieve has some convincing anecdotes of how effective this strategy is. This year, the show partners with the Arts Series Hotel group to highlight the artistic value of flowers through matching speciality flowers with selected pieces of local art. Flowers will be supplied by local growers and arranged into designs around artworks interpreted by local florists. The intention is that visitors will see the flowers creatively displayed and be inspired to purchase some to take home with them. To facilitate this the Flower Market inside the show is now run by Flowers Victoria, where it was previouslyoutsourced.Genevieve encouragesgrowerstoparticipate in the show. “It creates a mutual understandingbetweengrowers and florists to balance between expectations and limitations in quality and availability of products.”

Promoting floriculture and enhancing the ability of growers to maximise their economic potential.

Competitions encourage participation

Victoria, as part of their mission to promote floriculture and enhance the ability of members to maximise their economic potential. MIFGS is the largest show of its kind in the southern hemisphere. |||

An expanding market sector for florists is floral installations: hanging and trailing flowers over bannister railings,chandeliers,themedframes, walls and ceilings. ‘So you think you can Arch?’ is a new competition for florists at MIFGS 2016. Entrants will be provided with an arch frame to custom design for a wedding event, using at least 50% cutflowers.Recognisingtheexcellent level of Australian floral designers, the competition will be judged by four of the top Melbourne-based designers – Des Willis of Vasette, Marie de Vera of The Style Co., Dot Humphries of Gollings the Florists, and David Trevaskis of Antanaeus Flowers. Designs will be scored according to overall impact, principles of design, elements of design, and attention to detail. The prize for the Arch scoring the highest includes a full page, colour advertisement in Modern Wedding Flowers Magazine and a business profile in Australian Flower Industry Magazine,togetherdesignedtoboost the business of the winning florist.

For more details please visit www.melbflowershow.com.au and www.flowersvic.com.au

Largest flower show in southern hemisphere

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show is the main event organisedforitsmembersbyFlowers

Gardens by Twilight: evening lighting enhances floral displays. (Photo credits: Melbourne Flower Show).

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Nursery stock Exports from the Polish nursery stock industry go to no fewer than forty countries, and the range offered is impressive: it includes four thousand species and varieties of woody plants!

Polish nursery stock industry has great potentialfordevelopment T

by John Sutton

here are around 10,000ha of stock - ornamentals and fruit - with an annual output accounting for over 6% of the total of all agricultural crop production. The industryhasbeenexpandingrapidly during the last 25 years. Investment in modern facilities and techniques has often been supported with Eu-

ropean Union funding aimed at assistingthelesseconomicallyfavoured areas of member states.

Family ownership

Poland is the largest of the East European countries that lay behind the Iron Curtain until the collapse of communism on the continent. But the size of the nursery industry is not just a reflection of the size of the country. It was also the case thatPolishfarmingbusinesseswere mostly allowed to remain in family ownershipthroughoutthecommunist era. During that period it also continuedtobepossibleforpeople to set up horticultural businesses. In other ‘Eastern bloc’ countries much less liberal economic policies were followed.

Export trade

Polish nurseries had already established an important export trade to neighbouringcountriesbytheearly 1990’s. It has been vigorously de-

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veloped in more recent years, with sales rising for example to Scandinavia and to what was formerly the German Federal Republic – West Germany. Today, an estimated twenty percent of all Polish nursery stock goes to other countries. Near neighbours, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the Baltic states among them, remain important customers. The current annual value of exports is approximately €150 million.

Polish winter

The Polish winter climate, with average daily temperatures at or below zero deg C over much of the countryduringDecember,January and February has dictated the range of plants grown on nurseries. Trees and shrubs – mostly either deciduousorconiferous–predominate. The heather family is very important, as is a large number of cultivars in a range of very hardy herbaceous perennials.

While the need for winterhardiness restricts the ranges, it is a positive benefit for exports to countries with similar winters. Buyers there can depend on the suitability of their purchases from Polish nurseries.

Polish Nurserymen Association

The Polish Nurserymen’s Association, founded in 1991, has throughout its history had a very positivelyoutward-lookingpolicy. Free from the restrictions on travel that were in force before its foundation, the Association from the beginning has organized annual study visits to other countries for its members. Among the destinations were the USA, in 2000 and 2013, New Zealand in 2011 and Japan last year. As a guest of the Association in earlySeptember,Iwasfortunateto visit three leading examples of Polish nurseries. Of these the oldest, Grąbczewsky Nursery, is among the twenty or so that date back to the 1930’s and earlier. It celebrates its eightieth birthday next year, and has been throughout in the ownership of a single family. Both the other nurseries visited were founded in 1980’s, and both are today among Poland’s largest.

Rising properity

The three companies are also among the 200 that are estimated to account for 80 per cent of total production. The confidence of theirownersiswidespreadthrough the country’s nursery stock industry, and there are good reasons. The medium and long-term prospects for economic growth and rising prosperity are widely thought to be above the European average both in Poland itself and in most of their neighbouring countries. The entrepreneurial attitude of many nursery owners has been greatly helped by the vigour of their trade organization, the Polish Nurserymens’ Association. Built on a firm foundation, the country’s nursery stock industry looks set to hold its own and thrive against competition and challenges both now and in the future. |||

Part of the Ulinscy Nursery container area.

Ulinscy Nursery Export sales account for around 70% of the annual turnover of the Ulinscy Nursery. It is now one of the largest Polish growers of ornamental hardy nursery stock, with one of the most diverse product ranges.

oreign customers are not only in all the countries that would be expected, but also in mountainous areas of France. Last year, two truckloads of conifers were even delivered to the Kuril Islands, between theKamchatkapeninsulaandnorthern Japan, more than a third of the way round the world.

ous shrubs, ebb-and-flow irrigation will be used. An increased clay content and water-retaining hydrogel will be specified for the growing media. This is boughtfromKlasmann-Deilmann,and although these changes are expected to be beneficial, Grzegorz Ulinski is impressed by the uniformity of the German company’s products. |||

Facts and figures

In 1992, the nursery occupied just 2 hectares of land near Warsaw. It was thenatwelve-year-oldbusiness,specializing in heathers and run by its founders Danuta and Adam Ulinskis. Today, the original site is used for retailing, while on two other sites there are 35ha of production in containers and a further 20 ha of open field production. The business is now run by the founders’ son Grzegorz and his wife Emilia. Over800,000plantsareproducedeach year on the Ulinscy propagation unit on the site near Grodzisk Mazowiecki, 40km west of Warsaw. This meets most of the needs for young stock, but grafted material and some other young plants are bought in from the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Irrigation and growing media

Plans for the near future include the upgrading of the irrigation system. Among them will be the introduction of drip irrigation systems and capillary watering. For some species of decidu-

>>> February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

Nursery stock Szmit Nursery Of the three nurseries visited, Szmit Nursery is located furthest from Warsaw, near Ciechanow, about 80km to the north. It was founded in 1982 by Joanna and Bronislaw Szmit, horticultural graduates of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences.

nitially it was a specialist venture,producingvegetatively propagatedapplerootstocksby a novel technique. The business has evolved, as was always planned. Rootstock production has been phased out, and there are now 54 ha of hardy ornamentals. 2,500 sq m of mul-

tispanpolyethylenegreenhouses are used for specialist purposes, such as weaning newly-grafted material, and for shade-loving species. Annual sales are currently around 650,000 broadleaved trees and shrubs, 200,000 conifers, 100,000 herbaceous perennials, and 50,000 climbers.

Nearly all plants are sold in containers,althoughthereareabout 8 ha of open field production. Most of this field-grown stock is containerized a few months before sale.

Novelties

Altogether well over 1500 varietiesandspeciesareoffered.These include over a hundred novelties each year. The Szmits are proud of their own varieties of trees, some found by them or their staff, and others bred in Poland and neighbouring countries but brought to the market by them. The nursery is in a fortunate position for water supply. Four boreholes are used to feed reservoirs, which are partly supplied by drainage water from the container beds. Nutrients are not normally added to the irrigation water,withgoodresultsgenerally experienced from using the con-

trolledreleasefertilizersOsmocote Exact 3-4 months or 5-6 months, according to species.

Show Garden

The Szmit Nursery show garden is a very special feature. Staffed by four full-time gardeners, it is home to over 6000 varieties and species of woody and herbaceous plants, all of them labelled. In addition to its value for Szmit’s own management and for their customers, it is visited annually by many professionals and students, as well as amateur plant enthusiasts. About half of all production is exported, with Russia the most important destination. ‘It is a very big market with great potential,’ says Bronislaw Jan Szmit, the son of Joanna and Bronislaw. He is looking forward with confidence, and investment in improved facilities for staff and visitors is taking place currently. |||

Fresh cut flowers and pot plants to make their debut at 2016 Green is Life For horticultural companies willing to make the trek to Poland, Green is Life is a ‘must-see show. Produced by the Polish Nurserymen Association and Agencja Promocji Zieleni, the Green is Life show is truly a plant-focused trade fair, which finds itself in a gurgeoning and fertile market with limitless potential. Most recently, the Green is Life organisers that that will add fresh cut flowers and pot plants to their show, which so far was a quintessential nursery stock trade exhibition. Green is Life is Central and Eastern Europe’s leading trade exhibition for the nursery stock and gardening sector, showing ornamental and fruit trees, shrubs, perennials, patio and bedding plants, pot and cut plants, and

seeds and bulbs. The fair, which takes place annually in September, includes plant material ready for wholesale and retail trade as well as those recommended for planting in public green space. Also on display are young plants

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | February 2016

for further growing by professional growers and nurserymen and a wide array of technology, supplies and equipment for nurserymen, garden centres, gardeners and landscaping contractors. To make a long story short, Green is Life has

something for everyone involved in nursery stock and gardening. For more information please visit www.greenislife.pl For more information please visit www.greenislife.pl

Dutch Comfort

by Jaap N. Kras

Grąbczewscy Nursery Founded in 1936 in Warsaw, Grąbczewscy Nursery is among the horticultural businesses that survived both the devastation caused by war and the communist era that followed. Growing trees, shrubs, conifers and herbaceous perennials, it catalogues more than 2000 species and varieties.

n the ownership of the Grąbczewscy family throughout its history, the running of the nursery is now in the hands of two generations. Jan and Jacek specialise in production matters, while Jan’s son WojciechandJacek’sdaughterAgnieszkalookafterthe business side.

Property developers

The export market is very important for them, and includes increasingly important sales of trees to Kazakhstan, but around sixty percent of the turnover is generated within Poland. In particular the business works closelywithpropertydevelopersandlandscapers.‘We aimtoserveasaone-stoppartner,supplyingthewhole range of plants needed for a project of any size’, says WojciechGrąbczewski.Largeready-to-plantspecimen treesareaspeciality.Thesearemainlycontainer-grown, but for some species open-field produced items are delivered with large balled-root systems.

Closeness to the capital

The company’s main site is in Runow, only a 30-minute drive from the centre of Warsaw. Closeness to the capital is a real asset. Landscape architects there can easily come and see for themselves what large specimen trees will look like. And recently the business has opened its doors to individual retail consumers. There is a policy of the same price for all buyers, but competitive discounts are of course offered to professional and trade customers. A distinctive feature of the nursery is that it has some varietiesofhighinternationalreputeofitsown.Among them are Malus x ‘Ola’, Taxus x media ‘Wojtek’ and Juniperus horizontalis ‘Agnieszka’. They were selected by Jan Grabczewski, one of the founders of the Polish Nurserymens’ Association and its first chairman. |||

Push method favourite among farmers In the summer, many students work in restaurants and hotels to earn some extra income. If you go to dinner in a good restaurant, these students come to wait on your table, they warmly greet you and let you know they will be there to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. Then they review the available menu items, including the day’s specials. Sometimes they also know about the most important wines the restaurant has in the cellar and, how they accompany the menu items, just from the top of their head. The majority of them, however, bring you the wine list and surprisingly - the menu items and wine pairings make the perfect fit. This is an ode to the good waiter who comes to your table, carefully listens, advises and rushes to the kitchen to transfer the order, out of their head. This means the first thing the students do when they start their temporary job is learn the dinner and wine card from memory, as service to the customers. Then, they are trained further on how to make customers feel like appreciated guests. The owner of a good restaurant is able to also tell customers about the source of the produce, the wines and the meats. Some, perhaps the best, are in direct contact with farmers and seasonal hunters. These restaurants are experts in telling a good food and wine story. This knowledge of the menu is the calling card of the best restaurants and can be found even in Holland where the service in the food and service industry, in general, is poorer than in all other countries. And the fifteen percent service fees are not voluntarily but rather included, by law, in the prices. What do we see in the flower industry if you go to a professional florist? You often come across florists who sell flowers but ignore the correct product name. They can distinguish roses from carnations and Chrysanthemums, but if you ask them about variety names they get completely lost. Most florists have colour schemes in mind, think texture but have a superficial knowledge of variety names. Can you imagine cars or washing machines being sold that way? We farmers have to learn a lot to better push our products on the markets. Who of you is able to sum up the variety names of cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, spinach, cauliflower, salad or leek? Last spring, I travelled to Germany to attend the CIOPORA Annual General Meeting. During the event, Blume 2000, a chain of flower shops, offered us a behind-the-scenes look at the company. We met with Alex Zoern, one of the directors, who explained that Blume 2000 sells all their flowers under their own variety name. In the autumn of 2015, I attended the AIPH Conference in Stresa, Italy. One of the keynote speakers was Dr. Thomas Leidereiter who emphasised the importance of trade names. A lawyer teaching us farmers the basic principles of marketing… The bottom line is this: the service in the floral industry is far from being phenomenal, and the work can not only be in the hands of the flower shops but it must be a group effort by every link in the supply chain. The best restaurants are judged by knowledge of their high quality menu, and we must be able to sell our flowers and plants by their names and their characteristics during every step of its life cycle, from breeding to selling a bouquet for the end user.

Jaap N. Kras jaap@floracultureinternational.com

February 2016 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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