Fci May 2014

FloraCulture w w w.f l or acult ure .eu

London’s Garden Bridge

ANNUAL REPORT

The green link between urban sustainability and quality of life

Flower auctions from around the world

FRANCE

Salon du Végétal: In the mood for spring

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Table of Contents

May 2014 Volume 24 Number 5

Auctions from around the World This month, the first episode of Auctions from around the World, provides a comprehensive overview of the Mercato dei Fiori di Sanremo Italy, SP Flores Coop Brazil, Aucnet Japan, Naniwa Flower Auction Japan and the SICA Marché aux Fleurs France.

08

by Mauricio Mathias and Ron van der Ploeg

Top EU rose breeding now under one roof in Argentina

Rose breeding companies Rosen Tantau (Germany), NIRP International (France/ Italy) and Terra Nigra (Netherlands) have recently partnered with Edgardo Lalic, a cut flower grower from Argentina, to test the latest breeding breakthroughs in cut roses.

by Verónica Langé and Ron van der Ploeg

14

Britain’s chief doctor prescribes gardening at Green City Conference

Gardening is the solution to wider issues such as obesity, flooding and air pollution, which can all be improved through urban greening. This was the message to come out of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) International Green City Conference held at One Great George Street on 1st April 2014, in London. by our own correspondent

16

Havatec specialises in all SORTS of flowers

Havatec, the world’s leading supplier of cut flower sorting and packing machinery, specialises in X-ray, optical and infrared sorting technologies, which are a vital part of the integrated sorting systems.

18

by Ron van der Ploeg

Departments

A renewned Lex+ aims to become one of the top three rose breeders

These are exciting times for Dutch rose breeders Lex+. Investment has been proceeding apace since the AgriBio Group acquired the company in January 2012.

FCI’s international partnerships World News International Events Advertising Index

In the mood for spring

Columns

22

by John Sutton

A positive wind was blowing in the Salon du Végétal aisles, with both exhibitors and visitors more than ready to forget the difficult 2013 season.

by Marie-Françoise Petitjean

24

From the editor Dutch Comfort Happy Gardening

4 20 29 33

07 21 31

May 2014 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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All rights reserved.

No portion of editorial may for advertisements using illegally obtained images.

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T (81) 33 32David 75 756 F (81) 33 32156-0043, 27 933 Japan are another institution that have a long history in EMS Inc., 2-22-8 Matsubara, Setagaya-ku,Tokyo Anabel Evans, Editor California Trials, which, like the auctions, Yoshikawa Policar T (27) 22 4857058 F (27) 22 4857415 FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly. can nowinstitution compete that more easily with import roses.

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27-04-2009 13:08:58 May 2014 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 7 27-04-2009 13:08:58

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In the calendar year 2013, the total turnover for Sanremo’s Mercato dei Fiori from clock sales and intermediate sales (Flower Deposit Service) was approximately €3.4 million and 30% higher than in 2012 (Mercato’s ‘annus horribilis’).

According to the auction’s marketing and communication manager, Enrico Sparago, the Mercato’s performance is now more or less in line with the 2011 results.

How the Mercato dei Fiori di Sanremo bounced back from its ‘annus horribilis’ I n terms of sales volumes the Mercato dei Fiori di Sanremo’s clock and intermediation service sold approximately 10 million stems, a 25% increase from the previous year. This is an estimate as many products, especially cut foliage, are sold by weight.

Commenting on the average flower prices in 2013, Sparago said that 2013 showed a slight increase in the average cut flower price, a 4% increase when compared to last year.

Top sellers

by Ron van der Ploeg

Once again, Ranunculus, whether the mainstream, seed-raised types or vegetatively propagated varieties, ranked among the 2013 top sellers, in terms of quantity and turnover.

Ranking the flower auctions 2014 Name Country Turnover in 2013 1 FloraHolland The Netherlands €4.35 billion 2 Veiling Rhein-Maas Germany €316 million 3 OTA Floriculture Auction Japan €300 million 4 The Flower Auction Japan Japan €207 million 5 Veiling Holambra Brazil €163 million 6 Naniwa Flower Auction Japan €130 million 7 Plantion The Netherlands €85.5 million 8 Aucnet Japan Japan €51 million 9 Kunming International Flower Auction China €46.3 million 10 Taipei Flower Auctions Taiwan €42.4 million 11 SS Flora Koop Istanbul Turkey €42 million * 12 United Flower Growers Canada €35.4 million 13 Euroveiling Brussels Belgium €32 million 14 SICA Marché aux Fleurs France €30 million 15 Multiflora Johannesburg South Africa €20.6 million 16 Ontario Flower Growers Canada €15 million 17 United Flower Growers New Zealand €15 million 18 Mercato dei Fiori San Remo Italy €6.9 million 19 Floramax New Zealand €6 million 20 Il Contadino Marsala Italy €4.5 million 21 SP Flores Sao Paulo Brazil €1.8 million * a rough estimate as financial data were unavailable at time of printing.

8

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

“The top 10 best-selling flowers also includes quintessentially Italian flowers such as Dianthus, Acacia dealbata, Genista, Eucalyptus and other cut foliage. Moreover, in early summer we were happy to report strong sales in sunflowers,” said Sparago.

He went on to say that 2014 has been off to a relatively good start.

“We have had a very warm winter with stem volumes up on 2012 and consequently lower prices. Overall, the first quarter of 2014 amounted to a higher turnover totalling €2,1 million.”

On the whole, the weather held out over February and March, with large parts of Europe basking in record-breaking spring sunshine.

That meant that garden centres and flower shops saw a record influx of shoppers. “In Italy, the good weather in February and March obviously boosted floral harvests, but caused prices to drop as supply was bigger than demand. Also, the relatively high spring temperatures negatively affected product quality.”

No plans to merge

Sparago stressed that the Mercato will not merge with rivals such as the SICA Marché aux Fleurs d’Hyères in France or the flower wholesale market in Ercolano anytime soon.

“At the moment there are no plans to merge, but we have developed excellent cooperation with both companies. Italian products, which are grown outside our region, are already sold on our market and we have plans to continue this cooperation in the future.”

What makes the Mercato di Fiori di Sanremo different from other flower markets in Italy? Sparago:

“It’s the strong presence of the aforementioned export ready products such as Ranunculus, mimosa and so on.”

Sparago also mentioned the newly introduced payment system that breathes new life into the company.

“We run our own payment system for products sold at the auction and a deposit service with a 30-day payment guarantee. This has led to an influx of new grower members recently and we expect more to come in the future.”

Assortment

In terms of assortment, the biggest change Sparago noticed in 2013 was the decrease of rose stem volumes, especially during the winter. “Fuel has become more expensive, so growers increasingly switch to spring/summer production. Also, upon starting the new planting season, many growers simply decided to grow other crops such as Ranunculus and Anemone instead of new rose varieties.”

From an organisational point of view, how many member growers does your auction have? Has the number of memberships been stable, increased/decreased in 2013?

Have there been any important changes in your governance structure? Sparago: “The Unione Cooperativa Floricoltori della Riviera UCFLOR, the cooperative that managed the flower market, filed for bankruptcy in 2013 with the Municipality of Sanremo taking over the business through Amaie Energia (a branch of the municipal aqueduct and electricity company).

UCFLOR’s employees remained more or less the same, and so did the business activities. It marked the end of a highly uncertain

2014

Auctions around the world period during which many growers searched for alternative ways of trading by selling directly to the wholesalers or to the cooperatives in the area. The good news is that they have decided to come back to the market and the auction/deposit.”

Online sales

In a fast changing world, traditional ways of communication seem to be out, while online is in. How should the Sanremo auction react?

“Online auctioning is possible in theory, but it’s not yet in use as our buyers prefer to physically see the product before or during the auction. On the other hand, the growers and traders that are registered can access a restricted area of our website that contains all the information about sales and prices in real time.”

When asked about the transparency of clock sales Sparago said, “It is true that market information is more accessible now, even if it is sometimes inaccurate (and this is a problem for the whole agricultural sector, not only for flowers). The problem is that many factors contribute to the final price of the product, including the logistics, especially for small quantities or long distances. For this reason, many wholesalers have abandoned the use of their own trucks, or, in order to reduce the costs, try to cooperate .This is totally new, at least for us. Also, many traders are now exploring different products, like pot plants, in addition to the traditional cut flowers, with all the problems that this can bring with it.”

Clock

In the Netherlands, the cradle of flower auctioning, the future of the auction clock is under heavy debate.

Buyers increasingly complain about the inferior quality of clock-sold products. They jokingly compare the auction clock to a ‘shower drain’. How strong is the position of the auction clock in Sanremo?

Sparago: “For us, the auction clock is a relatively new marketing tool and is only one of many possible ways of selling. At the moment, we

are having good results with clock sales of Ranunculus as we have been able to attract the premium quality flowers under the clock.

In this case, buyers who really want to have top quality products need to buy at the clock. For other products, the wholesalers try to have the best products delivered to them directly. Anyway, the top growers now see that they can have a higher price under the clock, and many are considering coming back to this system.”

Does the auction clock remains one of the best tools for price setting for Sparago? “In our opinion the auction clock offers two main advantages. It allows a fair competition between wholesalers, in the sense that every trader, no matter the size of the company, can access the product of even the best growers, instead of having a few big companies that attract the best.

Also, what we noticed this year is that there is still demand for good quality products, so the fluctuations for the top products are not so big. Luckily for us, we are now specialised in products that are less affected by the competition from other countries, as it happens for instance for roses. We, as a system, still need to be careful anyway, because the risk that you mentioned is always around the corner.”

At the Mercato dei Fiori di Sanremo, the auction clock is a relatively new marketing tool.

Challenges and goals

When asked about the major challenges and goals for the future, Sparago said, “The main challenge for the floricultural sector in Italy, and in Sanremo in particular, is to be always ready to change, anticipating instead of following the needs in the market. We are now having good results with our products, not only Ranunculus, thanks to the combined efforts of our research and the capability of the growers and traders of being flexible (reconverting from roses to Ranunculus is a big step), and we need to keep up like that.”

The key issues in the Mercato’s long term business plan are to expand the range of products that are sold under the clock and to increase the number of potential buyers. Also, we need to expand our offering with other products from our region, like potted plants and herbs.

Finally, an improvement of the logistics is important in the long run, as we have noticed that one of the main complaints from the final consumers (meaning importers and florists, especially from Northern Europe) is the high final cost of the product, due in a good part to the high costs of transport.”

>>>

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

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Located in the town of Mogi das Cruzes, 60 km from São Paulo, the SP FLORES coop was able to celebrate a comeback year in 2013.

Coop and auction SP FLORES is back

W

ith a turnover of €1.8 million last year, the SP FLORES coop overcame a challenging start since its auction opened in 2008. Its debts have now all been paid off or negotiated and new members are joining. What’s more, with news of financial health, some of the members that had left the auction are now returning.

A long struggle

by Mauricio C. Mathias, MSc.

The coop initiated direct sales of its members’ flowers and plants in 2002, and opened the auction in 2008 after construction delays – only to clash with the market’s

financial crisis. In order to deal with due loans the coop had to tighten the belt by selling part of its land, cutting down on staff and electing a new board of directors. After a long struggle, the positive results are showing now and even though the battle is not over, the hardest part is now behind them.

One electronic clock

Historically most of the coop members have been local growers that also belong to AFLORD, a flower growers association in the neighbouring town of Arujá. This is however, a situation that has gradually been changing lately; an increasing number of the present 72 members are joining in from more distant towns.

The coop auction room seats 150 people and has one electronic clock; even though there is no real-time auction bidding, it is also possible for registered buyers to log in before the auction and record their bids on any of the 1,900 products on catalogue.

Last year, the auction traded 800 thousand plant units (either bunches or containers) of mainly pot plants, cut foliage and orchids.

Besides the weekly clock session the coop also sells directly, loading plants either straight from a grower’s greenhouse or from the coop’s 5,000 m2 building.

Increase in auction sales

The coop auction room seats 150 people and has one electronic clock.

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

Commenting on last year’s sales, auctioneer Alexandre Okuyama said that “there was a trend increase in auction clock sales compared to direct sales. The coop’s flagship product continues to be orchids, for which the region is famous for, also with a trend increase in sales of novelties, such as intergenera hybrids”. Orchids are a natural choice for the region, not

The coop's flagship product continues to be orchids, for which the region is famous.

only because the local climate and growers’ expertise favour it, but also due to the higher added-value it has. The main items are Dendrobium, Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, Cymbidium and also Brazil’s native Oncidium. Other common plant species are Begonias, Kalanchoe, Poinsettia, Cyclamen, Azaleas and other specialty items.

However, the coop focus remains on supplying as wide a product mix as possible to buyers that are typically garden centres and middle-sized wholesalers, and not so much the hypermarket chains.

Horizontal growth

After straightening out the coop’s internal affairs the board of directors has been re-elected, and future plans are of more horizontal growth, continuing to attract new growers of different crops in order to entice buyers.

Financial director Reinaldo Hasegawa reports that now that the good news of regained financial health has spread out, SP Flores has been sought for again by players such as other coops in search of possible cooperation and Taiwanese orchid breeders looking for partnerships.

More info: www.spflores.com.br and www.expoaflord.com.br

One of Japan’s flower export pioneers, the Naniwa Flower Auction in Osaka serves both the domestic and export market and reported a €130 million turnover last year.

by Ron van der Ploeg

Official figures of the internet auction Aucnet Inc. in Tokyo, Japan reveal that sales accounted for 7.3 billion Japanese Yen in 2013. That is approximately €51.6 million.

2014

Auctions around the world

Auction clock still plays important role at Naniwa’s V olumes remained practically stable in 2013, totalling 309 million cut flower stems traded with Chrysanthemum being one of the top selling products.

When asked about the price setting over the first weeks of 2014, the auction’s spokesman said that compared with 2013, January sales were flat. Sales saw a 7% increase in February due to a shortage of flowers while prices over March remained more or less stable.

Naniwa’s revenues are just like at any other flower auction weather dependent with the influx of buyers in especially flower shops being a reliable barometer of the current state of trade.

In terms of assortment, the Naniwa auction sees its range of large-flowered Ranunculus and Lisianthus steadily growing.

The flowers at Naniwa auction are supplied by 2,000 growers, among which many small-sized family businesses.

In a fast changing world, traditional ways of communication seem to be out, while online is in. According to the Naniwa auction online sales might be more efficient, but reduces face to face contact with customers. This could exert a bad influence on the younger generation as they develop less communication

skills. Naniwa’s online sales system was off to a quick start (currently representing 25 to 30% of total sales) but has levelled off over the past few years.

As in any other parts of the world, e-commerce has changed the traditional role of the floral wholesaler. Naniwa says the competition between floral wholesale companies is fierce offering different handling and shipping charges. They try to keep their customers by offering extra services, such as cut flower care tips, speedy delivery, warehousing service and defer payments.

In the Netherlands, the future of

the auction clock is under heavy debate. Not so in Osaka where it still plays a very important role.

According to the auction at present there is still a generation of older buyers who are not good online and want to see and check the products before buying.

Naniwa’s major challenges and goals are helping to build a greener future for the society at large by selling flowers and greenery.

Human resources, social credibility and the ability of imagination and creation rank among the key issues in the corporation’s long term business plan.

Aucnet sells flowers through digital internet auction

I

n terms of sales volumes, 2012 statistics mention 118,678,063 stems traded with Chrysanthemum proving the top selling product. The average Aucnet prices in 2012 were 60.6 Japanse Yen. Aucnet Inc. proudly reports that

the value of exports within Asia continues to increase, adding that the company’s revenues are not only generated from flower sales but as well from the marketing and sales of its online sales system.

>>> May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

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SICA Marché aux Fleurs d’Hyères is France’s sole flower auction, generating a turnover of nearly €30 million in 2013.

The ‘French exception’ also makes sense at SICA d’Hyères

SICA Marché aux Fleurs d’Hyères has its headquarters at the Vieux Chemin de Toulon.

T

by Marie-Françoise Petitjean

he words , ‘L'exception française’ (the French exception ), are used to refer to the specificity of the French culture and approach in comparison with other countries, especially what the French call

Key figures Cooperative flower auction in Hyères, Southern France 400 suppliers from south-east France.

2012/2013 turnover € 29.7 million versus €30.5 million in 2011/ 2012 (-1%) Sales volumes: 2012/2013 100.6 million stems versus 107.8 in 2011/ 2012 (-7.19%).

Average prices: €0.296 versus 0.28 in 2011/ 2012 (+5%).

Purchasing process: 60% auction, of which 7% remote buying; 40% on order Customers: 88% wholesalers, of which 45% on-site wholesalers (25 companies) and 12% regional florists.

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

the Anglo Saxon world. This expression could also apply to the SICA (Société d’Intérêt Collectif Agricole) Marché aux Fleurs d'Hyères which, in an increasingly tough business environment , with worrying long term prospects, follows its own path, differentiating itself in the marketplace with Côte d'Azur-grown quality flowers.

Reasonably well

Commenting on the 2012-2013 spring sales season, SICA’s development director, Mr. Gilles Rus said that the flower industry in southern France performed reasonably well, especially when compared with the Western European pot plant industry and nursery stock sector.

"Spring 2013 has been very positive for us, with a cold and dry winter and plenty of sunshine that led to good quality products, an expanded

sales season and reasonable prices for the growers."

Nevertheless, 2013 ended up with a 7% drop in supply, resulting in a subsequent 2.5 % decline in turnover. “2014 started off as difficult, following a mild and rainy winter, with a lack of light. We expect a drop in both sales volumes and product quality that will deteriorate even further due to the consumption decrease at national level," said Gilles.

Specialising in Mediterranean flowers and foliage

Ten years ago, the SICA Marché aux Fleurs embarked on a strategy focusing on flowers and foliage that are more specific to the Mediterranean area and can be grown in a sustainable way, respecting the natural cycle of plants.

This new policy also took into account growers’ limited financial resources for investing in high tech infrastructures and heating.

“Today, anemones, buttercup (Ranunculus) and peonies make up 33% of the turnover, while roses have dropped by 50% in five years and are now below the 10 million stems threshold. SICA's top sellers are now peonies, with 105 growers growing 110-115 hectares and supplying 7.6 million stems yearly.”

Drawbacks

Although strategically relevant, this ‘extensive’ specialisation option has some drawbacks : production is more weather-dependent and sales are increasingly concentrated on 4 months in spring. Moreover, the market’s narrower assortment may affect the offer attractiveness. Gilles Rus stressed that criticism is an easy job. “Considering production in the low cost countries, we had no other option to focus on what we can do well with a comparative advantage. We will address the assortment issue by opening our sales to targeted import flowers meeting our quality policy."

No short term drop, but long term concern

According to national figures, the Provence region has lost 39% of its flower growers between 2002 and 2012. "Even so, we have maintained our membership levels,” said Gilles.

He added, “Nevertheless, future prospects are still a matter of concern, since a lot of growers are nearing retirement age, with few expectations of business takeover, translating into a decline of our supply. To counter this trend, we support growers' projects, through lower market commissions and cash advance."

When asked about SICA’s future plans, Gilles said, “As a market fea-

turing a specific product range, we want to strengthen the links with our customers – wholesalers- who are serving the market,” explained Gilles. He continued, “We offer them various marketing tools, like pre ordering or online auctioning, which is increasing and represents 7% of our turnover. Meanwhile, the auction is still leading the sales process. We also support our customers by promoting our quality policy and brand HORTISUD.” Talking about volumes and mergers, Gilles concluded, "We have set up good projects with our Italian colleagues from San Remo. Another cooperation with the Nice-based flower market had also been considered, but both areas are on the decline and we must explore other options. The agenda is open : more virtualisation, selected imports, extension to other ornamental products, but this should never lead us to forget our mission statement : offer the best marketing option and the best possible price to our members, through a strong partnership with wholesalers." |||

2014

Auctions around the world

SICA’s development director, Mr. Gilles Rus.

SICA Top 10 flowers 2012/2013 Change Average quantities Top 10 Stems Turnover % Turnover price 2013/2012 Paeonia 7 607 360,00 5 346 050,45 17,98% 0,703 + 11,22% ROSA 9 563 615,00 3 973 007,51 13,36% 0,415 – 30,60% GERBERA 20 140 771,00 3 461 324,24 11,64% 0,415 – 5,66% Ranunculus 11 657 369,00 2 617 614,20 8,80% 1,189 + 12,72% Anemone 13 340 769,00 1 858 708,78 6,25% 0,394 + 4,16% TULIPA 5 333 650,00 1 847 475,73 6,21% 0,346 – 11,60% Antirrhinum 2 149 288,00 1 022 875,29 3,44% 0,476 – 11,78% CHRYSANTHEMUM 4 312 540,00 964 539,47 3,24% 0,449 + 2,02% Lilium 1 523 419,00 882 472,37 2,97% 0,579 – 29,17% Alstroemeria 4 462 728,00 880 898,89 2,96% 0,197 – 29,72%

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

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14

Roses Rose breeding companies Rosen Tantau (Germany), NIRP International (France/Italy) and Terra Nigra (Netherlands) have recently partnered with Edgardo Lalic, a cut flower grower from Argentina, to test the latest breeding breakthroughs in cut roses.

by Verónica Langé and Ron van der Ploeg

Top EU rose breeding now under one roof in Argentina I

n November last year, Lalic travelled to the Netherlands for the annual meeting of Rosen Tantau reps. Here, area sales managers of all five continents painted a picture of the current status of the world wide rose industry.

Interestingly, the market in Argentina is quite similar to India in terms of infringement of plant breeder’s rights. As a result, the

Lalic will almost always select varieties with the strongest root systems.

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

European rose breeding companies hesitate to launch their new breeding breakthroughs in both countries. Local rose producers, having no other choice than to grow old, somewhat outdated varieties, find it increasingly difficult to compete with import roses that often come in exciting new colours, sizes, shapes and have a better vase life.

Headache

Commenting on the Colombian and Ecuadorian rose industry, Lalic said that Kenya is taking away some of their market share. This African nation has approximately 3000ha dedicated to cut rose growing.

Growers operate at altitudes of 1900-2600 metres above sea level, and can harvest every fifty to fiftyfive days on average ,while in Ecuador you need ninety-five days for example. Meanwhile, labour costs in Kenya are US $150, compared to US $750 in Ecuador per worker, taking into consideration the final cost to the company. “Kenyan roses have a slightly smaller bud size than Ecuadorian roses, but bigger buds compared than Colombian roses (if grown at altitudes higher than 2200 metres above sea level). This explains why the first Colombian entrepreneurs started rose farms in Kenya and Ethiopia, “ commented Lalic.

Meanwhile, Ecuador finds itself in a challenging business environment due to rising production and freight costs. Export growth to Russia has levelled off and this creates a bit of a headache among Ecuadorian rose growers who, at the same time, see that Kenya’s rapidly expanding ornamental horticulture is much in the news these days. Nevertheless,

Planting roses.

Ecuadorian roses managed to bolster their position in the US market while, the Andean nation also started exporting to new countries worldwide.

There are significant logistic challenges to be overcome if the Kenya flower industry is to expand into the North American market. These include reliability of product supply, flower quality at final point of sale after long duration shipment and integration of logistical systems.

Dutch roses

The rose still dominates the international flower trade, and nearly all the cut roses destined for sale in Europe pass through the Netherlands. Most of them are imported from Africa but the trade still needs home grown Dutch roses. At FloraHolland, not far short of four billion rose stems were sold in 2011.

The Dutch flower auction, however, is facing very challenging times. It struggles to grow its business due to soaring costs. ”The Dutch auction is slowly but steadily losing grower members and customers as more

and more growers are closing transactions with the big box stores at a fixed price for the year,” said Lalic.

He added, “As a result, auction prices fluctuate a lot and this makes growers nervous. Some of them are facing the inability to generate sufficient business profits; they have no influence on the price setting while energy costs, especially gas continue to increase.”

The glasshouse area down to roses in the Netherlands has fallen from 800ha to less than 400ha over the last ten years. All in all, each year Europe sees a steep decline in cut rose production while rose cut rose experts claim that there will be always room in Europe for top quality rose production.

But as is always the case, the performance of individual companies might vary: while the outlook can be good for some it can be bad for others.

Showcase

When asked about how he came to represent three European breeding companies, Lalic said, “Following the success of their new market strategy for India, I was authorised

by Rosen Tantau, NIRP and Terra Nigra to showcase their roses. Our premises in Rosario now gather the most complete offer of the world’s leading rose breeding companies under one roof.”

Now that Lalic has affiliated with these reputable firms, how will he implement their selling strategy?

Lalic’s premises in Rosario now gather the most complete offer of the world’s leading rose breeding companies under one roof.

“We will adopt the same approach as over the past three years. Bud wood from Italy, Holland and Germany will be brought in for grafting, while we will build new greenhouse structures.”

Seedlings that have commercial potential are recorded, while those that haven’t met the set quality standards within two years will be destroyed. “The three showcases are located in Rosario, where we can guarantee similar growing conditions,” Lalic said. He continued, “The Rosario location offers the extra benefit of being well-protected and secured, avoiding robbery and hence circulation of non-patented material in our rose production

The Rosario location offers the extra benefit of being wellprotected and secured, avoiding robbery and hence circulation of nonpatented material in Argentina’s rose production areas

areas. Argentine rose producers now have direct access to tried and tested new varieties and this reduces the risk of failure. By having access to the latest varieties, which are being tested at the same time in Ecuador, Colombia, Kenya and Brazil, Argentine rose growers can now more easily compete with import roses. Moreover, by grafting in Argentina, the producer can reduce costs in terms of airfreight, customs and import costs. Savings can be up to US$1 per plant. Moreover, deliveries are scheduled and on time while an agronomist delivers the necessary crop support during the first stage of the planting.” |||

Edgardo Lalic.

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

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16

Landscaping Gardening is the solution to wider issues such as obesity, flooding and air pollution, which can all be improved through urban greening. This was the message to come out of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) International Green City Conference held at One Great George Street on 1st April 2014, in London.

from our own correspondent

Britain’s chief doctor prescribes gardening at Green City Conference T

he conference, themed ‘Growing green and healthy places’, shared what the world could and should be like through the views of many great UK and international speakers.

Prescribing gardening; Town and country must be married; ‘Nonobese-a-genic’ environments, and Making sure the power of brick does not overcome the power of green, were some of the insightful topics addressed.

Matthew Pencharz, Environment Advisor to the Mayor of London, told how green infrastructure is a key component of the city’s plans.

London’s Garden Bridge (visualisation by Arup).

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

£400 million has been invested since 2009 which has included parks and pocket gardens. By 2025, the aim is to increase London’s green space by 5% to make a quarter of the city green.

There’s a gym outside your window

Prescribing gardening for improved health, Sir Richard Thompson, President of the Royal College of Physicians, advised how and why green gardens are good for you.

“A few minutes of viewing a green garden can improve a person’s physiology”, he said and added

“There’s a gym outside your window,” referring to gardening as a form of exercise. The benefit of trees, particularly the ability of a single tree in an urban park to remove 48lbs of particulate matter from the air daily, was also highlighted.

Tom Butterworth, Natural England, discussed the benefits of green infrastructure surrounding issues such as air quality and flooding.

2.5% of all deaths, amounting to 48,000, are attributed to urban outdoor air pollution caused by particulate matter, which compares to 18,000 attributed to drugs and

London’s River Thames Garden Bridge

Landscape designer Dan Pearson.

alcohol. In addition, 5.2 million houses which are currently at risk of flooding could be helped, as 50-62% of surface water caused by storms can be reduced by a single street tree.

Tools and ideas

People’s gardens make up 50% of the UK’s urban areas, highlighted Leigh Hunt, Principal Horticultural Advisor at the Royal Horticultural Society, adding that 90% of the UK’s residents live urban gardens. Collectively, using these gardens, people can make a difference to health, city temperature, bio-diversity and flooding.

Sponsored by Headline Partner, Frosts Landscape Construction Ltd, the day gave insight to the likes of planners, local authorities, health authorities, and the horticultural industry, as they gathered to understand the benefits of plants and flowers, and to find the tools and ideas to take away to make their own cities greener.

“Too many people are living in cities that are the definition of what a green city is not. It is a false economy to cross off landscape investment for which future generations will pay the price. If we all take on board and apply what we heard at this AIPH International Green City Conference, we can make a massive improvement to this world,” comments Victor Krahn, President, AIPH.

A talk on London’s Garden Bridge by its planting designer Dan Pearson wowed guests at the AIPH International Green City dinner, held on board HMS Belfast on the river Thames in Central London on 1 April 2014.

Celebrating Great Britain’s passion for horticulture, the Garden Bridge aims to provide a beautiful floating garden and public green space above the River Thames that can be enjoyed by visitors, Londoners and commuters alike.

The £150 million brainchild of actress Joanna Lumley, designed

by London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic cauldron creator Thomas Heatherwick, will not only be a stunning new public garden and pedestrian crossing connecting the South Bank with Temple station and beyond, but it also aims to: enhance the standard of living, support local wildlife, contribute to the city’s sustainability, and also generate on-going educational programmes.

Dan Pearson

The bridge will be covered with trees and plants arranged by television gardener and award-winning landscape designer, Dan Pearson.

His soft landscape planting scheme will have five distinct character areas that reflect the development of plant species from wild pioneers to ornamental garden cultivars.

If planning consent is granted, construction is expected to commence in 2015 with the bridge opening to the public in 2018 In his speech, Dan Pearson explained the project and what he has tried to achieve in his designs for it.

The talk was supported by the Garden Bridge Trust which is a newly formed charity designed to drive the project forwards. Chaired

by Lord Davies of Abersoch, its mission is to raise the remaining funds in order for the bridge to be built and to manage the operations of the bridge in perpetuity to ensure that it is a pleasurable feature of London life forever. ||| For more details visit www.greencity-events.org

18

Automation Havatec, the world’s leading supplier of cut flower sorting and packing machinery, specialises in X-ray, optical and infrared sorting technologies, which are a vital part of the integrated sorting systems.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of Havatec’s next generation sorting solutions.

Havatec specialises in all SORTS of flowers

Havatech technology grades and sorts flowers according to size, ripeness, length and stem diameter.

by Ron van der Ploeg

Havatec’s topsellers The investment in a new Havatec machine will help cut flower growers worldwide to deliver an even more efficient service and outstanding product quality. The new sorting machines will increase mechanisation rate in the sorting process, thereby reducing human reliance and enhancing accuracy. By using Havatec machines every flower is sorted according to the same specifications which are programmed in the HAVATEC software.

The grower can change it by himself, really easiy.

Among Havatec’s topseller rank machines such as TulipStar, Mono and MixStar, CallaStar, BulbStar, Quality Buncher, HeavyFlowerStar and many more.

Havatec TulipStar

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

H

avatec provides different ‘tools’ for various market players. The machines are designed in modules, to suit the needs of both small and big companies.

The company is proud on having a wide range of both semi-automatic and fully automatic sorting machines to suit virtually any application. So the choice of a Havatec machine comes down to cost, ease of operation and geographic location.

growers pack their flowers ready for transport to floral wholesalers worldwide. Here, Havatec machines fulfil an important role as they sort the flowers according to size, ripeness, length, stem diameter and the number of flower buds.

Moreover, Havatec machines personalising the number of stems per bunch based on customers’ requirements. Flowers can be cut at the length preferred by each customer whether this is 90 or 60cm.

Diverse international customer base

Havatec takes time to listen to its customers and consistently manufactures an outstanding product specifically designed for each application. If the customer specialises in a range of smaller sized bouquets, Havatec will ensure an aptly designed system in a perfectly fitting configuration.

Over the years, HAVATEC has acquired a wealth of experience in a wide variety of cut flowers.

Havatec sorting machines are not just the most efficient way to sort your tulips, Gerberas, Alstroemerias, carnations, callas,

Havatec recognises the diversity of its international customer base.

Different customers have different needs and a machine in SouthAmerica will be distinguishable from a machine in Western Europe.

Choosing the right Havatec machine involves evaluating crucial factors such as local labour costs, the availability of technical support/knowledge and the customer controlled working aspects.

In countries where there is no flower auction, for example,

Outstanding quality

Greentech Exhibition If you’re planning a business trip to the Netherlands in week 24, please visit our booth (09316) at the new horticultural trade exhibition Greentech which will be held at the RAI convention centre in Amsterdam from June 19 to 20.

Havatec machinery is very easy to operate.

snap dragons, sun flowers, lilies, roses, Anthuriums and Hypericum and many more, they are also a smart way to invest in your business. Our solutions boost throughput and availability, while at the same time increasing yield and vase life.

Colombia

Based in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, HAVATEC operates through a network of service support points in the most important flower areas of the world.

In Colombia, the company works through its own Havatec service point, run by Mr Daniel Hoyos (Havatec Colombia). He is the best possible representative of Havatec in Colombia and is always willing to

provide customers with additional information. Together with his team, Mr Hoyos gives customers the right support, by servicing and selling the machines. He received his training in the Netherlands and is well- acquainted with the latest technology and can always count on backing from Havatec Netherlands. Nearly all Havatec machines are connected by internet to our main office in Holland from where we can connect remotely to the process control box and see the machines running real time.

and skilled people, using our own software department. The company attaches great importance to these core values so it can directly respond to market demand. Havatec prides itself on always offering the right solution for a reasonable price.

Havatec has over 250 machines operating around the globe and all these machines are adding value to a grower’s production process! |||

The right solution for a reasonable price

Contact

Havatec designs, manufacturers, installs and services machines.

We work with highly educated

Please check out the photos accompanying this articles as they provide valuable operational details about the Havatec machines. For more details and company videos visit www.havatec.com or contact Mr Mark Fikkers, the company’s sales director. mark.fikkers@havatec.com T +31 (0)252 241 490

Havatec’s sales director, Mr. Mark Fikkers.

Sorting gerberas.

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

19

World News

20

United States

Costa Farms acquires houseplant producer Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses Costa Farms announced last month that it has acquired the business, assets, and brands of Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses, Inc. of Apopka, Florida, one of the country’s premier small-foliage growers.

Under the visionary direction of the Engelmann family, Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses has played a leading role in the indoor houseplant industry for more than 40 years. Guided by a solid team, the company has built a rich heritage reflected in the company’s high-quality products and state-of-the-art production facilities.

“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to work with a team that has been committed to quality for so many years”, Jose Costa, Executive Vice President and co-owner of Costa Farms said. “The Engelmann organisation has done an outstanding job cultivating and keeping their brand strong with 40+ years of hard work and dedication.

And we feel a huge component of this transaction is the skill and expertise of the Engelmann production team,” Costa added.

Costa Farms will continue to support the Exotic Angel® brand, and looks to build on its heritage, legacy, and portfolio of more

than 400 plant varieties. “Being the most recognised houseplant brand in the country, Exotic Angel® is a perfect complement to join the Costa portfolio of brands, such as O2 for You and Plants of Steel,” Costa says. The two organisations will combine their strengths to offer more quality solutions for retail customers and end consumers.

“We’re proud of what our company has achieved in our 43-year history,” Chuck Romagnoli, CEO of Hermann Engelmann Greenhouses, Inc., said. With a network of more than 1,100 retailers, including mass merchandisers, grocery stores, and independent garden centres, the company operates under nearly 69 acres of greenhouses and has some 300 employees.

“We’re pleased to be working with Costa

Farms because they share our dedicated work ethic and demand for quality. We can’t imagine a better company to continue moving our brand forward,” he said.

Costa Farms is the largest producer of ornamental plants in the world. Founded in 1961 by Jose Costa, Costa Farms is a third-generation, family-owned business that globally stretches over 3,500 acres and employs 4,000 people. Along with thriving indoor and bedding plant divisions, Costa Farms operates merchandising and youngplant production divisions as part of its infrastructure, with operations domestically in South Florida and North and South Carolina, and abroad in the Dominican Republic and Far East. |||

Argentina

Cabinet chief meets with flower growers

by Verónica Langé (www.economiayviveros.com.ar) Argentina’s cabinet chief, Jorge Capitanich met with cut flower and ornamental plant growers, crop specialists and reps from the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (National Agricultural Technology Institute, INTA) last month to discuss government support for the country’s ornamental horticulture and gardening industry.

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

Capitanich highlighted the importance of becoming less dependent on imports and focusing on export diversification. He also explained that there are several different methods to finance horticultural businesses enabling them introduce state of the art technology and improve production.

The meeting concluded with Capitanich urging the flower growers to organise themselves in industry associations allowing financial support to arrive in a quick and direct manner. |||

Dutch Comfort

by Jaap N. Kras

Baron von Münchhausen Russia

Orbita-Agro celebrates grand opening of Kaliningrad greenhouse operation Orbita-Agro recently celebrated the opening of its new 2 ha greenhouse facility in Kaliningrad, Russia. The Minister of Agriculture of the Kaliningrad region, Mr. Vladimir Zarudny, the head of the Agricultural Committee of the Kaliningrad Regional Duma (a permanent supreme legislative – representative- body of State power of the Kaliningrad region), Mr. Alexander Nikulin and the head of the regional Department of the Russian consumer supervision Ms. Tatiana Grunicheva were on hand to declare the new vegetable greenhouse, dubbed the region’s largest investment project, officially open.

Opening the premises on March 14th, Vladimir Zarudny spoke on the importance of Orbita-Agro’s contribution to the community, saying: “OrbitaAgro largely contributes to solving the issue of food security in the region. The availability of a powerful modern enterprise, the ability to cover the demand for fresh and premium quality, GMO-free food near a large consumer market – is a great achievement.”

The chief sanitary inspector of the region, Tatiana Grunicheva also expressed the confidence that the products of local growers will be much better and more beneficial than import vegetables.

“Firstly, the imported products are usually harvested in a pre-mature stage; secondly, special transport conditions lengthen delivery times of vegetables from the field to the consumer.”

According to the general director of Orbita-Agro Mr. Shaiga Mamedov, the company has been preparing for five years to launch their greenhouse operation, for which the best European experience was studied in detail. He mentioned one of the company’s preferred suppliers, the Dutch hothouse builder Kees Greeve, which has over forty years of experience in greenhouse construction.

Apart from vegetables Orbita-Agro Company also is involved in the production of meat and ornamental plants. The 2,2ha greenhouse complex will serve to produce over 500 tons of tomatoes and more than 550 tons of cucumbers annually and will create 60 new jobs for local people. |||

When stories are blatantly impossible, simply unbelievable, completely absurd or are presented with funny caricatures we know that somebody is narrating a fictional story. This genre encompasses a range of famous books we all know.

That’s exactly why I start this column by telling you a true story. A few years ago, while touring some farms in South Africa, we also visited the Victoria Falls.

We booked a room in the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge which is located on the Zimbabwe side. This hotel is famous for its splendid views and surrounding wildlife.

From your room, and at not too far a distance, you can see animals approaching a waterhole for a drink every morning and evening. So guests rise early in the morning, fetch their binoculars and walk to their balcony to spot the most amazing wildlife quenching their thirst. This is a truly impressive experience as even lions pass by to come drinking.

There are also many elephants around. Tourists like them of course, but locals consider them a plague because they damage their villages. One remarkable thing was that when the elephants walked to the water hole they took a strange path before entering.

When I asked the hotel manager why they did this, he told me that a few weeks earlier his colleagues had removed the view-blocking shrubs in front of the water pool. For some reason the elephants continued to make a detour as if the shrubs were still there.

A similar story, in this case starring monkeys, is told during management courses.

It goes like this: Each morning, before the zoo keeper opens the cage of his monkeys, he hangs a bunch of bananas right in the middle of their daytime enclosure where they play and interact. The first thing the monkeys do upon entering the area is jump to the bananas. Surprisingly enough, when the zoo keeper stops hanging bananas there even the second or third generation monkeys practise the same jump, questing for bananas, even though they had been removed a long time ago.

In the early hours of May 10th 1940, war broke out in the Netherlands with people being woken up by the noise of German planes dropping parachutes. It was the first war in the Netherlands since Napoleon 150 years earlier. You know what the Dutch did at 8 o’clock in the same morning? …They went to their work as usual.

Now it’s time to ask you a question on company culture. Have you ever been in a factory or company employing workers that act like the aforementioned elephants and monkeys? If not, please visit a governmental institution or bank. If bankers tell you that their companies will change their behaviour (in Holland they were forced to take an oath to do so!) after being saved by government aid (please read: by taxpayers they stole from all these years), do you believe them? They were taught and educated according to the rules of the old system which basically teaches them to ignore clients and to sell as many possible products with the highest possible profit. Their bonus depends on the profit they make.

Personally I know many companies with employees jumping for bananas each morning. Just think of railway companies, postal organisations and electricity suppliers. I believe it is unrealistic to expect employees in a company that has been successful for many years, or in the case of FloraHolland, for many decades, to change their business culture and policy from the inside.

Jaap N. Kras jaap@floracultureinternational.com

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

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22

Roses These are exciting times for Dutch rose breeders Lex+.

Investment has been proceeding apace since the AgriBio Group acquired the company in January 2012. The renewed Lex+, ‘The Rose Creator’, aims to become one of the top three rose breeders in the world.

A renewned Lex+ aims to become one of the top three rose breeders

Dennis van Dijk was appointed commercial manager in 2012.

P

by John Sutton

erhaps most important of all has been investment in people. There are now Lex+ employees with key functions in Colombia and Russia, as well as a large increase in numbers in East Africa, where the staff is now forty strong.

Lex+ was founded by Lex Voorn in the year 2000. Among the first introductions was Avalanche+, a really big breakthrough. This large-

flowered white of outstanding quality and performance was to be the foundation stone of a series, which now includes eight varieties. It has a special and unique place in cut rose production in the Netherlands. The latest addition is Pink Avalanche+, launched this year.

Kenya

Lex+ has a firmly established presence as an introducer of new

The spacious company lounge can be made available to Lex+ customers as a meeting place for them to entertain their clients.

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

varieties to the rose industry in Kenya, and is now beginning to build rapidly on this foundation.

Last year it acquired its own premises in Kenya, where old faces and new work together, including Steve Outram and Peter Mwangi. Breeding for African conditions is now under way, under the leadership of Dr. Virginia Gitonga. She has had part of her training with Fides, a partner in DNA Green Group.

Lex+ breeding in The Netherlands has already produced varieties that perform outstandingly well in East African conditions, including the recently introduced Valentine+, Tacazzi+, and the yellow Dimu+.

There is every confidence that in the course of current and future breeding work at Kudelstaart there will be more introductions that show themselves under test conditions in Kenya to be valuable additions to the choice for growers there. These will complement the varieties that have been bred in Kenya from the outset. Breeding

Candy Avalanche+

Carpe Diem+

there will make use of parents with features of special value for production in conditions of high solar radiation, and in natural daylengths always close to twelve hours.

African growers will now have the opportunity to see new Lex+ varieties and promising breeding lines in the show house that is part of the new facilities at Navaisha. Lex+ has great faith in African growers’ potential for the expansion of their business, and expects big growth in their export markets.

Raising its profile

The company is raising its profile elsewhere in the world, too. Since it came under new ownership, Jan Willem van Gulik has been appointed as its sales manager in Colombia, the country with the largest production of cut roses on the American continent. He also looks after Lex+ customers in Ecuador and Mexico.

In Russia, recently appointed sales manager Maria Zaborskaya will soon be able to take her clients to a Lex+ show glasshouse on a commercial nursery in their own country.

Back at the company’s home base in Kudelstaart, facilities for both breeding and for the demonstration of products to clients have been extended and improved. The breeders now work in close partnership with a company product team, to integrate sales and marketing ambitions with breeding objectives.

Very ambitious

The change of Lex+ ownership is apparent in many ways. This has already included re-modelling reception facilities at the company’s headquarters in Kudelstaart. The spacious company lounge can be

Tacazzi+

Magic Avalanche+

Valentine+

Avalanche+

Sorbet Avalanche+

DNA Green Group

made available to Lex+ customers as a meeting place for them to entertain their clients.

The company management team has been greatly enhanced to help achieve future targets. “We are very ambitious”, says Dennis van Dijk, who was appointed as commercial manager in 2012. He continues, “To achieve our goals, which are worldwide, it is no longer possible just to breed excellent new varieties.

Behind each of them we need a marketing concept.”

As holder of the first senior appointment to have been made following the change of ownership, he is highly qualified for this task. A graduate in horticultural business management, he was previously area manager for leading horticultural companies.

Rokus Hassefras was appointed just under a year ago as the Lex+ marketing manager, with a special responsibility for the Avalanche+ series. Previously he had worked for many years as a successful senior executive of the Flower Council of Holland. He works closely with the Avalanche+ Growers group on issues of marketing and quality, and liaises with selected traders to ensure that Avalanche+ flowers are promoted and sold to best possible advantage A powerful management team, including members with many years’ service to Lex+, like senior sales manager Cor den Hartog, is now at the heart of a fast-evolving brand.

All told, there are now almost twice as many Lex+ staff as there were only three years ago. Their mission is for their company swiftly to become one of the top three breeders in the world of the rose, ‘the Queen of Flowers.’ |||

The DNA Green Group, now the owner of Lex+, was formed in April 2013. It was the result of the merger of the already large and expanding AgriBio Group with Dümmen, the prestigious German breeding company widely known for its Red Fox brand.

The newly formed and enlarged Group became the owner of Lex+ as the result of its purchase by the AgriBio Group early in 2012.

The DNA Green Group is the only breeder that includes all three of the world’s top cut flowers in its assortment – roses, Chrysanthemums and carnations. Its member companies include Fides, Dümmen, Ecke and Barbaret & Blanc.

The Group now has over 6 000 employees, and is active in well over fifty countries. In 2012, before the merger with Dümmen, the AgriBio Group traded over a billion cuttings, and its sales were €175 million. Lex+ and Avalanche+ are highly regarded brands that will stay firmly in place as far ahead as anyone can see.

The Lex+ company is now a division of its parent Group.

The Group is the sole floricultural shareholder in the Dutch biotechnology company Genetwister. Led by plant geneticists, and with state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, its range of support and complementary services is proving a powerful aid to specialist breeders like the Lex+ team.

The show house hosts promising breeding lines.

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

23

Salon du Végétal A positive wind was blowing in the Salon du Végétal aisles, with both exhibitors and visitors more than ready to forget the difficult 2013 season. France’s ornamental horticulture and gardening industry showed that it is ready to tackle Spring 2014 with optimism and determination.

(Photo credits: Alicia Cecot)

by Marie-Françoise Petitjean

24

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

In the mood for spring

‘T

urn to Green’ was the theme of this year’s Salon du Végétal and many exhibitors played on that motif inviting attendees to ‘go ahead’,’ go green’ or to ‘green your life with plants’.

Ghislain Bousseau, spokesman of the exhibition confirmed that the 2014 edition really made the difference in comparison with the somewhat morose mood in 2013.

Optimism

An unchanged exhibition space -despite a slight decrease in the number of exhibitors- (545 in 2014 versus 560 in 2013), stable visitor numbers (15,000) and strong interest in the show’s New Product Showcase, Innovert, indicate that there’s reason for optimism.

Exhibitors and visitors benefited from a refurbished Ardésia hall, with more space and an easier circulation. Five themed pavilions contributed to the attractiveness of the exhibition, offering floral art demonstrations, leading-edge sessions and workshops.

An absolute first this year was the Pôle Distribution, a pavilion regrouping garden retailers and trade services and featuring a 'junglethemed ' showcase.

Students from the design school Les Herbiers had been invited to submit their concepts in the Espace Inspiration working on the theme ‘Where have you been grown?’

The Bouquets d'Aujourd'hui exhibition island featured floral art competitions with a Brazilian Bossa Nova theme.

The Pôle Paysage offered a platform for the exchange of ideas and research findings regarding the urban landscaping industry, while the Prospectives Végétales space invited visitors to look forward, with a series of conferences dedicated to new trends. Here, experts from the HORTEA think tank explained that the sector is not only facing an economic or fashion setback, but an absolute mutation of how people live, communicate, buy and consume. They appealed to a drastic change in the way companies operate, around 8 key values: be connected, agile, close to people, collaborative, abstemious, respon-

Eucalyptus gunnii France Bleue ‘Rengun’.

sible, happy and bold. This should drive to a more ingenious consumer and community oriented offer of products and services, adapted to emerging usage and expectations.

Other lecturers presented consumer and style trends.

Innovert Gold

The coveted Innovert medals, widely regarded as the Césars for the French horticultural industry, were awarded to product or service innovations that positively stimulate the French market in three categories: plant novelty, plant marketing innovation and nonplant marketing innovation.

There were 54 nominees and the jury faced the daunting task to select the winner among high quality entries.

The Golden Innovert medal was awarded to 4 products. Awarded with gold was Rhododendron simsii 'Lady Violet' ‘HORT09’ from Hortibreed, a breeding company of the Belgian Floreac group. ‘Lady Violet’ is the first member in this family of early flowering Azaleas, characterised by its intense lilac

(Photo credits: Alicia Cecot) (Photo credits: Alicia Cecot)

violet colour and its dark shiny leaves. 'Lady violet' will join the Hortinno assortment, a top of the range Azalea collection characterised by its bright and long lasting flowering period, bright foliage and for several varieties, the absence of brown petals. This 18 varieties range is the result of 25 years of breeding by Hortibreed to offer quality Azaleas destined to the specialised market. All plants are tracked by a traceability number and sales are supported by a promotional programme targeting florists.

Amongst other novelties are the late 'Lime' series, with a trendy lime green colour. For more details, visit www.hortinno.com Also good for gold was Eucalyptus gunnii France Bleue ‘Rengun’ from French Pépinières Renault. France Bleue® 'Rengun' appeared amongst Eucalyptus gunnii seedlings and was immediately noticed for its unique feather-look foliage. Today propagated by micro propagation, France Bleue® 'Rengun' brings something really new to the

standard Gunnii type : a look that allows it to be used both as a shrub and cut twig, compact growth habit (2 to 3 meters) and slower growth. This protected variety will be disseminated by SAPHO editing company. For more details visit www.sapho.fr Jeanne de Laval received the golden award for commercial innovation Start’in Box. Launched to respond to consumer wishes to have better and faster results with their bulbs, Start'in box is a concept of mother stock-ready-to-plant bulbs sold in a wooden keep net. The high quality XXL bulbs will provide generous flowering from the first year of planting. The range already comprises 9 varieties of peonies, Agapanthus and iris. www.jeanne-de-laval.fr Nutrimite, a selection of cattail pollen from Biobest, illustrates the trend towards feeding beneficial enemies to improve their installation and development in the crops.

Nutrimite is palatable during two weeks, especially for Amblyseius

The show attracted 15,000 visitors.

Swiirskii and the new Euseius gallicus and ovalis. Trials with Nutrimite have demonstrated a better installation of beneficial resulting in fewer introductions. www.biobest.com Other introductions that deserve mention are Agrumes de Méditerranée’s range of 42 organic citrus varieties under the brand Agrum Bio, as well as two other introductions by SAPHO : Hibiscus moscheutos Planet® Griotte 'Tangri', an early flowering garden Hibiscus with a cherry red colour, whose flowers can reach up to 25 cms, and Lavatera x Blue Bird® 'renlav', with a soft blue colour and a upright growth habit.

Start In Box.

Silver and bronze medal winners

Innovert Silver Medal: Gerbera jamesonii Cartwheel Strawberry Twist from Syngenta FloriPro Services . Tibouchina urvilleana ‘Groovy Baby’ from La Forêt Jeunes Plants (FR). 4 seasons lawn from DLF France.

Innovert Bronze Medal : Bougainvillea X Sunvillea Cream ‘Sasara’, Pink ‘Kasumi’, Purple ‘Koiro’ from Moerheim New Plant (NL); Magnolia grandiflora Alta ‘TMGH’ from La Forêt Jeunes Plants (FR). Biodiversity bulbs from Theo de Boer (NL). Special mention for the bamboo Dragon from Rezo Plant and Kerisnel (FR) ||| Exhibitors and visitors benefited from a refurbished Ardésia hall, with more space and an easier circulation.

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

25

World News

26

The Netherlands

IPHANDLERS earns AEO certification Independent Perishable Handlers (IPHandlers), a leading freight forward company in the Netherlands, has received certification as an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) in response to the European Union's need to secure international supply chains and the introduction of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) in the USA. Caroline van Dijk, team leader Client Management of Dutch Customs Schiphol Cargo presented the coveted certificate to IPHandlers Operational Director, Mr. Mark Loos on Tuesday April 1st, 2014.

Achieving the AEO status indicates IPHandlers compliance with security- and safety standards, transparency of business processes and internal control systems.

The AEO customs security and safety accreditation enables a swifter clearance of flowers at the border with simplified customs procedures, fewer inspections and faster movement of goods.

Mark Loos: “We are very pleased with the achievement of this important milestone in IPHandlers short history and are proud that we have been able to finish the certification process in such a short period of time.

Since the start of the company in June 2013 we continuously have been working

on improving operational, administrative and security processes in order to provide our clients operational excellence in cool chain transportation. Fresh products, such as flowers, fruits and vegetables require fast and efficient handling. To guarantee an optimal cool chain, all transport and administrative processes need to be aligned.

AEO accreditation encourages us even more to further improve the efficiency and quality of our services.”

IPHandlers, located in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands, is an independent handler, specialised in transport (air- and ocean freight), (import) handling and cold storage of perishable products such as flowers, vegetables and fruits from South America, Africa and Israel. Operational since June 2013 IPHandlers has been able to gain a position as one of the leading handlers in the Dutch perishable market.

The facility, which is opened 24/7, is located just 5 minutes away from the Flora Holland flower auction and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The company operates a 10,000 m², fully conditioned warehouse, equipped with different temperature zones, 3 vacuum cooling tanks, 13 loading docks, a location for phyto sanitary inspections and a weighbridge.

Besides transportation and handling, IPHandlers also offers numerous ‘valueadded’ solutions to her clients. |||

United States

Farmer/grower Calvin Chadwick from Minnesota dies on Easter Eve Calvin Roy Chadwick (or just Cal as he liked to be called), born February 22, 1943, was one of those people who had a positive influence on those around him and who brought out the best in people.

Farming in and around Bloomington, Minnesota (USA), he became famous for his sweet-corn as well as for his upbeat attitude.

At the young age of nine he started selling strawberries and sweet corn from a card table in front of the family home. In time he opened and run two ‘Cal’s Market’ stores and flower greenhouses with the help of wife Beverly. Customers flocked in not only to buy his flowers and vegetables but also because of the friendly service they got, often directly

www.FloraCulture.eu | May 2014

from him. Cal truly enjoyed interacting with people, kidding around with youngsters and reminiscing with older folk.

Cal became a successful businessman who remained a farmer at heart, ploughing the fields himself whenever his commitments allowed. He inspired by example, with undeviating ethics – “straight as an arrow”, people referred to him. A man of God, Cal would drop an eventual Bible quote, as often as he would crack a joke.

The Chadwicks have been blessed with three beautiful daughters, but countless other young men around the world are proud to be called ‘their kids’. For years, Cal and Bev hosted University of MN agriculture exchange students from dozens of countries. Always interested in people and how life was in other

countries, this Minnesotan farmer inspired many around the world.

Cal passed away at home surrounded by family and the grandkids he was so fond of.

His example of a lifetime of hard work and friendliness will continue on with those of us who were lucky enough to have worked for him. |||

Belgium

Union Fleurs names Lennart Lovén honorary president Lennart Lovén has been named as honorary president of Union Fleurs during the 2014 AGM of the international flower trade association in Gran Canaria.

On Saturday 5 April 2014, Union Fleurs closed its 2014 General Assembly with a celebratory evening dedicated to its outgoing President, Mr Lennart Lovén. A prestigious assembly of high-level guests and Union Fleurs members attended the gala dinner in the Hotel Lopesan Costa Meloneras in Gran Canaria to pay tribute to Lennart Lovén for his outstanding work during his terms as Union Fleurs President (2011-2014) and member of the Board of Directors (2008-2014).

To mark the occasion, a vote of thanks was given by Union Fleurs new President Herman de Boon who announced the unanimous decision of the Union Fleurs members to confer Mr Lovén the title of Union Fleurs Honorary President in recognition of his remarkable service and contribution to the association. To symbolise his honorific nomination, Mr Lovén was handed a personalised Union Fleurs award by Mr de Boon.

Union Fleurs Secretary General Sylvie Mamias who worked closely with Lennart Lovén throughout his mandates, delivered an emotional speech testifying his exceptional personality, professionalism and invaluable experience of the international floriculture trade: “It's been a great pleasure and a great honour to work alongside with Lennart in the last 5 years. His support and guidance with his vast experience and knowledge of the floriculture business has been precious to

Union Fleurs and its members. He leaves behind an international organisation that is in a great shape and we will honour his work by doing our best to keep strengthening Union Fleurs in the future.”

Augusto Solano, president of Asocolflores, the Association of Colombian Flower Exporters, also took the opportunity to express his gratitude towards Mr Lovén’s long-lasting commitment and achievements as President of Union Fleurs, awarding him with a distinctive sterling silver plate from the Colombian Association.

Over 60 representatives from a wide range

of organisations and countries were present at the gala dinner to celebrate this special moment with Mr Lovén and his family.

Besides the participants to the Union Fleurs General Assembly 2014, distinguished guests such as the Swedish Consul in the Canary Islands Ms Ann-Christin Ekstrand, the president of ASAGA (the Canary Islands Association of Growers and Farmers) Mr Henri Sicilia as well as Mr Juan Daniel Marichal, president of ASOCAN (the Canary Islands Association of growers and exporters of flowers and plants) also honoured the ceremony with their presence. |||

Belgium

The country’s largest garden centre opens its doors The new garden centre is eco-friendly, using solar panels to capture sunlight and a co-generation plant for floor heating and electricity.

The owners of Belgium’s largest garden centre, the VandenBussche family, choose the perfect moment to kick off their business as large parts of Europe bask in record breaking spring sunshine, that meant that during the first days following the opening, Famiflora saw a good influx of shoppers. |||

Belgium celebrated the opening of its largest garden centre, near Moeskroen, on March 25.

Ideally located at the crossroads between France, Belgium and the Netherlands, the 23,000sqm Famiflora garden centre is a one-stop source for all garden needs. The outlet includes a dedicated pet shop and aquatics centre and offers 800 parking spaces in a huge car park.

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

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International Events June 2014 4 to 6. Kenya IFTEX, International Flower Trade Expo at the Oshwal convention centre in Nairobi. www.iftex.org 8 to 11. Italy XIII International Symposium on the Processing Tomato - XI World Processing Tomato Congress, Sirmione, Lake Garda, Italy. www.worldtomatocongress.com 10 to 11. Israel 24th edition of Fresh AgroMashov at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center, Tel Aviv.

Some 20,000 attendees are expected to take part in the event, including buyer delegations from around the world. www.agro.mashovgroup.net 10 to 12. The Netherlands GreenTech Amsterdam 2014 at the Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre, The Netherlands. www.greentech.nl 10 to 12. United States National Lawn & Garden Show at the Denver International Airport Hotel. www.nlgshow.com 10 to 13. The Netherlands Flower Trials in the Aalsmeer, Westland and Rheinland Westfalen (Germany) areas. www.flowertrials.com 10 to 13. United States International Floriculture Expo at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. www.floriexpo.com 10 to 13. United States International Floriculture Expo at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. www.floriexpo.com 19 to 20. Australia Queensland Flower Growers Association Conference from June 19-20 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. Called the Know it to Grow it Commference, the focus is on how the floriculture industry can maximise on today’s communications, marketing and promotional channels www.flowersqueensland.asn.au 19 to 29. Russia The Russian Nursery Stock Association (APPM) is proud to announce its ‘Gardens and People’ festival which will be held in Moscow’s Sokolniki Park, from June 19 to 29. For more details please visit www.landy-art. ru/helpful_information/news.

24 to 25. United Kingdom The National Plant Show at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, Warwickshire, CV82LZ, UK. T +44 118 9303132 F +44 118 9323453 enquiries@nationalplantshow.co.uk www.nationalplantshow.co.uk July 2014 8 to 13. United Kingdom RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. www.rhs.org.uk 12 to 15. United States Cultivate! www.cultivate14.org 13 to 18. Italy VIII International Symposium on Chemical and Non-Chemical Soil and Substrate Disinfestation, Torino, Italy. www.sd2014.org 22 to 24. United Kingdom Prepare for historic Norfolk, English gardens and extensive trials of ornamental flowers and vegetables. The 45th Annual Fleuroselect Convention hosted

by Floranova will take place from 22-24 July 2014 in Norwich, U.K. www.fleuroselect.com 28 July to 1 August. United States 32nd Perennial Plant Symposium at the Hilton Netherland Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio. www.perennialplant.org 30 to 31. United States Penn Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, PANTS14 at the Pennsylvania Convention Centre. www.pantshow.com August 2014 10 to15. Ireland The International Garden Centre Association's 2014 congress will take place in Ireland. Attendees will visit some of Ireland's most beautiful and innovative garden centres, historic and stately gardens, historical sites and some of the best tourist destinations. www.igccireland2014.com 10 to 15. Switzerland 2014 Congress of the International Hardy Plants Union (ISU). www.isu-perennials.org

14 to 16. Finland LEPAA, the three-day event set to be held in the Hämeenlinna area, ranks among one of the oldest horticultural trade shows in Europe. www.lepaa.fi 17 to 22. Australia XXIX International Horticultural Congress: IHC2014 in Brisbane, Australia. www.ihc2014.org 19 to 21. United States The Independent Garden Center Show at the Navy Pier in Chicago. www.igcshow.com 21 to 23. United States Farwest Show at the Oregon Convention Centre and organised by the Oregon Association of Nurseries. info@oan.org www.farwestshow.com

10 to 12. Italy Flormart at the PadovaFiere exhibition centre. www.flormart.it 16 to 19. Russia Garden Tool. The specialised trade fair in Russia for producers and suppliers of tools, techniques and equipment for ground-maintenance of gardens and parks. www.gardentool.ru 17 to 19. Russia FlowersExpo at the Crocus Expo in Moscow.

T +7 495 221 1251 cell phone (8) 915 185 7903 mail@flowers-expo.ru www.flowers-expo.ru 19 to 21. China Modern Agri 2014 at the Shanghai World Expo. modernagri@hnzmedia.com www.modernagri.cn

25 to 29. Latvia The first International Peat Technology Symposium, which is set to take place in Riga, Latvia from 25-29 August, 2014. riga@peat2014.lv www.peat2014.lv

23 to 26. Argentina Horticultural Congress Argentina in Mendoza. www.asaho.org.ar

26 to 27. Belgium Florall at the Flanders Expo Gent, Hall 2 & 4, Maaltekouter 1, 9051 Gent – Belgium www.florall.be

1 to 3. Spain Iberflora, United in Green.

T +34 963 861 389 iberflora@feriavalencia.com www.feriavalencia.com/ iberflora

27 to 30. The Netherlands Plantarium, international trade fair for nursery stock at the international trade centre Boskoop-Hazerswoude. info@plantarium.nl www.plantarium.nl 28 to 30. Russia Flowers IPM Moscow is jointly organised by Messen Essen GmbH and the MVCVVC and will take place from August 28-30, 2014 at the newly built wing of the All-Russian Exhibition Centre (AREC) in Moscow, Russia.

T +49 201 7244 232 anna.grannass@messe-essen.de www.flowers-ipm.com 28 to 30. Poland 22nd edition of Green is Life trade exhibition. A nursery stock and gardening-focused show. This year pot plants and cut flowers will make their debut in Warsaw. agnieszka.zukowska@zszp.pl www.greenislife.pl September 2014

October 2014

1 to 3. The Netherlands The 23rd edition of the Dutch amenity plant show in Zundert. www.grootgroenplus.nl 1 to 4. Ecuador Florecuador/Agriflor 2014 www.hpp.nl 3 to 5. Italy Orticolario, the 6th edition of the Orticolario flower show at Villa Erba, Cernobbio (Como). As usual plants and flowers will be the heart and the focus of the event, with original and elegant ideas provided by over 200 selected exhibitors from all over Italy and abroad. info@orticolario.it www.orticolario.it T +39 0313491 15 to 17. Japan IFEX, International Flower Expo at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, Japan.

T +81 333 49 8519 F +81 333 49 8530 ifex-eng@reedexpo.co.jp www.ifex.jp/en/

8 to 11. China AIPH Annual Congress in Qingdao, China. www.aiph.org

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

29

World News

Happy Gardening

United States

Beach & boardroom

Growtainer on its way to Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Centre Two months ago, a real ‘convoi exceptionnel’ left the premises of Miami-based Greentech Agro LLC, the manufacturer and soon patent holder of Growtainer™ containers, Growtroller™ control systems and Growrack™ vertical production systems. On board the 53' truck was a Growtainer™; a 40’ shipping container that has been transformed into a mobile hydroponic production or research facility.

The Growtainer arrived at the prestigious Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Centre in Dallas on Wednesday March 19th. Here, researchers will use the Growtainer™ containers, capable of unlimited simultaneous experiments, to find better ways of plant production in closed environments, with plants that need less water and less light, all aspects that are very important to solving the food security problems around the world.

One of the driving forces behind the Growtainer is industry-veteran Glenn Behrman who earned a reputation as a first class foliage distributor in the Northeast of the United States. During his 40 + years in horticulture, he has seen many technological advances and saw the opportunity to turn those advances into a new way of producing eco-friendly food. “Nowadays it is all about food safety, freshness and reduced food miles, people want to know where their food is coming from, and in some cases, consumers support sustainable production methods of their food,” said Behrman.

He went on to say that "since the entire production is housed in a completely controlled environment, people can now grow vegetables, leafy greens and many other specialty crops year round in any local climate or environment in the world."

Simplicity is the secret to Greentech’s Growtainer™.

“The concept is to have a unit with a plug and play principle which can constantly be improved. Inside the container all of the utilities necessary to grow short term crops are present.”

For more details visit www.growtainers.com |||

by Anthony Tesselaar

You wouldn’t think that a business meeting and a walk along the beach have a lot in common. And on the face of things, you’re probably right – they don’t. But as I was walking along the beach the other day – thinking – I made sense of something. Looking out over the nearly deserted sands I gained a better understanding of the power of distraction, and how dangerous it can be.

Of course when I say dangerous, I don’t mean in the same way as being distracted while crossing the road; or trying to program your Satnav after you’ve started driving your car. These are obvious situations where powerful distractions are present. Most of us appreciate what could happen and how serious that would be which is why we look before we cross a road and punch in our destinations before we set off. We like life. But what about the beach and what did it show me?

I had been looking down on the golden sands earlier that day, watching people play and relax. The sun was shining, the light was brash and bright, the waves glinted and the crowd was a riot of colour and movement. There was noise too, so that the whole effect was almost festival-like. And so when I wandered down later, long after the crowds had left for home, I couldn’t help but notice the difference. And with the distractions removed, another beach was revealed: softly lit, where the water and sky were the heroes and the background noise came from the waves and the odd seagull.

My thought was: the beach and the sky had always been there. But the distractions of bright sunlight and happy crowds had stopped me from seeing them.

So how does this relate to the board room? To explain, I’ll reveal a little trick I use from time to time in meetings. We’ve all been in meetings that stretch out longer than expected, bogged down in more detail than should probably be addressed in one session. When any meeting reaches this point it’s important to regain a clear view of the original intent, the objective of gathering in the first place. I do that by ‘clearing the beach’, so to speak. I declare a break, call in the refreshments, do whatever I can to break the discussion and give everyone the chance to clear their minds. Sitting back down ten minutes later, the clear view can be restored more easily now that the distractions have been bundled out of the way. We should be better able to see the beach and the sky.

So become aware of peripheral junk, the white noise - if you like. Surely if we can identify and remove it we should have a much better context to live and work in…

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

May 2014 | www.FloraCulture.eu

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Floraculture International encourages the pursuit of joint activities in areas of mutual interest with national and international societies, companies and organizations.

Agreements have been reached between Floraculture International and leading growers and trade associations in 24 countries. This unique partnership includes a complimentary copy for each member of the registered associations. Floraculture International is proud to announce the cooperation with the following associations.

Partners of FloraCulture International

A

R

R

G

E

For more FCI partners see page 4.

T DE N CEN

A S S O C I AT I O N

SEED IS LIFE

SF

International Seed Federation





Classifieds HELP WANTED

follow us on facebook

rental

Florasearch, Inc. In our third decade of performing confidential key employee searches for the horticulture industry and allied trades worldwide. Retained basis only. Candidate contact welcome, confidential, and always free.

1740 Lake Markham Rd., Sanford, FL 32771 USA Phone (1) 407 320 8177, Fax (1) 407 320 8083, E-mail: search@florasearch.com, Website: www.florasearch.com

Once upon a time there was a beautiful place in the world where one could sit all day just looking out at the bay. A Tiki Hut providing shade from the bright sun while the clear saltwater beckons you to just dive in. Eagles fly overhead and the fish are jumping…

I am spinning this tale to bring to your attention a unique offer that I hope might interest just a select few of you.

My family owns a lovely vacation property in the Florida Keys and we have decided to open it up for weekly or monthly rentals. It is a very special laid back place where time is only what you make of it. Relaxing and private this casual property is

surrounded by the best sport fishing in the US. We can accommodate from 2 to 5 couples.

Check it out at www.lost-habor.com If you are interested please contact me Williee Armellini Williee@lost-harbor.com US: 786-255-3335 rental French man 50 years old, looking for consultancy contracts in horticulture. All countries. Extensive experience.

Contact for more information: mago@lagoon.nc

Advertising Index Company

Page website

Danziger “Dan” Flower Farm.................................. 3 ................................. www.danziger.co.il Deliflor............................................................................ 2 .......................................www.deliflor.nl Erich Baumeister GmbH...........................................28...................... www.erichbaueister.com FCI FlowersExpoSURE..............................................34...www.floracultureinternational.com Florasearch Inc...........................................................33............................www.florasearch.com.

Floricultura B.V............................................................ 6 ..........................www.floricultura.com Flowers Expo (Moscow)............................................6..............................www.flowers-expo.ru Havatec......................................................................18-19............................... www.havatec.com IPHandlers....................................................................26...................................www.iphandlers.nl Lex+.............................................................................22-23...............................................www.lex.nl M. van Veen.................................................................28..........................www.mvanveenbv.com

Company

Page website

Messe Essen (IPM)....................................................35..................... www.messe-essen.de/en Moerheim New Plants..............................................28..................www.suntorycollection.info Philips Lighting............................................................36............................www.philips.com/horti Poepplemann...............................................................30........................www.poeppelmann.com.

Sion Orchids.................................................................17..............................................www.sion.eu Stal & Plast...................................................................33..................................www.staal-plast.dk Takii & Co., Ltd.............................................................30......................................... www.takii.co.jp Thierry Richez..............................................................33.......................................................................

Vitroplus........................................................................28.......................................www.vitroplus.nl Williee Armellini..........................................................33.............................www.lost-harbor.com

May 2014 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

33

e r u t l u C a r o Fl FL W W W.

ORACU

LTURE

.EU

Russia Edition to make its debut in Moscow

Russia’s leading international horticultural trade show, FlowersExpo, event organiser GreenExpo and FloraCulture International have teamed up to develop the FlowersExpoSURE magazine.

FlowersExpoSURE showcases the very best worldwide floriculture has to offer with editorials including interviews with the show management, an overview of the show, tips to find specific products, many interesting company profiles, a floor plan and exhibitor listings.

FlowersExpoSURE will be distributed predominantly to industry professionals and offers an unique opportunity to promote your company and your product.

Contact our sales team and book now! angie@floracultureinternational.com hedd@floracultureinternational.com

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