Floraculture July August 2015

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W W W . F L O R A C ULTU R E . E U

2015 FLOWER TRIALS

The world’s premier bedding plant event attracts global attention

CLEVER PLANT MARKETING

Why not think out of the box?

Hot town, summer in the city... flower fields are fine and looking so pretty

J u ly/A u g u s t 2 015

The business magazine for worldwide floriculture

Floraculture International encourages the pursuit of joint activities in areas of mutual interest with national and international societies, companies and organisations. Agreements have been reached between Floraculture International and leading growers and trade associations in 32 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

For more FCI partners see page 34.

Turk覺sh FONT HARR襤NGTON

KwaZulu Natal Flower Grower's Association

Table of Contents

July/August 2015 Volume 25 Number 7/8

Highlights from the world’s premier bedding plant event

08

For the bedding plant and potted plant industry there’s no bigger date in the calendar than the annual Flower Trials in Holland and Germany.

by Ron van der Ploeg

Are punitive damages allowed in Europe?

In order to create a deterrent for preventing infringements of plant variety rights, parties not uncommonly agree or claim that the infringer should pay double (or even higher) the amount of the license fee payable for the licensed exploitation of the protected variety. In as far as such a double license fee surpasses the actual loss of the injured party this may be regarded as punitive damages. It is questionable whether such an ‘infringer supplement’ is allowed under Community law.

by Hidde J. Koenraad

Jiffypot R2 offers ‘degradable durability’

18

by our own correspondent

16

Jiffy, a leading growing media manufacturer proudly announces its new Jiffypot R2, a brand new home compostable pot. The pot offers excellent performance in (automated) production, handling and retail.

Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai: turning a concrete jungle into a green oasis Endorsed by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and the Bureau of State Forestry, the Hortiflorexpo IPM trade show is the fundamental point of reference for the Chinese market as well as Asia’s leading business platform in ornamental horticulture.

21

from our own correspondent

Urbinati leading the way in potted herbs automation

Over the last few years, the global demand for aromatics herbs has strongly increased. For small and medium-sized plant nurseries, increased sales can quickly lead to growing pains in the greenhouse or in the field when manual operations are no longer able to keep up with demand. One way to take these potted herb production to the next level is by implementing

22

automation. Urbinati offers the right solutions.

by Aldo Colombo

Why not think out of the box?

Market pressure may lead some ornamental plan growers to question their future.

Why not think differently and take up new opportunities?

by Marie Francoise Petitjean

26

Auctions around the world (3)

This month, the third episode of Auctions around the World provides a comprehensive overview of FloraHolland, SP Flores Brazil and Ontario Flower Growers CoOperative Ltd.

Departments 28

by Ron van der Ploeg

International Events World News Advertising Index

25 31 35

Columns From the editor Miami Happy Gardening Buon Giorno

07 15 23 33

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

5

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In my opinion In my opinion In my opinion In my opinion In my opinion With With compliments compliments From the editor

FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly.Worldwide distribution. © 2009 FloraCulture International magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of editorial may FloraCulture is published monthly.Worldwide distribution. be reproducedInternational in any form (ISSN1051-9076) without written permission of the publisher. Publisher is not liable © 2009 FloraCulture International magazine.

All rights reserved.

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

Send address changes to FloraCulture FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly.Worldwide distribution. be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher.

Publisher is not liable International magazine, P.O.Box 82, 1850 ABAllHeiloo, theNetherlands. © 2009 FloraCulture International magazine. rights No portion of editorial may by Ron vanQuality, for advertisements using illegally obtained images.

Sendreserved. address changes to FloraCulture FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly.Worldwide distribution. der Ploeginnovation, sustainability and logistics are words that be in anyInternational form without written permission of the publisher.

Publisher is not may liable © reproducedmagazine, often appear in our editorial.

Th is isand a compliment you, the International P.O.Box 82, 1850 AB theNetherlands.

2009 FloraCulture magazine.

AllHeiloo, rights reserved.

No portion of editorial FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly.Worldwide distribution.

Quality, innovation, sustainability logistics aretowords that for advertisements using illegally obtained images.

Sendof address changes Publisher to FloraCulture © be reproduced in any form without written permission theofpublisher. is not liable fl oriculture industry; the interviewees and contributors remain 2009 FloraCulture International magazine.

All rights reserved.

No portion editorial may often appear in our editorial. Th is is a compliment to you, the International magazine, P .O.Box 82, 1850 AB Heiloo, theNetherlands. advertisements using illegally obtained images. changes FloraCulture Quality,on innovation, and“what logistics areTh words that FloraCulture International B.V.Send address focused “what cansustainability be”interviewees rather than isn’t”. e cut flower e reproduced inforany form without written permission of the publisher.

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Ron van This year, the exciting and creative week of events has attracted attention T (31) 72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521 the pot and bedding plant growers with the spring sunshine having P .O.Box 82, 1850 AB Heiloo, the Netherlands T (31) 34 84 31 393 F (31) 34 84 32 552 info@fbw-woerden.nl market is diffi cult, but a glimpse of relief is being experienced by FloraCulture International B.V. Working backwards in this issue; in East Africa, Ethiopia’s focused on “what can be” rather than “what isn’t”.

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T (31) 53International 23Evans 522Netherlands F(anabel@fl (31) 72 53 23 521 P.O. Box 612, Editors: Anabel oracultureinternational.com) the potabut and bedding plant growers with sunshine having P.O.Box AB 72 Heiloo, explosive flaoriculture growth being reined back, but in another market diffi cult, glimpse of relief isisin being experienced by T (31) 34 84 31the 393 F (31) 34 84 32 552 info@fbw-woerden.nl der Ploeg FloraCulture Working backwards in this issue; in segment, East Africa, Ethiopia’s Dennis coming from outside Europe.

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T (31) 72 53 Business 233440 522 F 72 53 23 snippet of news received from David Gray it appears that the pot and bedding plant growers with the spring sunshine having Seriese address: ECA Office 140-21, Legmeerdijk 313, explosive flIran, oriculture growth isAustralia. being reined back, but visitors in another der Ploeg Hedd Alwyn Editors: Anabel Evans (anabel@floracultureinternational.com) areaJapan, Russia, 40% the T (31)AP 34team: 84 31 393Woerden F (31) 34 84Box 32 552 Working backwards in thisand issue; in aEast Africa, Ethiopia’s 3440 Woerden, the Netherlands Dennis Editorial Edward Bent, Chris Beytes, Lotte Bjarke, Arturo Croci, made Circulation Administration: FBW P.O. 612,info@fbw-woerden.nl logistics Eastthe Africa are receiving boost.

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Hughes 1431 RonGB vanAalsmeer der Ploeg (ron@floracultureinternational.com) snippet ofinnews received from David Gray it appears that Seriese the hosting countries The Netherlands and Germany and 32% from other Editors: Anabel Evans (anabel@fl oracultureinternational.com) explosive backwards floriculture growth is being reined back, but in another T (31) 34Netherlands 84 31 393 FGray, (31)Kerry 34 84Herndon, 32 552 info@fbw-woerden.nl Hans De Vries, David Helen Moody, Working in this issue; in East Africa, Ethiopia’s 3440 AP Woerden, the infrastructure, communications and transport are the key Postal address: Postbus 1081, 1430 BB Aalsmeer Editorial team: Edward Bent, Chris Beytes, Lotte Bjarke, Arturo Croci, logistics in East Africa are the receiving a boost.

He writes the thatto ifthe Dennis European countries with France, U.K. and Italy leading field.

Ron van der Ploeg (ron@fl oracultureinternational.com) snippet of news received from David Gray it appears that Editors: Anabel Evans (anabel@fl oracultureinternational.com) Petitjean, Marta Pizano, Leaora Policar, Jennifer White Marie-Françoise explosive fl oriculture growth is being reined back, but in another T (31) 34 84 31 393 F (31) 34 84 32 552 info@fbw-woerden.nl development of horticulture and economies in general the news Working backwards in this communications issue; in East Africa, Ethiopia’s Seriese T (31) 095 Hans297 De769 Vries, David Gray, Kerry Herndon, Helen Moody, infrastructure, andat transport are theofkey to the annuDennis There isfloriculture nothing Igrowth like more than looking endless rows colourful Editorial team: Edward Bent, Chris Beytes, Lotte Bjarke, Arturo Croci, explosive logistics East Africa arefrom receiving aGray boost.

He writes that ifnew Ron der Ploeg (ron@fl oracultureinternational.com) Founding editor: Debbie Hamrick snippet ofin news received David it appears that Editors: Evansvan (anabel@fl oracultureinternational.com) of: new roads linking Addis Ababa with Nairobi; a proposed is being reined back, but in another SerieseAnabel FBW Woerden P.O. Box 612,Jennifer White Circulation Administration: Petitjean, Marta Pizano, Leaora Policar, Marie-Françoise development of horticulture and economies in general the news Claudia Dennis als inofa greenhouse or trial field and chatting with breeders and to Hans De team: Vries, David Gray, HelenBjarke, Moody, infrastructure, communications and are thetokey toifgrowers the Editorial Edward Bent,Kerry ChrisHerndon, Beytes, Lotte Arturo Croci, snippet Cover: Pack Trials logistics in East Africa areGray receiving atransport boost. writes that Ron van der Ploeg (ron@fl oracultureinternational.com) railway line on the Kenyan Coast from Addis Ababa Lamu; a news received from David it appears thatHe Stokreef 3440 AP California Woerden, the Netherlands Seriese Founding editor: Debbie Hamrick of: new roads linking Addis Ababa with Nairobi; a proposed new assessinpotential winners for the next sales season and beyond.

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He writes that if T (31) 34 84 31 393 E info@fbw-woerden.nl Angie Cover: California Pack Trials railway line ona the Kenyan Coast from Addis Ababa tohand Lamu; agive advice Stokreef Trials, there is always of down toeconomies earth experts to Founding editor: Debbie Hamrick of:start new roadsof linking Addis Ababa with Nairobi; aon proposed new Duffree Petitjean, Marta Pizano, Leaora Policar, Jennifer White infrastructure, Marie-Françoise (jaap@fl oracultureinternational.com) development horticulture and in to general the between news Hans De Vries, DavidRon Gray, Kerry Herndon, Helen Moody, to direct flteam ights between Nairobi and Atlanta; a deal and transport the key Editors: van der PloegInternational (ron@floracultureinternational.com) Publisher: FloraCulture B.V. Claudia newcommunications railway line from Tanzania to are Uganda; Deltathe Airlines about and recommendations on all crop varieties.

Cover: California Pack Trials railway line onlinking the Addis Ababa tothe Lamu; a Founding Debbie Hamrick TPetitjean, (31) 20 editor: 61 82 666 F (31) 20 61 81 333 new roads Addis Ababa with Nairobi; afor proposed new Stokreef Marta Pizano, Leaora Policar, Jennifer White Marie-Françoise Kenya’s Astral andCoast Etihad Crystal Cargo Nairobidevelopmentof: horticulture andKenyan economies infrom general news Editorial Chris Beytes, Lotte Bjarke, Alicja Cecot, (jaap@flteam: oracultureinternational.com) toofstart direct flAviation ights between Nairobi and the Atlanta; a deal between Claudia Publisher: FloraCulture International B.V. new railway linethe from Tanzania Uganda; Delta about Cover: California Pack Trials Printer: Hollandia Printing, Heerhugowaard line on Kenyan from Addis Ababa to Lamu; a Founding editor: Debbie Hamrick Abu Dhabi route; should allCoast havetopositive effCargo ects onAirlines the economic of: new roadsrailway linking Addis Ababa with Nairobi; a proposed new Stokreef Audrey Gerber, Aldo Colombo, Arturo Croci, T (31) 20 61 82 666 F (31) 20 61 81 333 Kenya’s Astral Aviation and Etihad Crystal for the NairobiClaudia Speaking ofstart down toline earth...I usedAddis toNairobi think that producing and selling ArturoCalifornia (jaap@fl oracultureinternational.com) to direct flCoast ights between and Atlanta; a deal between Publisher: FloraCulture International B.V. Designer: Hollandia Media Productions new railway from Tanzania to Uganda; Delta Airlines about Cover: Pack Trials development of East Africa in the medium to long term. railway line on the Kenyan from Ababa to Lamu; a Stokreef Marie-Françoise Petitjean, John Sutton and Jennifer Zurko.

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T (81) 33 32 75South 756Africa: FAfrica: (81)David 33 32 Gray 27 933 are another institution that have a long in Worldwide distribution. ©2009 FloraCulture International magazine.

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(27) 22 4857415 FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly.

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8

Flower Trials Founded in 2003 by a group of visionary entrepreneurs in the pot and bedding plant industry, Flower Trials have quickly established itself as one of the top ornamental plant events providing a platform for relatively young companies in plant breeding as well as established brands and supports retail businesses throughout the world.

2015 Flower Trials attract global attenJtion

by Ron van der Ploeg

une is one of the most important months in the year for everyone in the life style horticulture industry. With summer around the corner, growers, plant buyers, plug producers, distributors, florists, garden centre retailers, journalists and PR professionals kick the industry into high gear with the start of the Flower Trials.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

Industry professionals spend hours each day discovering the latest breeding breakthroughs, attending exclusive parties, seminars, award ceremonies and talking shop, marketing programmes and trends.

A spectacular international event

The Flower Trials have developed

over a number of years and have become a spectacular international event, providing a comprehensive overview of existing, new and future assortments of cut flowers, pot and bedding plants.

Since 2003, audiences at the annual showcase have grown with guests travelling from five continents to the 4-day shows.

This year, the exciting and creative open house has attracted attention from home and especially abroad with 25% of all pre-registered visitors coming from outside Europe.

Within that segment, the top five countries are Japan, Russia, Iran, the U.S.A and Australia. 40% of the visitors come from hosting the countries The Netherlands and Germany and 32% from other European countries with France, the U.K. and Italy leading the field.

The 2015 edition of the Flower Trials has attracted more visitors from more countries visiting a higher number of locations than ever. Compared to last year, the total number of visitors went up by 11%, whereas the total

2015

SummerShowcase Agriom/HBA evening opening Trial goers were invited to come and see Agriom/HBA’s Hydrangea breeding results in a different light. During the open evening on June 11th there were tours through the greenhouses from 6pm to 9pm. Occupying pride of place was Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Jip’, an intensive clear blue mophead Hydrangea: rich flowering and excellent blue staining.

Whether a Hydrangea (excluding white cultivars) develops a pink or blue inflorescence is dependent on suitable for different pot sizes. The the presence and availability of forcing period lies between 10 to aluminium. The absence of alu11 weeks. minium results in pink flowers; high ‘Jip’made its official debut on Dutch availability of aluminium creates TV in 2014 when singer Do named blue flowers. Flower colour can be the newly created Hydrangea after controlled by regulating aluminium. her new born son Jip. Since then, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Jip’ is easthis plant is positioned as being the ily produced as a blue. perfect baby shower décor and gift.

It produces masses of flowers in Agriom was also showing its range one of the finest blue colours and of cut roses, which are sold under has a compact growth habit that is the WAC International brand. Show-

stoppers this year were the newly launched large-flowered ‘Angry Bird’ with red an cream striped flowers (stem length 60-80cm) and the large-flowered ‘Zuri’ featuring a striking orange colour.

The company’s rose portfolio includes to date 10 commercial varieties that are all the result of a blooming bond between Agriom and the Africa-based Wagagai farm. In 2002, Wagagai and Agriom joined forces to bring production and breeding together. Selected

varieties are being tested and selected in both Uganda and Kenya.

The first variety that has been commercially planted is called ‘Catch’ and is a two-toned rose. It has been slowly introduced into the market and it is doing very well. |||

Quick Facts 2015 Flower Trials Year of foundation: 2003 Trial locations: 30 Hosting countries: The Netherlands and Germany Truly international: 25% of all pre-registered visitors come from outside Europe. Within that segment, the top five countries are Japan, Russia, Iran, the U.S.A and Australia. 40% of the visitors come from hosting countries Holland and Germany and 32% from other

European countries with France, the U.K. and Italy leading the field.

Show frequency: annual Market sectors: bedding, balcony and patio plant growing, cut flower and potted plant product, packaging, horticultural automation, marketing and merchandising.

Exhibitor profile: ornamental plant breeders, young plant producers, propagators Atteendee profile: professional growers, plant

breeders, plug producers, garden centre retailers, supermarket managers, service providers, landscape designers, florists, journalists and PR professionals.

What influenced record breaking growth?

The synergies of co-located shows in Holland and Germany and sustained high frequency and multi-media attention promotions.

2016 dates: 14-17 June, 2016.

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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10

Flower Trials Benary brings JOY Allowing a first glimpse of the most exciting new varieties, the Benary show opened in a blaze of colour. Next to the entrance of the premises of the Dutch bedding plant grower Peter van der Plas, the newest addition to the over 40-year old Nonstop Begonia family, renowned for flowering continuously throughout summer up to the first frosts, brought a lot of JOY. Begonia Nonstop Joy Yellow is a tuberous begonia, has a fuller and tighter growth habit so plants grow ‘thick’ with a manicured shape.

This means Nonstop JOY is easy to sleeve and ship, so you can rackship it confidently.

Nonstop® JOY is the first semi-trailing begonia in the Nonstop® series and the first ever from seed. This is a huge benefit for growers, retailers and consumers alike.

Hanging baskets are ideal to show off Nonstop® JOY's beautiful globular habit. Nonstop® JOY is also a showstopper in patio pots. And anyone planting the new Nonstop® in the open ground can look forward to a gorgeous begonia that combines vigorous growth with large double blooms.

Benary started the 2015 season with Nonstop® JOY Yellow, but the company’s team of breeders already has more colours in the pipeline for the next few years. One can already imagine the double, golden yellow JOY flowers beauti-

BIG Begonia Pink Green Leaf.

Begonia Beats.

fully contrasting with chocolate brown foliage!

Now that we are on the subject of dark foliage, Nonstop Mocca Bright Orange will soon take the place of Nonstop Mocca Deep Orange as it features perfect double blooms in a bolder orange.

Nonstop Mocca is the only comprehensive dark-leafed tuberous begonia series on the market.

To celebrate 100 years of expertise in Begonia breeding, Benary launched its BIG Begoniax benariensis in 2008 and since then the BIG portfolio has steadily expanded. To date, there are five colours available with BIG Pink Green Leaf being the latest newcomer.

BIG continues to receive worldwide acclaim, from China and Russia to Europe and the US. All around the globe it is the most popular begonia of its kind. Its multi-purpose use and extremely

Nonstop Mocca Bright Orange.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

easy maintenance make it so popular around the world. Even in front of the White House in Washington, at Hampton Court Palace or in Austria, BIG produces fantastic blooms.

Producing a myriad of up to 8 cm large, oval-shaped flowers, BIG begonias have excellent germination capacity and outdoor performance.

A big sensation in containers and baskets alike, these matchless luxurious begonias make a stately presentation in park settings and large landscape plantings, which truly create that WOW! effect. BIG begonias offer everything garden lovers, commercial growers and retailers can ask for. Reliable and attractive, BIG begonias are easy to please, thriving in any position from full sun to shade.

Despite their staggering variation in texture, size, colour and shape, it has been a while since Begonias were BIG in the marketplace too.

But Begonia is now shrugging off its old fashioned image as Benary and Volmary teamed up to develop a campaign to attract and target new, younger consumers. The key underlying strategy is to portray the Begonia as a trendy plant for many occasions, using the Begonia Beats tagline. |||

A joyful presentation.

Begonia Nonstop Joy Yellow.

2015

SummerShowcase Fides by Dümmen Orange At Fides, trial goers were informed about the rebranding process the mother company DNA Green Group has recently gone through. DNA Green Group has changed its name to Dümmen Orange, with well-known brand names such as Lex+, Bartels, Terra Nigra, Dümmen Group, Agribio China, Agribio Colombia, Oro and PLA immediately changing their names to Dümmen Orange. The established brand names Fides, but also Ecke, Red Fox, Japan Agribio and Barbaret & Blanc will disappear from the market over time. As a result, the event, which was known as the Fides Flower Festival for many years is now called the Dümmen Orange Flower Festival.

As stylish, colourful and inspiring as its forerunner, the polished Dümmen Orange Flower Festival was an electric mix of the next plant season’s best buying opportunities— an easy-to-work marketplace that brought the entire industry together for four focused days of buying, trend spotting, plant-hunting and business-building interaction in the bedding plant capital of the Netherlands: Westland.

The show's product range covered all segments of the market from the highest Lex+ roses for the high end market to everyday popular bedding plants such as Pelargonium, Petunia and Calibrachoa.

Now that Fides is changing its corporate identity, one of its flagship products, Calandiva, is saying goodbye to its black and white sleeve.

Dutch Calandiva growers ByGrowers A/A, Kwekerij de Veranda, Hendriks CV, Kwekerij Jan van Luijk, Kwekerij ’s-Gravenhof and Gebr. Olsthoorn & Zn. now ship their Calandivas in a fashionable sleeve in pretty pastel colours, featuring an abstract icon based on the letter C. Offering a bit more luxury is the Calandiva pot cover with printed cultivation details, decorative patterns and a personal message from the grower.

Now available in 30 varieties, including the lilac newcomer ‘Garbo’, Calandiva is the top brand for double flowered Kalanchoe that were first discovered in Sweden in 2002.

Traditionally named after divas such as Susanne Vega, Sophia Loren and Bette Middler, Calandiva has now also become a friend of royalty with plans for an official name giving ceremony for Calandiva’s breeding breakthrough in dusky pink, ‘Empress Charlotte’, being underway.

Meanwhile, Fides by Dümmen Orange has gone further in developing

Grandiva ‘Auger’.

Calanday ‘Sin-Sun’.

its Grandiva line of XXL (a minimum of 2cm wide flowers) and double flowered Kalanchoes. Dubbed the ‘Mother of all Divas’, Grandiva is now available in white (‘Loy’), pink (‘Foster’), orange (‘Hurley’) and soft pink (‘Auger’).

Over the past few years, Dutch growers have increasingly swapped their single flowered Kalanchoe for the double flowered varieties that now make up 75% of all produced plants. But it would be a mistake to think that the single flowered Kalanchoe is completely out, as in countries such as Denmark, the USA and Germany the single Kalanchoe blooms are still going strong. In an attempt to revive the single flowered Kalanchoe’s image, Fides

by Dümmen Orange has enrolled a Calanday campaign, highlighting the plant’s extremely long shelf life, its non-fading colours and every day appeal (using the Everyday Deserves A Calanday tagline). Calanday varieties are ‘Coto’, ‘Saja’, ‘Gorly’, ‘Longo’, ‘Rudak’ and upcoming varieties like ‘Sin-Di’, ‘Sin-Bin’, ‘Sin-Sun’ and ‘Sin-To’.

Being hailed as the single flowered revolution in Kalanchoes in 2013, the Kalanchoe Sublime brand comprises

two-toned varieties: Piton come in nicely contrasting red and soft orange while Piton Pink combines pink flowers with white edges.

But there’s more than Kalanchoe.

Dümmen Orange crop specialist Piet Burgers walked us through the company’s greenhouses in De Lier, explaining that while Westhoff from Germany deserves recognition for being the first to develop a line of multi species mixes, Selecta and Dümmen took the merchandising concept to a higher level with their Trixi and Confetti Garden brands respectively.

Confetti Garden continues to

inspire gardeners with its perfectly matched and coordinated multi-genera mixed combinations; many have been featuring bed and balcony applications over the past decade. Burger stresses that Confetti Garden “creates happiness” and that thanks to the new colour combinations for 2016, Confetti Garden is certain to be a trending “must have” outdoor decor item for the newest generation of garden lovers. New point-of-sale material is designed to appeal to this younger generation, just like the new mixes such as bright pastel Shocking Sunset and Angelart Trio Peachy Clouds. |||

Piton Pink.

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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Flower Trials Selecta Klemm Selecta Klemm’s Petunia ‘NightSky’ walked away with the highest accolade of this year’s Flower Trials, namely the “2015/2016 Fleurostar Award for overall excellence and biggest wow effect. The winner was announced at a networking event held in Bleiswijk, the Netherlands on Thursday 11 June.

Andrea Dohm, director of breeding and research, and Antonella Capo, breeder of the award-winning violet with white spots look like a Petunia, accepted the prize from night sky beset with stars.

Fleuroselect president Herman The vegetatively reproduced PeHamer, FleuroStar committee chairtunia ‘NightSky’ is very early with a man Heike Gronemann and Sally semi-trailing, medium strong vigour van der Horst, secretary general of and is well-branched and harmoniFleuroselect. ous in growth.

An independent panel of more than The variety meets expectations 30 expert judges from a cross-secthat many other special varieties tion of the cultivation, production cannot meet. It offers growers one and retail sectors, as well as trade substantial advantage: ‘NightSky’ journalists and marketing profescan be cultivated next to any other sionals, visited the 8 competition petunia assortment. One of the locations to choose the winner with main goals while breeding and sethe biggest ‘wow’ effect at point lecting this new plant was to obtain of sale. a stable and sound colour pattern at Petunia ‘NightSky’ was competany time so that the night sky effect ing against Begonia tuberhybrida does not disappear.

F1 Nonstop JOY Yellow (Benary), The outstanding shelf life also Bidens hybrida BEEDANCE Painted remains. This new Petunia variety Red (Moerheim New Plant) and is suited for baskets and mixed Osteospermum ecklonis ‘Serenity containers and is approximately 1m Blue Eyed Beauty’ (Florensis). trailing. ‘NightSky‘ is ideal for modLooking as if someone accidently ern plant combinations and is the spilled bleach (or white wash) on variety for everybody who wants to its petals, the worldwide unique plant something special.

Petunia ‘NightSky’ is perfectly suited Breeder Antonella Capo, who has for using storytelling techniques as been working for Selecta Italia since marketing tool as the flowers in dark 2008, explained that the new colour Pictured is Andrea Dohm, Director Breeding and Research and Antonella Capo, Breeder of NightSky, accepting the prize from Fleuroselect President Herman Hamer, FleuroStar Committee Chairman Heike Gronemann and Sally van der Horst, Secretary General of Fleuroselect.

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

Fleurostar Award-winning Petunia ‘NightSky’.

pattern is the outcome of many years of crossing and selection work. By crossing and backcrossing ‘NightSky’, with its unique colour pattern, was developed.

It made its European debut at the 2015 Flower Trials. At the Selecta Flower Trials locations in Straelen (D) and Honselersdijk (NL) respectively ‘NightSky’ occupied pride of place in a special presentation area.

It was not the first time that Selecta Klemm earned high marks in Petunia breeding: in 2014 its seed-raised, semi-trailing and double flowered SweetSunshine Provence Petunia was awarded a Fleuroselect Gold Medal. One year on, and the SweetSunshine series is still going strong including 10 different colours.

Bred by clematis experts Poulsen Roser from Denmark and Raymond Evison from Guernsey, Clematis Viennetta was somewhat hidden on Selecta’s benches, despite being always a star attraction on exhibits of clematis at the famous Chelsea Flower Show.

This unusual clematis has a flower that resembles a passion flower, with six creamy white (in summer) outer sepals, creamy green in autumn, which are overlapping making a fully rounded flower, especially as the tips of the sepals re-curve back. The outer sepals are offset by a dramatic central boss of purple petaloid stamens, creating a pom-pom effect. These remain for a week or more after the outer sepals have fallen away.

Flower size: approximately 9- 12cm.

Selecta Klemm is an official agent of Poulsen Roser A/S from Denmark, but sells only the Poulsen genetics that fit today’s range of contemporary bedding plant growers and that can be grown on as finished for

a patio or a balcony. Growers can order rooted cuttings/plants in 10.5 cm pots, placed in a 28 holes tray with 7cm plugs and in a 51 hole tray including 5cm plugs.. |||

Clematis 'Viennetta'.

2015

SummerShowcase Armada When at Armada, Mark Boeder and his team start their selection process for a possible new chrysanthemum introduction, they do what any consumer would: looking for flowers that really catch the eye. In the case of Santinis, the miniature multi headed spray varieties with shorter stems and smaller flower heads, an intensive breeding and selection process resulted in a real breeding breakthrough: The BlackBeauty series, a line of Santinis with distinct black centres as the flowers open.

Santini BlackBetty.

Armada now has a choice of three very funky Santini chrysanthemum varieties available in this category: the white BlackBetty, the pink BlackClaire and the yellow BlackMolly.

And more black-centred mums are to come in the company’s line of miniature mums (Pico) and potted Santinis, while it would be the ultimate dream for Armada to create black centred spray Chrysanthemums.

Bred by Armada, Lavandula angustifolia ‘Havana’ must compete with the well-established Hidcote brand that is synonymous with strong fragrance and hardiness.

This newcomer, however, holds several strong cards. It is said to Veronica ‘Blue Bang’ be extremely weather tolerant, withstanding a good soaking rain flowers opening bottom to top. This but it needs to be able to dry off afunique Veronica makes a perfect terwards. ‘Havana’ produces masses filler flower as it features long, thin of blue flowers that rise above silver blooms with numerous florets that grey leaves. will add a lot of volume and colour Following the hugely successful to bouquets, table centre pieces launch in 2013, Dianthus Dianturi and any wedding arrangements. A Twinkle deserved again a place of single stem may have a spray of 1 honour at the Armada show. Bred to 3 flowers, with one bloom much in Japan, this potted carnation is larger than the others. ||| ideally suited for use in patio pots, beds, borders and rockeries.

A real showstopper at Armada’s was Veronica ‘Blue Bang’ with

Dianturi Twinkle.

Lavandula ‘Havana’.

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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Flower Trials

Calliope showcase.

Syngenta Floripro Services In keeping with tradition, Syngenta FloriPro Services, the distribution organisation serving commercial growers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, showcased its new varieties to visitors at its young plant production facilities in De Lier.

Over the years, Syngenta Floripro Services made their Pelargoniums a household name, not only by moving towards sustainability, but also by creating truly amazing varieties with different shapes, sizes, bold colours and excellent shelf life.

The company, prominent in the international headlines last month with Monsanto willing to take over the Swiss multinational, recently added two new varieties to its successful Pelargonium interspecific Calliope series: Calliope L Hot Rose and Calliope L Red Splash.

Calliope Pelargoniums, as well as their counterparts in the Caliente interspecific series are synonymous with heat and disease resistance and differentiate themselves in the marketplace by their extremely vivid colours.

While Calliope and Caliente Pelargoniums are vigorous plants, cuttingraised Pelargonium zonale Tango features a much more compact growth habit. The well-branched plants display their red, dark red, white, light pink, candy rose, lavender, pink, salmon, orange, neon purple, violet or velvet red colours against dark green foliage.

Awsome Kwik Kombos.

While the trailing Verbena Lanai series received worldwide praise from the market in 2012 (with the tricoloured Verbena x hybrida ‘Lanai Twister Red’ winning the Fleurostar Award in that same year), demand is now slowly progressing towards more upright Verbena types such as the newly launched Lanai Up series.

Speaking of upright plant habits, Techno Up is the new brand name for a series of upright Lobelia erinus for smaller pot sizes. The upright habit makes this series suitable for a high density way of growing, easy to pack and less shipping damage.

Easy to grow also are the Kwik Kombos, the company’s new experimental range of mix liners. Kwik Kombos include top selling Syngenta varieties such as Lanai Verbena, Sanguna Petunia, Callie Calibrachoa and more. According Syngenta’s Robbin van den Berg, these new combination planters offer the right balance between colour, timing and growth habit. |||

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

This year’s Flower Trials brought extra footfall to the Syngenta FloriPro Services in De Lier, Netherlands.

2015

SummerShowcase

by William Armellini

Miami

Is life so cheap?

I scan the web each day looking for floral news, but what I mostly find are body counts. Ten dead here, a hundred over there and on too many occasions even thousands are suddenly dead.

Humans seem to be very good at killing for any number of reasons.

Religion is often the basis for these acts and the depth of this evil in the name of religion goes beyond my comprehension.

Thompson & Morgan Building on the success of its own bred Digitalis ‘Illumination Pink’ (crowned RHS Chelsea Flower Show's 'Plant of the Year' in 2012), the UK breeding company Thompson & Morgan launched Digitalis ‘Illumination Flame’ in 2013, that distinguishes itself in the marketplace with its unique flower colour and long flowering season from May to September.

At this year’s Flower Trials in Aalsmeer, Thompson & Morgan launched yet another breeding breakthrough: Digitalis ‘Illumination Raspberry’.

Digitalis ‘Illumination Raspberry’ is the next colour in the company’s foxglove 'Illumination' range. It produces spires of open-mouthed blooms in a juicy shade of raspberry pink with contrasting apricot lips.

Parentage from the little-known Isoplexis (Canary Island Foxglove) gives these exciting new Digitalis their fabulous tropical colouring. Being completely sterile, this stunning Foxglove won't set seed, making it incredibly long flowering. Unlike most foxgloves, which are generally biennial, this half hardy, semi-evergreen variety is a true perennial so you can enjoy it year after year. Height: 90cm (36"). Spread: 45cm (18").

Distribution to UK growers will be handled by Delamore Ltd and throughout Europe by Kientzler based in Germany.

‘Illumination Raspberry’ is another addition to the TM vegetative range, which also includes Digitalis ‘Illumination Pink’, Digitalis ‘Illumination Flame’, the Buddleja Buzz series, the Bidens Pirates series and the Penstemon Ice Cream series.

In Digitalis, the company also showcased Knee High, a new series of compact growing and completely sterile foxgloves in lavender, pink and white.

Also a true attention-grabber was Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Cupcakes White’, which would look pretty in any garden as their ferny foliage and flowers gently sway in a summer breeze. Its most important stand out feature, however, is the unique flower shape with petals all fused together, forming a bowl. |||

Long before twenty four hour news and social media, I understood that death and the evil that consumes some humans happened all over the world, but we just did not see it over and over again on the news.

As I sit comfortably at my desk I can only imagine the horrors that are taking place as I type. Is life so cheap that it is just a statistic on a chart?

Is life so cheap that it is just something to fill up our news cycle?

Nature does not care about us even though it created us and can therefore remove us as easily. I have never held a dying person in my arms but I have held dying animals in them and the difference between life and death is drastic. Death is the culmination of life and we all get there sooner or later. I do not fear death and embrace life for all it is worth. Life is a powerful force that will do everything possible to protect itself.

We put ourselves in dangerous situations each day as we head out of our houses. Not knowing if some crazy person with a gun needs to kill someone and you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t have any illusion that the killing will ever end. Whether the killing is by man or by nature we have to make the most of each day and hope that someday good will overcome evil.

William Armellini. Editor Flowersandcents.com williee@flowersandcents.com

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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16

PVR In order to create a deterrent for preventing infringements of plant variety rights, parties not uncommonly agree or claim that the infringer should pay double (or even higher) the amount of the license fee payable for the licensed exploitation of the protected variety.

In as far as such a double license fee surpasses the actual loss of the injured party this may be regarded as punitive damages. It is questionable whether such an ‘infringer supplement’ is allowed under Community law.

by Hidde J. Koenraad*

Are punitive damages Eallowed in Europe? nforcing plant variety rights can be very timeconsuming and costly.

Often, commensurate time and money is spent in identifying the infringement, carrying out investigations, plant (dna) comparison research and in the extra-judicial and judicial pursuit of injunctions and compensation claims.

In order to create an adequate deterrent for preventing future infringements, parties not uncommonly agree to or claim that the infringer should pay a licence fee which surpasses the amount of the damages actually incurred by the rightholder.

In a case currently pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union1, questions have been referred as to whether such a punitive ‘infringer supplement’ is allowed or not under Regulation (EC) No. 2100/94 on Community plant variety rights (the Regulation).

The Appeal Court in The Hague rejected such claims for punitive damages in a recent judgment, while considering that the remedies currently available for claiming damages would already have sufficient deterrent effect.

Remedies for compensation of damages under the Regulation

*Mr Hidde J. Koenraad is Partner Intellectual Property at Simmons & Simmons LLP (Amsterdam).

On the basis of Article 94(1) of the Regulation, whosoever infringes a Community PVR may be sued by the holder to pay reasonable compensation. In order to determine reasonable compensation, it is appropriate to base the calculation on the amount of the fee payable for the licensed production of plant

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

material of protected varieties of the species concerned in the same area2. Whether or not the infringer was aware of the infringement is irrelevant. No liable conduct by the infringer is required.

However, if the infringer does act intentionally or negligently he shall, in addition to reasonable compensation, be liable to compensate the PVR holder for any further damage resulting from the infringing act, on the basis of Article 94(2) of the Regulation. The purpose here is to provide compensation for the wrong inflicted by the infringer. For calculating these damages, often the following three options are used, as the Regulation does not provide for any rules in this regard. First of all, it can be argued that the infringer should pay an amount that equals the licence fee he should have paid if he had obtained a licence before committing the infringement. Secondly, the infringer can be requested to surrender all of its unfair profits made by selling the infringing plant material. Thirdly, the rightholder can claim reimbursement of its own lost profits.

While the calculation of the last two damage approaches may involve considerable problems from a legal and evidential point of view, the licence fee approach can be quite unsatisfactory, since it treats the infringer as if he had acted legally.3

Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf

To overcome this, and in order to create an adequate deterrent for preventing future infringements, parties not uncommonly agree or claim that the infringer should pay double (or even higher) the amount of the licence fee. In as far as such a double licence fee surpasses the actual loss of the injured party this may be regarded as punitive damages, i.e. damages that are awarded as a means to punish the infringer rather than to compensate the PVR holder for the actual loss caused by the infringement.

Recently, the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) about the possibility of, in addition to

reasonable compensation and/ or the further damage resulting from the infringing act, claiming an ‘infringer supplement’ applied on a flat-rate basis in every case.

This case is still pending before the CJEU at the date of publication of this article. However, on 17 February 2015, the Court of Appeal in The Hague, Netherlands, rendered judgment in an infringement case in which the holder of a Community PVR for a potato variety claimed payment of a quadruple (or at least double) licence fee, while explicitly emphasizing the intended punitive character thereof.

The plaintiff based this claim, amongst others, on Article 94 of the Regulation. While referring to case law of the CJEU, the Appeal Court ruled that Article 94(1) of the Regulation cannot provide a basis for a quadruple licence fee.

The CJEU has ruled that subsection 1 does no more than provide for reasonable compensation in the event of unlawful use of a plant variety, but does not provide for compensation for damage (other than that connected to the failure to pay that compensation)4.

Furthermore, the plaintiff invoked Article 13 of the Enforcement Directive5 which stipulates that the judicial authorities of the Member States when assessing the damages may, in appropriate cases, set the damages as a lump sum on the basis of elements such as at least the amount of royalties or fees which would have been due if the infringer

had requested authorisation to use the intellectual property right in question.

However, in paragraph 26 of the preamble of the Enforcement Directive, it is also explicitly stated that the aim of the Directive is not to introduce an obligation to provide for punitive damages but to allow for compensation based on an objective criterion while taking account of the expenses incurred by the rightholder, such as the costs of identification and research.

The Appeal Court did not see any reason why it would allow an amount which is higher than the actual amount of the damages suffered by the PVR holder and/or the profits made by the infringer.

1 Case C-481/14.

Jørn Hansson v Jungpflanzen Grünewald GmbH. 2 CJEU 5 July 2012, C-305/10 Geistbeck(s)/STV. 3 See also: European Community Plant Variety Protection, Würtenberger et al.

Oxford, 2006.

4 CJEU 5 July 2012, C-305/10 Geistbeck(s)/STV. 5 Directive 2004/48/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights

UPOV’s Explanatory Notes are not binding

The plaintiff also relied on the Explanatory Notes on the Enforcement of Breeders' Rights under the UPOV Convention, in which it is found appropriate for the UPOV Member States to take measures to provide adequate damages to compensate the loss suffered by the holder of the breeder’s right and to constitute a deterrent to further infringements. It is questionable if this means that such measures may also have a punitive character.

The Appeal Court considered that the Explanatory Notes are not binding and can thus not set aside the applicable articles, including those included in the Regulation. Furthermore, and

more interestingly, the Appeal Court ruled that the allowance of the claim for compensation of full damages in itself has a deterrent effect. According to the Appeal Court, the measures included in the Enforcement Directive (such as surrender by the infringer of all unfair profits made, reimbursement of legal costs including reasonable and proportionate lawyer’s fees) are also meant to have a deterrent effect, even though the Directive does not include the possibility of noncompensatory measures, such as punitive damages.

No punitive damages in the Enforcement Directive

When preparing the Enforcement Directive, the European Commission at first wanted to introduce the concept of punitive damages.

However, the proposals of the Commission in this respect have been withdrawn in the final version. Paragraph 26 of the preamble of the Enforcement Directive now reads: With a view to compensating for the prejudice suffered as a result of an infringement committed by an infringer who engaged in an activity in the knowledge, or with reasonable grounds for knowing, that it would give rise to such an infringement, the amount of damages awarded to the rightholder should take account of all appropriate aspects, such as loss of earnings incurred by the rightholder, or unfair profits made by the infringer and, where appropriate, any moral prejudice caused to the rightholder. As an alternative, for example where it would be difficult to determine the amount of the actual prejudice suffered, the amount of the damages might be derived from elements such as the royalties or fees which would have been due if the infringer had requested authorisation to use the intellectual property right in question.

The aim is not to introduce an obligation to provide for punitive damages but to allow for compensation based on an objective criterion while taking account of the expenses incurred by the rightholder, such as the costs of identification and research.

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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18

Growing media Jiffy, a leading growing media manufacturer proudly announces its new Jiffypot R2, a brand new home compostable pot. The pot offers excellent performance in (automated) production, handling and retail.

Jiffypot R2 offers ‘degradable durabilTity’ he Jiffypot first appeared on the market in the mid-1950s and has over the years, grown into an ever increasing array of pots, strips (pots joint together as a strip) and polypacks (pots pre-packed in a poly sleeve for easy handling). The pot was an instant success as many growers saw its advantage of roots growing through the pot wall, planting pot and all into the ground. Today, the Jiffypot is used for many different applications by many different growers worldwide.

Labour saving advantages by our own correspondent

Nurseries like to use Jiffypots because of the labour saving advantage the pots offer at the time of transplanting them into 1

or 2 gallon containers.

Landscapers like Jiffypots because of the labour saving of planting pot and all into the ground, no need to pull off the pot, no need to clean pots flying all over the site once the site is planted.

Greenhouse growers like Jiffypots for applications such as rooting cuttings, or seed starting, than potting up the smaller Jiffypots into larger containers planting the young plant with pot and all into the next container. Fast and easy, saving labour, zero garbage.

An obvious choice

The Jiffypot has also found its way in at greenhouse growers, growing herbs, hydroponic lettuce, orchids and other pot

plants. It is hard to find a crop the Jiffypot is not suited for. Or is it?

As an environmentally friendly alternative to any plastic container, Jiffypots are 100% compostable and approved for organic production. They are well suited for mechanical handling. Best of all, Jiffypot is certified ‘home compostable’, no chemicals are used during the production of the pots, making it the obvious choice for use in combination with any food crop.

Modern retail

If there is one application, however, the Jiffypot has been slowly losing ground against, it would be more durable pots in ‘modern retail’. In the modern garden centers, pots are expected to hold up to the rigors of rough handling, at the same time having the nicest look possible. This is where the new Jiffy R2 comes in.

The new Biodegradable ‘R2’ Jiffypot is specifically designed for uses where pots are expected to hold up for an extended period of time, than, fully biodegrade when not needed any longer.

This makes the R2 pot a perfect candidate for any retail situation were the pot is expected to hold up , keeping its shape and clean appearance, than biodegrade when planted in the garden or tossed on the compost heap.

Nurseries will like this pot when growing aggressive rooting nursery crops that are overwintered in a cold frame for up to 6-8 months. The pots lasts long, prevents inter-rooting (pot to pot) and do not need to be removed when potting up saving labour.

R2 is also suitable for hydroponic crops, such as herbs and lettuce,

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

Jiffy at a glance where the end product is sold at retail as a living plant with the pot sleeved. Once the product is used, all the leftovers, including the pot, can be composted at home, or disposed of in the bio waste bin.

The pot stays dry

By keeping all of the original ’Jiffypot’ characteristics and building blocks such as peat/coir and wood pulp as main ingredients, the R2 pot has kept the ‘home compostable’ feature just like any other Jiffypot. The patented ‘secret’ of the R2 pot is the addition of an extra characteristic that secures the pot stays dry, even when exposed to water or a humid substrate. The addition is a non-chemical, ‘food safe’ bio product, just like the peat, coir and wood fiber, guaranteeing a clean and safe product to the environment. Its main feature, not taking up the water fast, means the new R2 pot will keep its rigid shape longer, will be sturdier and

Jiffy International AS , headquartered in Kristiansand Norway is the leading worldwide supplier of environmentally friendly propagation systems, hydroponic systems ,growing containers and substrates for the horticultural industry.

Utilizing renewable resources and bio-based materials such as peat, coir, pulp and other bio-mass and plant starches, Jiffy has been on the forefront of sustainability for many years.

Jiffy is a globally operating company and has manufacturing locations strategically located near peat bogs in Canada, Denmark and Norway, producing peat pots and Jiffy-7 pellet propagation systems.

Jiffy harvests its own peat on bogs in the Baltic, Sweden and Canada, blends quality mixes in the Netherlands, Estonia, Sweden and the USA, produces the Preforma bonded plugs in the Netherlands, USA, Spain and Japan and manufactures a complete line of coir products at our own facilities in Sri Lanka.

Jiffy abides by the highest standards both safeguarding the environment as well as providing the highest quality, in many cases certified products, to its customer. The professional grower of today relies on the best technical assistance for the products chosen as inputs in their businesses.

The company’s account managers have all solid backgrounds and experience in the horticultural industry and have the knowledge to provide professional answers to tough application questions, backed-up by Jiffy product managers, having an integral knowledge of each of the products Jiffy supplies.

Jiffy’s customer service departments based in the Netherlands and the USA provide the service and support our customers need.

Additional regional and local Jiffy distributors’ worldwide offer nearby sources for our product line almost anywhere in the world.

Superior products, prompt service and technical support on a global scale to the horticultural industry, that is what Jiffy is about.

keeps a clean look and touch.

Clean surface

When growing plants that will find their way into the retail market, the ‘staying dry under production’, will persist for a period of time long enough for the R2 to maintain its rigidity and clean surface to produce herbs, bedding plants or any other plant to be sold at retail in a 100% biodegradable container.

Since the R2 pot is a 100% home compostable pot, the pot cannot stay firm and rigid forever. The total period the R2 pot keeps it shape and rigidity depends on ambient humidity, irrigation, substrate and temperature crops are grown. High humidity, high nitrogen content in fertilizer and high temperatures, all contribute to a faster breakdown of the R” characteristics,

30 different sizes and designs

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

19

China Endorsed by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and the Bureau of State Forestry, the Hortiflorexpo IPM trade show is the fundamental point of reference for the Chinese market as well as Asia’s leading business platform in ornamental horticulture.

Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai aims to turn a concrete jungle into a lush green oasis

H

eld in odd-numbered years in Shanghai and even years in Beijing, Hortiflorexpo IPM reported this year over 600 exhibitors (+45%) from home and abroad.

Now in its 17th year, the 25,000m2 Hortiflorexpo IPM show took place from April 22-24 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, attracting big crowds.

Visitors saw the newest products and services in the Ornamental Plants, Technology, Floristry and Gardening features areas.

Upbeat mood

from our own correspondent

The mood on the show floor was upbeat as demand for lifestyle horticulture products continues to be strong. Now that sustainable development has become one of the top policy issues of the country’s leaders, China invests a

lot in the creation of sustainable urban green spaces.

Take for example Beautiful China, a beautification project that aims to make the country’s parks, public spaces, and communities more beautiful and sustainable. It offers China’s ornamental horticulture and gardening industry a wide range of business opportunities just like the National New-type Urbanization Plan, which foresees a construction boom of around 30 million houses over the next 7 years. Given the fact that 60% of China’s population will be living in cities by 2020, thousands of green acres will be replaced by concrete and all this makes it more essential to build and preserve open green spaces in urban areas.

Growth chances

Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai benefited from this economically favourable situation, welcoming a strong contingent of city planners and landscapers.

“China is and will remain a market with growth chances for the future. With the China Flower Association, we have a competent partner at our side.

Not least, this is also the reason why Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai has once again grown even further and is registering an even

stronger international demand,” said Oliver P. Kuhrt, CEO of Messe Essen GmbH. This year Ecuador participated in the fair with an official cooperative booth for the first time and brought along over 24,000 cut flowers. Other country pavilions were set up by France, the Netherlands, Taiwan and Korea.

Germany presented products “Made in Germany” in a 180m2 booth.

Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai once again offered exhibitors and visitors a top-notch educational programme.

2016 show dates

Hortiflorexpo IPM continues to grow in size each year. Bookings for the 18th Hortiflorexpo IPM Beijing are already flying in. Event organiser, China Great Wall International Exhibition Company, has already announced that next year’s show will be held from May 11 to 13, 2016 at the newly built China International Exhibition Centre. It is estimated that the show floor will cover an area of 26,700m2 with exhibitors from 30 21 July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com countries. |||

22

Automation Over the last few years, the global demand for aromatics herbs has strongly increased. For small and medium-sized plant nurseries, increased sales can quickly lead to growing pains in the greenhouse or in the field when manual operations are no longer able to keep up with demand. One way to take these potted herb production to the next level is by implementing automation. Urbinati offers the right solutions.

Urbinati leading the way in potted herb automaA

n extensive range of potted herbs can nowadays be found practically everywhere, from private kitchens to professional users in restaurants and food processing plants.

Consumers demand year round supply at a constant quality level.

As a result, leading manufacturers of horticultural machinery such as Urbinati from Italy strongly focus on serving their client growers with equipment suitable for several kind of herbs, such as basil and chives but also oregano, coriander, thyme and dill, using the same settings and the same machine model. For Urbinati, Europe is now the main market, but not the only one involved.

Challenges

from our own correspondent

One of the main challenges in production processes is controlling the quantity of seeds and their positioning along the liners, where they start their germination process. Using the latest technologies, growers can con-

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

trol with the help of software how many seeds are used (measuring their weight) as well as ‘designing’ the seed distribution in the plugs.

Soil mixture

Another important aspect to consider during the growing process

is that each plug should receive the same quantity of soil mixture with the same level of compactness. This will allow growers to reach exact crop times and plant uniformity. At the same time, the harvesting process will become less complicate while important

Happy Gardenby Anthony Tesselaar

Changing our thinking to enjoy the NOW The harvesting process will become less complicate while important savings in labor can be achieved.

Whenever I see a member of the Queen’s Guard standing outside Buckingham Palace, I wonder what they do to distract themselves while they stand to attention. And I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that. This must be the part of their job that they like least… or do they have some secret that we could all benefit from? Perhaps they know a trick of how to endure - or even enjoy - the less exciting moments of our work or home lives?

Being someone who has been around a while, I’ve a fair amount of life experience to chew over and I think I’ve stumbled on the answer.

Of course I know that I am not the first person to come up with this idea, but it’s worth describing because if you haven’t already worked this out for yourself, the earlier you pick up the tip, the better everything becomes. It’s all about being mindful or singularly-focused.

One of the main challenges in production processes is controlling the quantity of seeds and their positioning along the liners.

Being mindful is a fancy way of saying, well here I am doing something and I am going to only think of that thing that I’m doing or experiencing.

The point is this goes against what we usually do because we’re trained to multi-task, to think ahead, to plan and be strategic. And that is good and necessary. But I think there are times when you commit to doing what you’re doing, and you do nothing else.

We have all done this at work and at home from time to time. We’ve locked ourselves in our office when we needed to focus on some figures or a draft document. We’ve sat back in our seats after boarding a flight knowing that there is nothing else to do but to allow our bodies to be carried from one place to another. We’ve picked up a paint brush and methodically started painting the front fence. Or at least we’ve done something like this.

Using the latest technologies, growers can control with the help of software how many seeds are used (measuring their weight) as well as ‘designing’ the seed distribution in the plugs.

savings in labour can be achieved.

State-of-the-art technology

Using state of the art Urbinati technology also offers the growers the perfect control of all input materials such as peat moss and water, or vermiculite/perlite used to cover and to keep the seeds at a constant temperature before germinating.

All this is a real challenge, but also a great opportunity for growers. Urbinati helps them to obtain premium product quality while keeping costs under control and reducing extra waste material to a maximum. |||

The point is, don’t always be on the lookout for the moment when the accounts are done, or when the document is submitted or when the plane has landed. Because for all of us, there is a real possibility for enjoyment along the way. I’ve a friend who was recently faced with stacking several hundred bricks. She admits that the first hundred seemed tedious but then she slowed down and got into a rhythm, she became conscious of doing the job well. She actually enjoyed reaching the mini goals she’d set along the way and was ridiculously proud of the finished result. Some-how her stack of bricks became so much more than a stack of bricks simply because she was mindful of what she was doing.

She didn’t look longingly towards a time when it would be over; instead she made the most of the moment she was in. Maybe if it had been a couple of thousand bricks… and it was raining…. it would have been another story… but you get the idea.

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

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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International Events July 2015 11 to 14. United States Cultivate 2015 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio Formerly known as OFA Short Course, Cultivate’15 will continue to offer premier educational and networking experiences, and more than 7 acres of trade show exhibits including technology, new products and services, and new plant varieties. hello@ americanhort.org P (614) 487-1117 www.cultivate15.org 12-14. Brazil 24nd Enflor and 12th Garden Fair at Holambra/SP Convention Centre. www.enflor.com.br 19-23. Portugal GreenSys 2015, international symposium on new technologies and management for greenhouses in Evora, Portugal. greensys2015@uevora.pt www.greensys2015.uevora.pt 21 to 23. France The 46th Annual Fleuroselect Convention, hosted by Graines Voltz will take place from 21 to 23 2015 in Nantes, France. www.fleuroselect.com 21-23. United States SNA2015 Southern Nursery Association Show in Atlanta, Georgia www.sna.org 22 to 26. United Kingdom RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. www.rhs.org.uk 29 July- August 1. United States CalFlowers/Norcal Fun ‘N Sun Convention to book your room call 877 901 6632 31 July- 2 August. Netherlands The Floating Flower Parade, a floral flotilla of over 60 boats sailing through Dutch waters and lavishly decorated with flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables from Holland’s most famous horticultural region Westland. www.varendcorso.nl August 2015 4 to 6. United States IGC East (Indepent Garden Centre) show at the Baltimore Convention Center.

www.igcshow.com 9 to 14. Denmark International Garden Centre Association Congress. www.igccdenmark2015.org 13 to 15. 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 13 to 16. Russia SibFlowers 2015, 19th international exhibition of flowers, planting material, floristic accessories, garden tools and horticultural technology.

Venue: Novosibirsk Expo Centre, Novosibirsk (Russia’s third largest city). www.sibflowersexpo.ru 20 to 22. United States Nursery/Landscape Expo at the Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas. expo@nurserylandscapeexpo. org P (512) 579-3857; (800) 880-0343 www.nurserylandscapeexpo.org August 20 – 24. Australia The VIII International Symposium on New Ornamental Crops, the XII International Protea Research Symposium and the XVII International Protea Association Conference. The conference website is protea-newornamentals2015.org 20 to 23. Czech Republic Olomouc Plant Show at the Výstaviště Flora Olomouc, a. s. in Olomouc, CZ / Česká republika P +420 585 726 111 info@flora-ol.cz www.flora-ol.cz 24 to 27. United States International Trials Conference.

This cutting-edge conference focuses on the latest research and techniques for trialing annual, perennial and woody plants.

The conference is open to all industry professionals who have interest in plant trialing.

Registration is required and started on March 1, 2015. www.farwestshow.com/trials 26 August. Belgium Last year, Belgium’s leading trade show for the lifestyle horticulture industry was reduced to a one day event. It attracted 900 visitors and hosted 125 exhibitors. www.florall.be

26 to 29. The Netherlands Plantarium, the world’s leading nursery stock trade fair. www.plantarium.nl 26 to 29. Russia Цветы/Flowers. XXII International exhibition of flowers, plants, gardening tools and greenhouse technology. www.flowers-expo.org 27 to 29. United States Farwest Show at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon. With nearly 900 booth spaces, the annual Farwest Show is your ticket to the nursery and retail garden centre industry. farwest@oan.org P (503) 682-5089 www.farwestshow.com 29 July to 1 August. United States The biennial Fun n Sun event, the largest California floral industry trade show in the country, set for July 29-August 1, 2015, Monterey, Calif., will offer educational seminars, nursery and packing facility tours, and numerous networking opportunities for CalFlowers members and others in the industry. anne@cafgs.org www.cafgs.org 30 August to 1 September Spoga Gafa. Garden Trade Fair at Koelnmesse. www.spogagafa.com September 2015 3 to 5. Poland 23rd international trade exhibition Green is Life. www.greenislife.pl 7 to 11. Austria SusGro, International Symposium on Growing Media, Composting and Substrate Analysis. www.ages.at/susgro2015 8 to 9. United Kingdom Four Oaks Trade Show, the UK’s premier trade show for ornamental horticulture.

P +44 (0) 1477 571392 (mob 07767 640420) four-oaks-hort@btconnect.com www.fouroaks-tradeshow.com 8 to 10. Russia FlowersExpo at Moscow’s Crocus Expo convention centre. www.flowers-expo.ru 9 to 10. Netherlands FloraHolland Autumn Fair www.floraholland.com

Flormart, Italy’s leading horticultural trade exhibition in the PadovaFiere convention centre in Padua, Northern Italy. www.flormart.it 9 to 12. United States SAF Amelia Island 2015: 131st Annual Convention. Conference hotel: Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. All segments of the floral industry come together for four days of education, networking, competitions, awards and honors, and to see new floral and tech products.

For information on SAF events, visit www.safnow.org/events 10-12. Kazakhstan KAFUEXPO.International flower, landscape and urban gardening exhibition. info@kafuexpo.com www.kafuexpo.com 13 to 18. United States III International Conference on Fresh-cut Produce. The conference will be held at the UC Davis Conference Center September 13-16, 2015, with an optional post-conference technical tour September 17-18.

This fresh-cut conference in 2015 will take the place of the annual fresh-cut workshop that the Postharvest Technology Center at UC Davis has been successfully organizing since 1995. fresh-cut2015.ucdavis.edu 14-16. United Kingdom Garden Leisure Exhibition (GLEE) at the NEC, Birmingham gleemarketing@i2ieventsgroup. com www.gleebirmingham.com 15-18. Russia Garden Tool. The specialised trade fair in Russia for producers and suppliers of tools, techniques and equipment for groundmaintenance of gardens and parks. www.gardentool.ru 18 to 19. Kenya Naivasha Horticultural Fair at the Naivasha Sports Club. www.naivashahortifair.com 21-24. Poland Polagra Food. International Trade Fair for Food in Poznan www.polagra-food.pl 23-25. Italy Macfrut, FloraTrade Workshop and FloraTrade show at FieraRimini. www.floratrade.it

9 to 11. Italy

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Product strategy Market pressure may lead some growers to question their future. Why not think differently to take up new opportunities?

Why not think out of the box?

M

by Marie Francoise Petitjean

arket prospects reveal three major fields of development: functional crops for environment, energy, health or cosmetic usage, urban gardening, services and customization for the consumer. Growers' expertise in plant production opens a wide field of diversification. Your thinking should not be: what other species should I grow to replace dropping sales of such ornamental plant or flower, but what kind of usage am I able to fulfil with my present knowhow and tools? Several growers have already jumped ahead.

Here is a sampling of innovative products and marketing ideas from France. |||

Many possibilities for diversifying your business Now that product development of natural products has shifted into full gear, ornamental plant growers are offered more possibilities for diversifying their business than ever.

The aromatic and medicinal plant industry, for example, have a shortage of some specific medicinal and healing plants.

In the South of France, flower growers teamed up with a food supplement laboratory and switched to spiruline algae production. Other growers are trying their luck in dye-plants or plants destined for cosmetic usage.

Although promising, some of these new fields will remain niche markets. They also require professionalism, full traceability and ecological production. In the meantime, they invite business managers to "think out of the box", in order to identify opportunities, acquire new techniques, explore new markets, or even build strategic alliances with companies having complementary assets to reach set objectives.

Nevertheless, the risk to wait for better days may be higher than taking action. Let's explore new horizons!

You are also exploring new fields of products and services?

Share your experience with Floraculture readers! ron@floracultureinternational.com

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

Pépinières Wadel-Wininger started producing helophyte plants destined for river bank restoration.

Phyto restoration Initially a forest nursery, Pépinières Wadel-Wininger in the East of France has developed a production of helophyte plants destined for river bank restoration.

Isabelle Wininger was looking for a diversification activity, to smooth business year round and compensate the drop in reforestation programmes. “The idea came from a symposium on water in year 2000, where we discovered these techniques.”

The nursery cultivates planted mats or rolls to fix on the banks and offers a full service: on-site diagnosis according to restoration objectives, choice and cultivation of the plants and putting in place. Young plants are sourced from another grower and rooted in mats in water ponds for six months. Isabelle is confident about the future. “We hope to make this side project into a successful business. So far we consider it a diversification activity, our core business being reforestation. Nevertheless, it gives the company new prospects of development.”

References are now available on ecological engineering and how plants can contribute. It can be a high value activity, provided the grower adapts a service-oriented policy and a high level of professionalism. “Growers should go ahead to grasp these opportunities and not leave them to civil engineering players,” said Isabelle. She added, “Establishing a planted bank is not like putting down concrete; plants have to root and develop properly to consolidate the banks and play their ecological role (stabilization, spawning or nesting). As a grower, we have the best knowledge to choose the right plants according to soil characteristics, water, as well as conditions of maintenance.” |||

Modelling the company’s flower carpets is Jean-Sylvain Guillemain.

Giant sewing machine at Floriades de l’Arnon.

Flower carpets Located in the heart of France, Floriades de l'Arnon is developing flower carpets for urban landscaping. “I am probably the only plant grower, where you can find a stock of paper patterns and a sewing machine,” joked Jean-Sylvain Guillemain, the company owner. He added, “This is because we process any type of flower carpet pattern, according to a customer's request.”

Floriades’machine has been adapted from the textile industry. Flower carpets are made of three layers: a cotton net, kraft paper and non-woven polypropylene foil, sewed together like a partitioned duvet and filled in by potting

soil. The production is order-driven, in standardized or customized sizes.

Over the years, the company already has gained some experience in lawn turf and was looking for solutions to add more value to bedding plant production. While talking with municipalities, Jean-Sylvain realized that labour cost saving was a major issue. “We are a bit more expensive than bedding plant trays,” admitted Jean-Sylvain, “but we deliver a ready to go flowering bed, requiring only to be laid down and covered by mulch. We also optimized logistics: flower carpets are stacked up on pallets and wedged with coir rolls,

then used for mulching.”

This is both a product and service innovation. “Benefits are triple fold for the customer,” concluded Jean-Sylvain.

“The decorative results are immediate, while labour saving when laying and replacing the carpets are huge. What’s more, there is no flowering ‘gap’ when planting in new flower beds.”

The success is already there: the company operates 10 production sites in partnership with other growers.

Meanwhile, total flower carpet sales in 2013 equal to 6ha. The company is already developing other new products, like refills for hanging baskets or flower

Edible flowers and plants AUDA company, near Nice, took advantage of their long-lasting network of customers for fresh herbs to diversify into edible flowers in 2004. On their 7ha production site in Southern France, AUDA grows a wide range of herbs and edible flowers (pansies, borage, cornflower, marigold, sage, sweet william…amongst others) sold fresh in punnets to high-end restaurants and supermarkets.

“When we started, we knew that our customers would respond positively, but it took us several years to achieve year round flowering,” explained Mireille Auda, a third generation company manager. To stay ahead of competition from Israel and Morocco, the company is constantly searching for high tasting value flowers, and maintain close relations with chefs, who are invited to taste new species. They also propose flower mixes. Some trials have been in done in high-end supermarkets, but fresh flowers are expensive products. “Sales are increasing, but edible flowers will remain a niche market. Today, they represent 5% of our activity," concluded Mireille. |||

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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The product turnover of the Royal FloraHolland Flower Auction Cooperative for 2014 amounts to €4.5 billion, which represents an increase of 1.4% over the past year.

FloraHolland reports 1.4% increase in turnoFver loraHolland closed 2014 with a positive result. General Manager Lucas Vos commented, “After the one-off loss we had to accept in 2013, I am pleased with the positive net operating profit of €9.6 million for 2014. In fact, the result actually exceeded the expected €7 million. FloraHolland is on the right track for 2015, too.”

Product turnover

The product turnover increased by 1.4% to €4.5 billion, with a slight increase in both the average price and the volume of supply of flowers and plants contributing to the increase in turnover. While in general the results were positive, not all individual growers were able to profit due to differences at the product level. While the economic recovery that started in Europe in 2014 was favorable, this advantage was curbed by tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Sales in Russia in particular were disappointing as a result of the unfavorable exchange rate between the euro and the ruble.

The fact that the floriculture industry was nonetheless able to grow demonstrates the continued strength of the sector.

A year of change

from our own correspondent

For FloraHolland, 2014 was a year of change. In this year, the company turned loss back into profit. In addition, it was the year in which the share of direct sales - at 51% - overtook the auction sales. At 2.7%, this shift was less extreme than in previous years, however, the volumes at the clock are expected to continue to drop, which calls for action on the part of FloraHolland. 2014 was also the year in which the negative attitude of stakeholders changed to generally positive. The new strategy,

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

FloraHolland 2020, and the manner in which it was developed in collaboration with members, customers and employees, was received well by all parties. The introduction of the new strategy was motivated by several reasons.

In 2014, the members, customers and employees all indicated a need for direction and clarity on the part of the company. In a world in which electronic trade is on the rise, demand is falling and the competition is growing fast, the need for a new strategy was clear. With FloraHolland 2020, the cooperative has set a course for the future in which we will make the floriculture industry bloom; a course aimed at improving the margins for our members and their customers, and for greater consumer spending on flowers & plants.

New style of auctioning

In 2014, the direction was determined in FloraHolland 2020. In that year, the company started the implementation of the new strategy with the first five programs. Lucas Vos: “The New Style of Auctioning is the first program for which we are discussing the content with our members. How do they view the future of the clock? How can we reorganize the clock and the physical

marketplace to make them future-proof? The discussions are generating a lot of valuable input and we will continue the discussion with other stakeholders, too. The aim of the program is to establish optimum and stable pricing for our members and their customers and reduce the costs of an affordable open marketplace.”

The ‘Consumer’ program is focused on promoting the demand for flowers and plants among (European) consumers. The aim is to gain better understanding of the consumer, market and competition, in order to develop new and established joint ventures, concepts and innovations. The focus is the creation of long-lasting value for the customer across the floriculture industry as a whole and for members in particular. In the ‘Standards and Simplification’ program, the company intends to facilitate the more efficient and effective - and therefore less expensive - functioning of the chain. Collaboration within and beyond the floriculture industry is essential in this regard. In the ‘World Flower Exchange’ program, FloraHolland focuses on the development of a virtual platform for flowers and plants and pooling market knowledge, ideas and innovation, with the aim to achieve turnover of €1 billion in

Ideally located near Toronto International Airport, Ontario Flower Growers Co-Operative Ltd. (OFG) generated a €15 million turnover in 2014. Over 150 growers provide a diverse supply of floral products to OFG’s central auction facility each week. 2014 marked a complete overhaul of OFG’s auction room.

2015

Auctions around the world

Revamped auction room at Ontario Flower Growers Canada I n 2014, Aucxis was asked for a major overhaul of OFG’s auction room and to implement multitrade auction software including a remote bidding module allowing buyers to participate in the live daily auctions from the comfort of their homes or offices.

The conversion of the complete auction system was achieved in just 1,5 weeks thanks to the joint efforts of OFG an Aucxis. Aucxis provided all necessary technical specifications enabling OFG to organise a perfect installation of the new buyer desks, which was smoothly followed by the implementation of the software and testing of the system by Aucxis project engineers. The new system was successfully launched in the beginning of January 2015.

In addition to the live clock auction system, flowers and plants are distributed at OFG using direct sales via an on-line web site and a full service sales

department. Aucxis designed a customised solution in which the different sales methods used by OFG are integrated into a single software package: The new auction room comprises 252 buyer places of which 216 are equipped with customised bidding keyboards and 36

with a personal computer. The auction clocks are displayed on 4 large projection screens. In the supply hall, a picture is taken of each trolley by a high definition camera. This picture is shown on the projection clock and on the remote buyer’s screen in a low resolution. When clicking on the picture, it is downloaded in high resolution and the buyer can zoom in to enlarge it for a closer evaluation. |||

Retail florist shop Canada.

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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In keeping with tradition, demand at SP Flores, Brazil’s second largest flower auction after Holambra, was relatively sluggish during the first weeks of the new year.

The lack of rain impacted directly on the production of some of the flowers traded during that time of year.

SP Flores goes through a time of organisational

by Ron van der Ploeg

D

epending on the product and the season, SP Flores finds itself in the midst of a buyer’s market but a lot has been

SP Flores Quick facts Foundation Year of foundation of the auction: 2003

Supplying growers number of supplying growers: 42

Turnover in 2013> €1,6 million in 2014> €1,8 million

Buyers Number of buyers within a 300 km radius: around 500, including small and medium size wholesalers.

Sales volumes cut flowers: 20.000 stems potted plants: 250.000 units garden plants: 70.000 units

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

done in 2014 to conquer the market in terms of marketing and promotion. “We are currently going through a time of organizational change,” said the auction’s spokeswoman, Ms Larissa Capi. She added, “Our goal this year is to offer our customers a more personal service and give them good care. The past few months have been dedicated to building a successful sales team that is in a position to succeed. Online sales continue to expand, while we have been searching for ways to improve our customer communication using more effective email marketing and more personalised offers and deals on social networks.”

SP Flores is almost exclusively engaged in serving its local markets where hopes are set on an annual 10% growth rate.

The company predominantly sells to small and medium sized wholesale companies and retail florists. But ambition is bursting, as the auction aims at expanding its current 460 people strong customer base to 1000 by the end of 2015.

Attracting more customers to its marketplace in Mogi das Cruzes, 60km from São Paulo, is among one of the auction’s key goals for the coming year. “In the years to come the industry will need to reinvent itself, as customers are becoming increasingly demanding while profit margins

2015

Auctions around the world

World News The landsNetherRow over failing Timo Huges heats up An audience of 200 orchid professionals saw how Burkhard Holm from Germany was presented with the coveted Klaas Schoone Memorial Award.

The Netherlands

Burkhard Holm wins Klaas Schoone Memorial Award Floricultura, a leading orchid breeder and producer of orchid young plants can look back on a successful B2B event, which was held on Wednesday June 10th. An audience of 200 orchid professionals saw how Burkhard Holm from Germany was presented with the coveted Klaas Schoone Memorial Award.

A panel of expert judges faced the daunting task of determining this year’s winner among the no fewer than 15 nominees. The choice for Burkhard Holm was only natural as Mr Holm has made significant contributions to the breeding and propagation of orchids over his 50 years of service. ”A modest man, who has rightly received recognition before,“ explained jury chairman for the Klaas Schoone Memorial Award, Wim Wooning. As far as this jury is concerned, much more knowledge could be exchanged.

According to Floricultura director, Kees Schoone, Holm has shown admirable qualities in his long time orchid career.

Through the Klaas Schoone Memorial Award, Floricultura aims to draw attention to the importance of cooperation within the supply chain.

Klaas Schoone, who the Klaas Schoone Memorial Award is named after, felt very strongly about sharing knowledge. “I am proud to be able to continue his work,” said Kees Schoone.

The award ceremony was part of a top notch educational programme with Mr Post offering a glimpse into the newly launched and Wiki-inspired Orchipedia which serves as a platform for the exchange of, tips, ideas and research findings. ”Sharing knowledge is a key factor for individual and mutual success,” stressed Mr. Post.

Trendwatcher Yoeri van Alteren discussed a

number of trends that will determine the future commercial success of the orchid sector. ”It is an art to generate added value and to distinguish yourself in the marketplace. Be aware that customers are increasingly willing to pay more for ecologically responsible products. And also realise that the customer is becoming increasingly important in the supply chain, a trend that is partly due to an increasingly interconnected world. Stay in touch with your customer, while focusing on local sales markets.”

Prof. Luuk van de Moorsele treated his audience to a humouristic perspective on the future.

“Remember that what is perfectly acceptable today may be totally wrong tomorrow. It is a dynamic world we live in, you have to find your own route through it. Science is evolving, and markets are changing. Stay alert.”

Jury president Wim Wooning was clearly inspired by Van de Moorsele’s words when he concluded the afternoon by saying, “We should dare to exchange more knowledge with each other; the sector must progress. That is why I am asking everyone to start thinking about the nominees for 2017, because tomorrow starts today.” |||

Timo Huges’ short, turbulent reign as the chief executive of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways) was far from being a success. The board demanded his resignation after the company allegedly found that Huges had lied about his role in a tender process. The row over the failing CEO now heats up as Dutch newspapers last month reported that Huges may walk away with a €86,000 bonus.

Huges left the company in May after it emerged he had lied about his involvement in passing on confidential information to an NS subsidiary during the tender process in the Dutch province of Limburg.

At the time, Nederlandse Spoorwegen said Huges, who had served the railway company since October 2013, would not be given a big payout.

The row over Huges now heats up as the NS supervisory board is now considering a pay-out of up to €86,000 because the company met its targets on punctuality and passenger satisfaction last year.

Under the terms of his contract, Huges is entitled to a bonus of 20% of his salary.

Timo Huges was previously serving as acting CEO of FloraHolland for more than 7 years. Timo Huges served as General Director of Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer from 2006 to 2008 and as General Director of Royal FloraHolland from 2008 to 2013. |||

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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World News United States

International Floriculture Expo / United Fresh Fruit 2015, Chicago

by William Armellini

The first question I get asked, after hello, at nearly every convention I attend is: What do you think of the show? I only can answer this question after I have talked to enough exhibitors to form a valid opinion. It did not take me long too decide my answer this year. So I declare that the 2015 International Floriculture Expo/United Fresh Fruit show was ‘big and busy with bodies and buyers in the building’.

Chicago in the summer time is not the scary place us Floridians think about when we look north so I was pleasantly reminded that that this old city has much to offer.

For a little history, the IFE show was originally called the Superfloral Show back in the 1990s and like today it catered to the mass market.

The show has bounced around to a few different cities after a four year run in Miami. After last years' show in New Orleans the show management decided to merge the show with the larger United Fresh Show

which is focused on fresh produce.

The combination appears to have worked since the energy level and attendance at this show was way high.

Over the years, the lack of bodies in the building was an issue with exhibitors but it was not the case this year. The place was packed and by all accounts that I heard, everyone was pleased with the number and quality of those perusing the halls.

In many supermarket chains the produce manager is also in charge of the floral department so this

United Kingdom

show offers both suppliers to those buyers at one event.

The show offers a lot of different educational programs and the two that I attended were very good.

Cindy Hanauer of Grand Central Floral shared her views on Flower Power, a presentation that I found right on point. To summarize what I heard: she talked about the fact that the way customers are buying flower continues to change, as smart phones get smarter. This is a direct result of the innovative

technology and logistics changes that now exist.

Jay Goltz of the Goltz Group gave a very pointed and on the money talk about running a business. He ended his talk explaining that sometimes you need to fire people. His basis talk was focused on keeping customers happy, doing things right and having the right people to do them. To get the right people you need to properly screen them before you hire. He asked the audience how many people actually checked

Hamilton Design Ltd announces new Mega Drum Kit Hamilton Design are pleased to announce the Mega Drum Kit - a new accessory for their Drum Seeder. This kit allows much larger and heavier seeds to be sown than with the standard drum, such as peas, corn, squash, pumpkins,etc. Drums can be drilled for sowing multiple seeds per cell/pot.

The kit is supplied with everything needed to get you started, including a new vacuum source, manifold and pipework, a new drum, and vacuum cleaner for removing excess seeds. The new drum features an inexpensive outer sleeve, which can be replaced when changing seed sizes or trays.

The kit will retrofit to all existing Hamilton Drum Seeders, and once installed it can be switched back to use the conventional drum in a matter of seconds.

For more details visit their web site at www.hamilton-design.co.uk or contact Hamilton Design on +44 (0)1628 826747 (info@hamilton-design.co.uk). |||

www.FloraCultureInternational.com | July/August 2015

by Arturo Croci

references before they hire someone and there were not many hands in the air. He stressed the need to do so despite the common wisdom that no applicant would list a bad reference.

One of the most fun and surely the most exciting events was watching Pieter Landman of the Colour Republic hosting the Iron Designer Challenge. Nine contestants battled it out in front of a standing room only crowd of supporters. Stems were flying and blooms were being stuffed, squeezed, tucked and delicately placed in arrangements from a predetermined selection of flowers and produce.

In the end, Joe Philips of Phillips Flowers was the winner (see the photos at www.flowersandcents.com) The new products showcase offered a look at what vendors are hoping to be the next big thing. The only thing that caught my eye was a colorful cotton-based, lace patterned floral wrap from PNP Plast of Italy.

But those fragrant roses from Alexandra Farms surely caught my nose. Garden roses have come a long way over the last five years and they have been one of the pioneers of the movement.

As one would expect the floral focus at the show was bouquets and everything predone. The message is clear, consumers want easy, fast, no brainer products that grow, live forever, never dry out, never need attending to and don't cost too much. That's not asking too much is it?

And just in case there was not enough excitement at this event across the hall the FMI (Food Marketing Institute) show was going on at the same time. This show Is all about retail to consumer so the booths from Budweiser, Dole, the country of Italy and many other big names were large and over the top My take on this show is that it was very well organized and provided ample time for business, networking and fun. The combination of produce and flowers makes a lot of sense and added lots of life and some good snacks to this show. The show is scheduled once again to be held in Chicago at the same venue for 2016 and I hope to see you there. |||

Buongiorno!

Rob Zurel announces release date book Former S. Zurel & Co. B.V. MD, Rob Zurel spend a long time thinking about a book capturing his remarkable career and life story. Due out in September 2015, Rise and Fall of a World Empire in Plants and Cut Flowers covers more than two centuries of the Zurel family starting in 1804 when the Napoleonic code was established.

The memoir of Rob’s life also contains a chapter dedicated to World War II, relating how the Jewish Zurel family was forced to split up, how it miraculously survived the war and how father, mother and son were reunited after more than three years apart. Rob said their story can only be described as a miracle.

Rob again enjoyed incredible fortune in Thailand on December 26th, 2004 when he escaped the tsunami and was very lucky to survive. Six years later, when I visited him in Phuket, he announced the book that had been in his mind since 2001.

In 2001, he was presented with one of the highest accolades in the Italian ornamental horticulture and gardening industry: the Silver Carnation Award and on that occasion he asked me to be his ghost-writer. But after interviewing him for two entire days, it became clear to me that this was an impossible task. So Rob took up the pen himself to write down the everyday events from 1981, the year in which he arrived at his father’s company until 1996 when, what Roberts describes in his own words as a ‘forced expulsion’ from the company occurred. It also marked the beginning of the end of the once so famous Zurel empire, dramatically impacting the entire industry.

The biography comprises an extraordinary collection of historical letters, documents, pictures, 100+ rhymes and poems, while it also gives insight into Rob’s personal life: Rob as a father, husband and lover.

The novel traces the roots of a conspiracy, which Unesco and Nobel Prize laureate and friend Prof. Francesco Bruno Gnisci had already seen coming long before.

It is the story of ‘criminal psychopaths’, false and true friends, of family intrigues and of the comprehensive and deliberate destruction of Robert: his career, personality, social status and reputation. A story that sadly accumulates into Rob being sectioned, or his legalized ‘kidnapping to bring him into a madhouse’ as Robert puts it.

Historians will appreciate the attention to detail such as in previously unknown dates and facts, especially when it comes to World War II. Rob uses his book to warn against growing intolerance in society where new generations know little or nothing about WWII and history seems to repeat itself every day.

ATTENTION: Rob’s book will include a ‘smoelenboek’, a book of all portraits.

Photographs of Zurel customers, suppliers, friends and business relationships, preferably from the period between 1981 and 1996 are more than welcome. IMPORTANT: all photos need to be in high res jpg extension with a minimum of 300dpi. Please add personal data, start/end relationship to: rzurel@xs4all.nl The book will be published by Guaraldi Lab Rimini, Date: autumn 2015.

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

July/August 2015 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com

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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 32 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

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

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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 FOR SALE GALAX AND LYCOPODUM Email: larryscarolinamountaingreenery@gmail.com Tel /Fax: +1 828 675 1558 Contact: Larry CONSULTANCY French man 50 years old, looking for consultancy contracts in horticulture. Examines any other proposal. All countries.

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AIPH.................................................................... 24 ............................................www.aiph.org Danziger ‘Dan’Flower Farm .................... 3 .................................. www.danziger.co.il FloraHolland ...................................................2............................... www.floraholland.nl Flora Trade Rimini 2015 ........................... 36 .....................................www.floratrade.it Florasearch Inc. ............................................ 35 ...........................www.florasearch.com Floricultura B.V. ............................................. 6 ...........................www.floracultura.com FlowersEXPOsure ........................................ 6 ...............................www.floraculture.eu Jiffy Products International ................... 20 ..............................www.jiffygroup.com Jungle Jack’s ....................................................6 ......... www.junglejacksthailand.com Plantarium .......................................................6 ................................. www.plantarium.nl Shuford Galax ............................................... 35 Taki.......................................................................35.......................................... www.takii.co.jp Thierry Richez................................................ 35 Urbinati..............................................................24...................................www.urbinati.com This index is provided as a service to our readers. The publisher

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