12 A sea of flowers at 2011 Pack Trials - Floraculture International

‘Concordia res parvae crescunt’ 

June 2011 • www.floracultureinternational.com 

The business magazine for worldwide floriculture 

12 A sea of flowers 

at 2011 Pack Trials 

26 UCFLOR: the battle between 

blooms and bureaucracy 

44 Keukenhof Awards as ‘crowning 

glory’ for breeders and growers

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Table of Contents 

June 

2011 Volume 21 Number 6 

2011 European Spring Pack Trials 

The 2011 European Spring Pack Trials showcasing breeding companies' ornamental 

assortments and new introductions were held in The Netherlands on Wednesday 27th, 

Thursday 28th and Friday 29th April 2011. 

by Jaap N. Kras 

Danish high tech and Tyrolean 

thoroughness: a perfect match 

Andreas Psenner e.G. is a leading breeding 

company and plug plant supplier in Bozen/ 

Bolzano, Italy. Innovative technology has always 

been a Psenner trademark, using pioneering 

Ellegaard machines that have set the standard for 

excellence. 

by Ron van der Ploeg 

Genetic approaches to improve 

cold tolerance of Petunia 

Financially backed by the American Floral 

Endowment (www.endowment.org), the 

Department of Horticulture of Michigan State 

University has carried out research into various 

aspects of freezing tolerance and horticultural 

performance of transgenic Petunia plants. 

by Ryan M. Warner 

Florimex withstands 

the test of time 

Statistics published by the Dutch Agricultural 

Wholesale Board HBAG show that the number 

of Dutch floral wholesale companies has 

dramatically decreased over the last five years. 

FloraCulture International asked Winfried 

Falk of Florimex, a multinational which has 

withstood these turbulent times and is currently 

on the growth path with important acquisitions, 

what this all means for the traditional role of the 

floral wholesale business. 


OFA Plug & Cutting Conference 

OFA Plug & Cutting Conference is set to take 

place in San Jose, California from September 

12-15. This internationally-recognised event will 

bring together industry professionals for sessions, 

trade show, and idea sharing. 


8 

14 

20 

24 

The battle between blooms 

and bureaucracy 

Established in 1972, the flower wholesale 

market in San Remo is owned by the city 

of San Remo, but managed by the UCFLOR 

cooperative. In this business structure, 

decision-making is rather slow, hampering 

growth and hindering renovation 

plans. 


Japan hosts no less 

than 140 flower auctions 

The whole country is suffering under the 

earthquake. This hurts production and 

consumption. I hope our readers understand 

that we want to publish on the Japanese flower 

industry. Our personal thoughts, however, are 

with our friends and colleagues in Japan. We 

hope that the country comes out even 

stronger than before. 


Veiling Holambra reports 

impressive growth 

Veiling Holambra officially opened its doors 

in September 2009. Time for a visit. We had 

the honour to speak with Mr Theo Breg, the 

auction’s chairman who guided us 

around. 


12 

26 

31 

32 

Keukenhof Awards as ‘crowning 

glory’ for breeders and growers 

Keukenhof offered no less than fifteen indoor 

flower shows where breeders and professional 

growers were invited to take part in a VKC 

Quality Competition. From Freesias to daffodils, 

orchids to lilies, the 2011 Keukenhof Indoor 

Shows had it all. It was blooming big business at 

the 2011 Keukenhof. 

by Jaap N. Kras and 

Ron van der Ploeg 

Departments 

World News 16 

International Events 25 

Prices 29 

Science Monthly 43 

Advertising Index 49 

Columns 

44 

In My Opinion 07 

Dutch Comfort 17 

Buon Giorno 19 

Happy Gardening 39 

Certifiable in California 41 

June 2011 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 5

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The range of products is still extending; besides 

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Editorial team: Chris Beytes, Lotte Bjarke, Arturo Croci, Helen Moody, 

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Editors: Anabel Evans (anabel@floracultureinternational.com) 

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Colofon 

FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly.Worldwide distribution. 

© 2009 FloraCulture International magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of editorial may 

be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Publisher is not liable 

for advertisements using illegally obtained images. Send address changes to FloraCulture 

International magazine, P.O.Box 82, 1850 AB Heiloo, theNetherlands. 

Ron van 

der Ploeg 

Dennis 

Seriese 

Claudia 

Stokreef 

Lotte 

Bjarke 

Marta Pizanode 

Marquez 

William 

Armellini 

Paul 

Black 

Lucas 

Nicholas 

Eyal 

Policar 

Arturo 

Croci 

Eiji 

Yoshikawa 

Cilla Lowen 


Worldwide distribution. ©2009 FloraCulture International magazine. 



liable for advertisements using illegally obtained images. Send address changes to 

FloraCulture International magazine, P.O.Box 82,1850 AB Heiloo, the Netherlands. 

In my opinion 

With compliments 

Quality, innovation, sustainability and logistics are words that 

often appear in our editorial. This is a compliment to you, the 

floriculture industry; the interviewees and contributors remain 

focused on “what can be” rather than “what isn’t”. The cut flower 

market is difficult, but a glimpse of relief is being experienced by 

the pot and bedding plant growers with the spring sunshine having 

made a well-timed appearance in Europe. 

Working backwards in this issue; in East Africa, Ethiopia’s 

explosive floriculture growth is being reined back, but in another 

snippet of news received from David Gray it appears that 

logistics in East Africa are receiving a boost. He writes that if 

infrastructure, communications and transport are the key to the 

development of horticulture and economies in general the news 

of: new roads linking Addis Ababa with Nairobi; a proposed new 

railway line on the Kenyan Coast from Addis Ababa to Lamu; a 

new railway line from Tanzania to Uganda; Delta Airlines about 

to start direct flights between Nairobi and Atlanta; a deal between 

Kenya’s Astral Aviation and Etihad Crystal Cargo for the Nairobi- 

Abu Dhabi route; should all have positive effects on the economic 

development of East Africa in the medium to long term. 

In Taiwan, the presidential opening of the International Orchid 

Show is an indication in itself about the pride the nation takes in 

its orchid innovations, in particular for their phalaenopsis exports. 

The Breeder Open Days in the Netherlands for the number one in 

cut flowers were, conversely, very low key; quality is the renowned 

selling point, however, especially for those Dutch rose growers 

whose existence is being threatened by current economic conditions. 

Quality is also the overwhelming message of our substrates 

special. The RHP Foundation is guiding the “will to improve” of 

50 affi liated companies. And where substrates control of growth 

is hidden from our sight, the crop protection series by Louise 

Labuschagne focuses on sustainable programs to assist in optimum 

control above the ground. Sustainability also goes hand in hand 

with the vision and hard work of Meiny Prins, managing director 

of Priva, whose accomplishments have been rewarded with the 

Businesswoman of the Year award. 

Sustainability crosses over into logistics under the subject of 

eCommerce since the streamlining of shipments is a key outcome 

resulting from using this tool. Auctions around the world also 

facilitate direct sales and the virtual world is not leaving them 

behind; FloraHolland persists in its ambition to strengthen the 

marketplace for Europe, a continuation of the Dutch auctions’ 

long history of achievement. 

To end at the beginning, in the Sunshine State of California, Chris 

Beytes has a well-penned article bringing to life the 

California Pack Trials, which, like the auctions, 

are another institution that have a long history in 

presenting innovative ideas and quality products. 

Anabel Evans, Editor 

Colofon 

Ron van der Ploeg, editor 

ron@floracultureinternational.com 

In my opinion 




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Ron van 

der Ploeg 

Dennis 

Seriese 

Claudia 

Stokreef 

Lotte 

Bjarke 


Marquez 

William 

Armellini 

Paul 

Black 

Lucas 

Nicholas 

Eyal 

Policar 

Arturo 

Croci 

Eiji 

Yoshikawa 

Cilla Lowen 

























































6001554_06_Colofon.indd 6 27-04-2009 13:08:58 




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Ron van 

der Ploeg 

Dennis 

Seriese 

Claudia 

Stokreef 

Lotte 

Bjarke 


Marquez 

William 

Armellini 

Paul 

Black 

Lucas 

Nicholas 

Eyal 

Policar 

Arturo 

Croci 

Eiji 

Yoshikawa 

Cilla Lowen 


























































Dr. Miguel 

Merino-Pacheco 

Angie 

Duffree 

Dr. Sun Jing 

Xian 




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Ron van 

der Ploeg 

Dennis 

Seriese 

Claudia 

Stokreef 

Lotte 

Bjarke 


Marquez 

William 

Armellini 

Paul 

Black 

Lucas 

Nicholas 

Eyal 

Policar 

Arturo 

Croci 

Eiji 

Yoshikawa 

Cilla Lowen 























































Yutaka 

Shirakawa 

Catherine 

Riungu 




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Ron van 

der Ploeg 

Dennis 

Seriese 

Claudia 

Stokreef 

Lotte 

Bjarke 


Marquez 

William 

Armellini 

Paul 

Black 

Lucas 

Nicholas 

Eyal 

Policar 

Arturo 

Croci 

Eiji 

Yoshikawa 

Cilla Lowen 


























































Keukenhof reached some kind of apotheosis last month as the 

world’s most famous spring garden became the place to be for anyone 

with an interest in lilies. During the opening of the Keukenhof Lily 

Show, the largest lily event in the world, former German speed skater, 

Anni Friesinger, named her own lily. 

It was the grand finale of no less than fifteen indoor exhibitions, 

where professional breeders and growers competed for the highest 

scores at the VKC Quality Competition. This issue features a recap of 

the most important award winning ceremonies at the 2011 Keukenhof, 

which closed its doors on Friday May 20th in a truly festive 

mood. Overall, the Dutch spring garden did exceptionally well this 

year. “It’s probably one of our best seasons ever”, said Keukenhof’s 

managing director Piet de Vries during a meeting with the press on 

Tuesday May 24th. The ‘Germany; Land of Poets and Philosophers’ 

theme was a resounding success attracting an extra 40,000 German 

visitors. De Vries especially praised the hard work of the bulb industry 

that did its utmost to keep the event colourful until the end. A 

daunting task, as most tulips had already finished flowering by May 

due to the extremely hot spring weather. 

The 2012 Keukenhof is set to take place from March 22th to May 

20th. The 2012 theme will be ‘Poland: Home Country of Romantic 

Chopin’, a tribute not only to the largest country within the European 

Union - a growing export market for Dutch cut flowers and 

bulbs - but also to its 38 million inhabitants of which an important 

part work in the Dutch bulb industry. 

Poland is also an extremely interesting market for Florimex, one of 

the most important and influential floral wholesale companies in 

history. Florimex underwent a complete makeover from a Germanybased 

wholesaler in Nurnberg, to a Dutch wholesale company 

with its headquarters in Aalsmeer. High time for an interview with 

Winfried Falk, CFO of Florimex new style and sole survivor of an 

impressive number of takeovers. The full interview can be read on 

pages 20 to 24. 

From Eastern Europe we go to Northern Italy where breeding company 

and plug plant producer Andreas Psnenner reports outstanding 

results in automation. Outstanding results - this time in the field of 

auctioning of flowers and plants – also came in from Brazil where the 

newly opened Veiling Holambra is enjoying an impressive growth. 

The Holambra story can be found in our second part of Flower Auctions 

from Around the World. This series includes company profiles 

of the UCFLOR flower wholesale market in San Remo where the 

newly appointed Cristina Banaudo faces the double challenge of taking 

the market to its next stage of evolution while safeguarding the 

critical mass of local flower growers. 

To conclude, June is traditionally the month of the annual Flower 

Trials in the Netherlands and Germany. The event is expected to be 

bigger than ever with Sion, Morel, Lannes, Rijnplant and Volmary 

exhibiting for the first time. From June 14th to 17th, breeders and 

young plant distributors will open their doors to show professional 

visitors the newest varieties in their ranges of flowering pot plants, 

bedding plants, perennials and cut flowers. What better way to 

celebrate summer’s arrival than by attending these invigorating Open 

Days where you can gain a really good impression of each company’s 

activitities

Automation 

Andreas Psenner 

e.G. is a leading 

breeding company 

and plug plant 

supplier in 

Bozen/Bolzano, 

Italy. Innovative 

technology has 

always been a 

Psenner trademark, 

using pioneering 

Ellegaard machines 

that have set 

the standard for 

excellence. Its 

founder Andreas 

Psenner –nicknamed 

‘the King of 

Pelargoniumsalways 

stayed true 

to his desire to do 

things differently 

while never missing 

an opportunity to 

improve his plants. 

Danish high tech and 

Tyrolean thoroughness: 

a perfect match 

Andreas Psenner e. G. is a family 

business in the true sense of the word. 

Left to right Robert, Andreas and 

Thomas. 


Take the 1994 Ellegaard semi 

automatic ‘substrate pot 

machine’, the model that 

changed young plant growing at 

Psenner forever. Its genius is its simplicity; 

a mixture of peat, perlite, 

fertilizer, wetting agent designed to 

suit the needs of the bedding plant 

drawn by vacuum form a small 

hopper into a feed tube surrounded 

by biodegradable paper. The paper 

tube is filled with media and then 

cut to Ellepots in various lengths 

and diameters. 

Three new Ellegaard 

NGL machines 

Over the last four years Psenner 

has bought three new Ellegaard 

NGL machines. “One of the major 

benefits of the high volume NGL 

is it’s high capacity of 35,000 pots 

per hour”, explains 36-year old 

Thomas Psenner, the company’s 

production manager who received 

his education at horticultural high 

schools in Delft, the Netherlands 

and Weihenstephan, Germany. 

He adds, “It’s ‘moves’, however, are 

slow, treating the peat in a gently 

way while maintaining the airy 

structure. The new NGL’s feature 

thirteen feed tubes, whereas the 

old machine from the nineties had 

only two tubes and ran at high 

speed. Next to the improved pot 

quality, the Ellegaard NGL also 

offers a higher average life span and 

is less noisy. The latter has been an 

important buying criteria as at our 

premises in Kaltern the machines 

are installed right in the heart of 

the company so it’s important that 

they are not too loud.” 

Cost savings 

Established in Bozen in 1967, 

Andreas Psenner currently has 

two premises, the original nursery 

in Bozen and a newer nursery in 

Kaltern covering together an area of 

42,000 m 2 for rooting young (bedding 

plants and Poinsettia) plants. 

“We have two establishments and 

Ellepots, naturally, are needed at 

both facilities. We decided to also 

install the new NGL machine in 

Kaltern, located 20km south of 

Bozen so it is no longer necessary 

to travel to and fro with the risk of 

8 www.FloraCultureInternational.com | June 2011

The media can be made to meet 

the demand of the grower. If 

necessary, you can change the 

substrate every 200 trays. “For 

some companies this can represent 

a major advantage but as for 

Psenner we have been able to find 

2 mixes suitable for most of our 

crops. In summer, when kicking 

off Poinsettia production we need 

a mix with a lower water retention 

because we are watering more. In 

winter, for our bedding plants, we 

use a mixture with a somewhat 

more dense structure so we can root 

our Pelargonium, Bidens and other 

bedding plants easily.” 

At Psenner’s the Ellegaard machines 

are operational during the whole 

week. “During the peak sales 

season we receive large shipments 

of cutting from our stockplant 

facilities in Sardinia and Israel from 

Wednesday to Friday. With all machines 

together, we reach an output 

of around 100,000 pots per hour.” 

Overall, Psenner has an output of 

15 million young plants per year 

of which 12 million account for 

Pelargonium. The remaining 3 million 

plants represent mainly Proven 

Winner products such as Lobularia 

Snow Princess, Petunia Veranda 

and Euphorbia Diamond Frost. 

quality loss to the substrate pots”, 

says Thomas who runs the family 

business together with his father 

and company founder Andreas and 

his brother Robert. 

Thomas outlines that purchasing 

Ellegaard machines has been a huge 

investment as all growing techniques 

needed to be adapted. But 

the introduction of the Ellegaard 

machines – with an estimated 

return of investment of four years 

- has improved Psenner’s product 

quality and saved up to 50 percent 

of labour costs per year. “Previously, 

we had four people working in our 

potting department while today 

only two operators are needed for 

two machines. In the early morning 

hours, we fill the machine with 

peat, trays and paper, at 10 o’ clock 

coffee break and at midday we 

refill the necessary material. The 

machine has been designed to run 

Ellegaard’s NGL 

machine has a 

capacity of 35,000 

pots per hour. 

autonomously for two hours. In 

addition, we have an automatic tray 

loading system from LogicsAgro 

putting the finished trays automatically 

on the moving benches 

to store them in the warehouse. 

When needed, they are pulled out 

automatically for planting.” 

Ellepots 

Psenner has moved all its production 

in Ellepots allowing a quick 

planting of 25 and 35 mm pots 

with optimum air filled porosity. 

“Ellepots offer us a lot of flexibility 

when it comes to the growing media”, 

stresses Thomas. He continues, 

“We can now decide our own 

structure which is much softer than 

Jiffy and Preforma plugs. Rooting 

results are therefore excellent. Another 

advantage is that we use TEA 

transplanters and Ellepots perfectly 

match with this system.” 

High customer 

satisfaction 

Italy has earned a strong reputation 

in agricultural machinery, the 

choice for a Danish manufacturer, 

however, was not difficult, says 

Thomas. “Ellegaard has reached 

high levels of customer satisfaction 

among its industry peers. Ellegaard 

>>> 

Bird’s eye view of the company’s headquarters in Bolzano. 


Automation 

Photo: Helen Moody 

offers an annual service contract. 

When spare parts are needed they 

deliver them within 24 hours. The 

company really offers an outstanding 

service.” 

The preference for a Danish manufacturer 

is due to the guaranteed 

long lasting, trustworthy quality. 

“Thanks to the annual inspection 

you normally don’t have any 

problems during the peak sales 

season which is crucial for us,” says 

Thomas. He adds, “Just imagine 

40 people planting cuttings and a 

major break down of the machinery 

occurs . Having 40 workers waiting 

for one hour would be something 

really problematic. With three machines 

there is some over capacity, 

but the continuation of the production 

process is guaranteed, even if 

one machine does break down.” 

Psenner: ‘The King of Pelargoniums’ 

beauty. So actually we can offer 

best of both worlds”, jokes Thomas. 

“A good quality substrate pot, 

however, is fundamental. An uneven 

quality will lead to a saleable 

product of inferior quality. By using 

state of the art machinery, you cut 

out the risk of bad products.” 

Being located in South Tyrol means 

that Psenner is right in the heart of 

its market. “Up to 80% of our business 

is done in Italy, with strong 

sales including the area south of 

Rome. Further south, sales highly 

depend on the weather during winter 

time. Mild winters in the south 

mean that all plants will survived 

and that sales will be down by 

30%”, explains Thomas. 

Commenting on this year’s bedding 

plant sales season, Thomas says it 

started early and was ‘quiet ok’. 

“Also ok in the sense that we had 

the best young plants ever. Overall, 

our clients noticed that our production 

this year was much more 

uniform with pots featuring the 

same density of plant growth. The 

Ellepot is not too soft nor to hard 

and holds the same amount of water 

and will kick off growing in the 

consumer’s garden immediately.” 

Meanwhile, Thomas foresees a 

good future for exports of young 

plants ‘Made in South Tyrol’. “This 

year exports have been really on the 

up with increased sales to Germany, 

France and UK. South Tyrol is 

one of Europe’s sunniest spots in 

winter. This, together with our long 

standing tradition in young plant 

production and commitment to the 

industry helps us to make young 

plants which are export worthy and 

Ellegaard machines will help us to 

conquer new markets”, concludes 

Th o m a s ||| . 

South Tyrol 

Psenner has its headquarters in 

Italy’s sole autonomous region of 

South Tyrol (comprising the twin 

provinces of Trentino and Alto 

Adige), that was ceded to Italy after 

World War I, but where language, 

food and architecture retain a 

strong Germanic flavour. “Germans 

pride themselves on their thoroughness 

(Gründlichkeit), ambition and 

competitiveness are expected in 

the workplace. While Italians are 

renowned for the sense for style and 

Ellepots offer a lot of flexibility when it comes to the growing media (Photo: Helen Moody). 

Photo: Helen Moody 


Trials 

The 2011 European 

Spring Pack 

Trials showcasing 

breeding companies' 

ornamental 

assortments and 

new introductions 

were held in the 

Netherlands on 

Wednesday 27th, 

Thursday 28th and 

Friday 29th April 

2011. 


2011 European 

Spring Pack Trials 

Spring is the perfect time to 

demonstrate new bedding 

plant varieties in their optimum 

condition - in ‘packs’ or pots 

- and to demonstrate features such 

as earliness and plant development. 

Spring Trials are the ideal opportunity 

for breeders to introduce their 

new varieties to their customers 

- distribution companies and large 

plug producers. 

ABZ Seeds, Goldsmith Seeds/ 

Syngenta Flowers, Hem Genetics, 

Moerheim New Plant, Pan 

American Seed/Kieft-Pro-Seeds 

and Takii/Sahinparticipated in 

the 2011 edition of the European 

Spring Pack Trials and opened their 

doors showcasing their existing 

assortment and novelties for the 

coming season. 

The weather in the Netherlands 

has been fantastic since early 

March. Attending this Open Days 

eventwas a real pleasure with all the 

companies showing their best side. 

Visitors were warmly welcomed 

and guided around the stunning 

displays of mainly seed-raised 

ornamentals. Where in the past 

the Pack Trials were field trials in 

the true sense of the word, today 

the event is held under the roof of 

greenhouses. 

The new series and single varieties 

presented were overwhelming 

and it is impossible to sum up all 

sensational newcomers, colours and 

series. Here is just a short impression. 

For more information see the 

companies impressive catalogues or 

visit their comprehensive websites 

offering the possibility for direct 

ordering. ||| 

Hem Genetics 

“We have a wide assortment of flower seeds, as many annuals F 1 hybrids, 

vegetatively propagated pots and bedding plants”, says Jan Sijm, research 

director at Hem Genetics. “Our assortment represents nearly all important 

bedding plants with a special focus on Petunia, Dianthus (D. chinensis and 

D. interspecific) and Viola (Viola cornuta). Our new Antirrhinum majus,a 

new salmon variety in our compact and early Dianthus Diana series and 

a the new bush-type sweet pea Lathyrus odoratus Villa Roma deserve a 

special mention. Our aim is breeding plants that can be grown environmentally 

friendly, with no or less chemical treatments and low energy demand. 

A compact growth habit is one of the criteria to double check when 

it comes to breeding. Although we sell worldwide, most of our customers 

come from the USA and Northern, Eastern and Central Europe”, says Sijm. 

He continues, “Our policy is to stay an independent player in the market, 

where many others have merged or have been taken over. Hem Genetics 

offers a perfect alternative for those clients who don’t want to buy from a 

multinational. Recently we have welcomed young newcomers in our team. 

Our continuity as family business seems secured for the future.” 

www.hemgenetics.com 

Jan Sijm, research director at Hem Genetics. 

ABZ Seeds 

Specialised in strawberries, ABZ Seeds showed 

their hanging baskets with early and compactstrawberries 

bearing pink to red hued flowers 

flowers and tasty fruits. 

www.abz-strawberry.com 

Moerheim New Plant 

Moerheim New Plant informed its customers about the new arrivals in its 

famous Suntory collection.New colours have been added to Surfinia, Ipomoea, 

Petunia and Sundaville. New are Sundaville Super Dark Red, Super 

Red, Rose Star and Super Pink. 

www.suntorycollection.info 

12 www.FloraCultureInternational.com | June 2011

Goldsmith Seeds / 

Syngenta Flowers 

Goldsmith/Syngenta Flowers presented a wide range 

of seed-raised and vegetative ornamentals. Despite 

the early season, the company succeeded in showing a 

completely new assortment of Cyclamen persicum. A 

good choice now that Cyclamen seems on its way to a 

wonderful comeback in popularity in Western Europe. 

Also on display were new varieties of Ranunculus, 

Cineraria, Viola,Petunia (grandiflora and multiflora), 

Begonia, Osteospernum, Tagetus and Dianthus (barbatus 

and chinensis). 

www.syngenta-flowers.com 

PanAmerican Seed/Kieft-Pro-Seeds 

Together with its mother company Ball, PanAmerican Seed/ Kieft-Pro- 

Seeds is one of the world’s largest breeding companies when it comes to seed 

raised annuals. Pan American Seeds presented annuals and cut flowers with 

novelties in Osteospermum, Viola and Portulaca. Kieft/ Pro-Seeds represents 

a brand for seed raised perennials, bi annuals and specialty crops. New is 

PanAm’s Gaillardia Mesa Series featuring beautiful bicolour varieties, new 

Gypsophila varieties (‘Pixie Splash’) and new additions to the Celosia Bombay 

series. Together with its new partner Kieft, Pan American Seeds have 

introduced over 100 new varieties to the market. In the evening, a party was 

thrown for Mr Kees van Diepen who will be leaving the company. 

www.panamseed.com, www.wave-rave.com, www.Kieft-Pro-Seeds.com) 

Plentifall, the new trailing pansy of PanAmerican Seed. 

Takii/Sahin 

Our last stop was at Takii’s, a renowned 

Japanese breeding company 

with a strong brand name in Europe. 

Takii has won this year’s FleuroSelect 

Gold Medal for its Salvia coccinea 

and Alcea rosea. Also at Takii the 

presentation of new varieties was overwhelming 

and impressive. In addition 

to the two Gold Medal winners,new 

introductions were shown in the 

Begonia semperflorens series Monza 

and Havana, a double flowered, very 

compact new Brassica oleracea ‘Song 

Bird’, a light and dark coloured Viola 

cornuta ‘Super Sky Blue’ and ‘Super 

Purple Face’ and a new deep red 

Gerbera jamesonii ‘Royal Red’. 

www.takii.eu 


Research/breeding 

Financially backed 

by the American 

Floral Endowment 

(www.endowment.org), 

the Department 

of Horticulture of 

Michigan State 

University has carried 

out research into 

various aspects of 

freezing tolerance 

and horticultural 

performance of 

transgenic Petunia 

plants. 

Genetic approaches 

to improve cold 

tolerance of Petunia 

by Ryan M. Warner* 

The objectives of this research 

were to evaluate freezing 

tolerance and horticultural 

performance of transgenic Petunia 

plants expressing the CBF3 gene 

from Arabidopsis and to evaluate 

freezing tolerance of wild relative 

Petunia species as potential genetic 

sources of improved cold tolerance 

Developing frost-tolerant bedding 

plants will help to expand 

the early spring and fall bedding 

plant markets. Unfortunately, few 

bedding plant crops are strongly 

frost-tolerant, limiting the crops 

available for early spring and fall 

sales. Freezing tolerance of many 

species increases following exposure 

to low, non-freezing temperatures, 

through a process termed “cold acclimation”. 

A group of related genes 

(called “CBF” genes) have been 

identified as important regulators of 

this process. 

Materials and methods 

As for the influence of altered CBF 

expression on stress tolerance, we 

developed transgenic Petunia lines 

constitutively expressing the CBF3 

gene from Arabidopsis. Freezing 

tolerance was evaluated using an 

electrolyte leakage assay, which 

estimates cellular damage due to 

freezing temperature exposure, 

either without cold acclimation 

(plants grown at 68ºF), or after cold 

acclimation (plants grown at 68ºF, 

then exposed to 59ºF for one week, 

50ºF for one week, and then 37ºF 

for three days). 

Also wild Petunia species as genetic 

sources of stress tolerance have been 

evaluated. Freezing tolerance of 

Petunia axillaris (two accessions), 

P. exserta and P. integrifolia was 

evaluated with or without cold acclimation 

as described above. 


Results 

Plants that constitutively expressed 

the AtCBF3 gene were more freezing 

tolerant than wild type Petunia 

‘Mitchell’, both before and after 

cold acclimation (Figure 1). In the 

absence of cold acclimation, wild 

type plants had an EL50 temperature 

(the temperature resulting in 

severe damage to cellular membranes) 

of-1.4ºC (29.5ºF). In contrast, 

the transgenic lines expressing 

AtCBF3 had non-acclimated EL50 

ranging from -5.5 to -6.5ºC (22 to 

20ºF). Following cold acclimation, 

plants had a further increase in 

freezing tolerance. Following cold 

acclimation, freezing tolerance of 

wild type plants increased to -6.5ºC 

(20ºF), while freezing tolerance of 

plants expressing AtCBF3 had an 

additional increase, ranging from 

-7.3ºC to -8.7ºC (18.9 to 16.3ºF). 

In addition to improving freezing 

tolerance, constitutive expression of 

AtCBF3, also resulted in dwarfism 

and delayed flowering (Figure 2). 

The dwarfism may be desirable and 

reduce the need for PGRs, though 

clearly the delay in flowering in 

undesirable. 

The CBF genes have also been 

shown to improve drought tolerance 

in several crops. However, 

preliminary experiments did not 

reveal any improvement in drought 

tolerance of petunia (data not 

shown). 

Wild species varied in freezing 

tolerance following, but not before, 

cold acclimation. Without cold 

acclimation, all species had EL50 

values around -2ºC (28.4ºF). However, 

following cold acclimation, 

freezing tolerance varied considerably, 

with Petunia exserta the least 

freezing tolerant, and P. axillaris 

accession 28548 exhibiting the 

greatest freezing tolerance (Figure 

3), which is greater than Petunia 

hybrida. 

Impact to the industry 

This research has identified 

potential genetic sources for the 

improvement of frost tolerance in 

Petunia, either through traditional 

breeding approaches utilizing P. axillaris 

germplasm with superior cold 

acclimation ability, or through the 

transgenic approach of manipulating 

expression of “CBF” genes. 

Identifying genetic sources for 

improving stress tolerance of 

Petunia can benefit not only 

floriculture breeding companies 

but also consumers by developing 

stress-tolerant crops. Development 

of more cold-tolerant bedding plant 

species will increase the diversity of 

crops available for early spring or 

fall sales. ||| 

* Ryan M. Warner is Assistant Professor 

at the Department of Horticulture 

A234 Plant and Soil Sciences Michigan 

State University. 

warnerry@msu.edu 


World News 

WITH US 

Sion Young 

Plants makes 

its debut at 

Flower Trials 

Participating for 

the first time in 

the Flower Trials, 

Sion Young Plants will open 

its doors from June 14th to 

June 18th , giving industry 

professionals the opportunity to 

see inside one of the world’s largest 

Phalaenopsis young plant nurseries. 

The Open Days will run from 8:00 

am to 17:00 pm , with a wide range 

of flowering pot Phalaenopsis. In 

the 8ha greenhouse facilities in 

De Lier (of which 2.5 ha 

is in use for young plant 

production) professional 

growers, buyers, retail 

representatives, florists 

and journalists can see 

more than 150 varieties of 

potted Phalaenopsis in full 

bloom. 

Sion Young Plants, with annual 

sales of 22 million Phalaenopsis young 

plants, specialises in exotic novelties. “Obviously 

we also need the mainstream white and pink varieties grown 

by the our business alliance Sion-Bremkes”, says company 

owner and managing director Eric Moor. He adds, “To attract 

new customers, however, Sion needs varieties which are really 

new and has therefore signed a contract with the Taiwanese 

FCI_Stopper_178x124.p1.pdf 1 31-03-11 10:50 

orchid labs Clone and Green Culture.” ||| 

From 14 to 18 June 

FlowerTrials@Sion 

Every day from Tuesday 14 to 

Saturday 18 June, you are very 

welcome to visit us between 8am 

and 5pm, Saturday until 12.30pm. 

We have over 150 floral varieties. 

See you at FlowerTrials@Sion! 

www.sion.eu 

FloraCulture 

internationalises 

your future... 

www.floracultureinternational.comom 

Connected To Nature 

FCI_Stopper_178x124.indd 1 05-05-2009 09:08:15

Dutch Comfort 


Shrimps 

Germany 

Herkuplast 

launches new 

seed trays 

Germany-based Herkuplast Kubern GmbH, a 

premier supplier of manufacturer of Quick- 

Pot and HerkuPak trays, today announced it 

has launched three new types of seed trays. 

These trays have been developed in close 

cooperation with leading plant propagating 

companies in Holland and the UK. 

Some growers wanted to replace existing EPS 

trays, others wanted to replace their existing trays 

in order to improve automation. 

The trays are made from recycled plastics and 

manufactured using power generated from 

voltaic solar cells. HerkuPlast Kubern GmbH is 

recognised as one of the most environmentally 

friendly manufacturers in the industry and using 

Herkuplast trays is a good way to reduce plant 

producers CFP (carbon footprint). 

The new trays are manufactured to very precise 

standards. 

• 264, 360 and 480 cell formats available. 

• Danish size. 

• V shaped, conical cells for easy plug extraction. 

• Angled sticky label area on the outer edge of 

the tray (makes scanning easier when the trays 

are on a CC trolley). 

• Destacking lugs built into the outer edge of the 

tray instead of in the cell, resulting in a more 

uniform plant. 

• Available in one way, medium and long life 

qualities. 

• Available in black and black/white. 

Other colours available on request. 

• Corresponding push out plates available. 

For free samples: export@herkuplast.com ||| 

In Western Europe, people love to eat shrimps. In the past, due to market 

pressure, the fishermen decided to specialise. Some opted for the catch of 

mussels and herring while others focused on flat fish or eels. The equipment 

on board the vessels didn’t allow the fishermen to switch to another type of 

fish unless high investments were made. 

Europe’s fishing rules and regulations are very strict. The EU intends to 

establish a network of marine protected areas by 2012, the so-called European 

Marine Sites (EMS’s). This ecological network will protect the diverse 

habitats and species in EU waters. These are closed and restricted areas were 

fishing is not allowed to prevent overfishing. 

For the past five weeks, the Dutch shrimp fishers have been on strike, refusing 

to take their boats out to sea. The price for the shrimps is too low, while 

the costs are too high. Their single option is to sail further away from the 

traditional catching grounds. This will cost them a fortune as gasoline 

prices are skyrocketing and sales are too flat to generate enough income. 

The fishermen, on average receive € 1.40 for a kilo of shrimps, while they 

claim their costs are at least € 2.40 per kilo. 

In Western Europe, we have around 100 shrimp fishermen and not more 

than seven wholesalers (of which two have an 80% market share). Moreover, 

there is a powerful retail sector that dictates the consumer prices. If we look 

at the average prices: the fisherman is offered € 1.40, the wholesaler receives 

€ 5.50 and the retailer asks the consumer € 11.95 per kilo. 

The first question that arises is: Why is it that the fisherman doesn’t receive 

€ 2.40 per kilo if the consumer is willing to pay € 11.95 per kilo Unluckily, 

fishermen are unable to join forces and force the wholesaler to pay more 

than the € 1.40. 

Over the last weeks, the price of shrimps has risen to € 1.80 with the 

fishermen stating that they are currently only selling deep frozen shrimps 

from storage Every farmer knows this is bullshit. There are definitely some 

fishermen who show less solidarity and continue fishing. What if the price 

surpasses the production costs Then, the market will quickly be overloaded 

and consequently prices will drop. Chrysanthemum and lily prices are relatively 

good this year. And the buzzword of the moment is ‘expansion’, even 

if many growers are still bound to debt and bank payments. 

The remarkable thing is that the shrimp fishers had negociations a few years 

ago and agreed not to sell under a certain price. 

The first agriculture crises since Napoleon, led to foundation of welfare 

organisations: the poor farmers did not have food so we brought them food. 

In the 1880s the world again struggled under an agriculture crises and we 

learned that if fishermen are hungry, do not feed them but give them a angle. 

The 1930s have seen new agriculture crisis laws with minimum prices for 

farmers which today is still the basis of our EU agriculture treaty. Currently 

there is a change in the EU policy towards direct farmer support as a farmer 

with a minimum production price produces too much and disturbs the 

market. 

A market problem can only be solved in the market. Cooperation is the key 

word with very strong controlling bodies to prevent false competition on 

both the production (over fishing, infringing rules) and the whole sale side. 

Jaap N. Kras 

jaap@floracultureinternational.com 


SPECIALIST POT PLANT & CUT FLOWER VARIETIES 

OPEN DAYS 

June 14th - June 17th, 2011 

8 a.m. till 5 p.m. 

participant of the Flower Trials 

Mijnsherenweg 15 • 1424 CA De Kwakel, Holland • T +31 (0)297 38 20 38 

F +31 (0)297 38 20 20 • info@hilverdakooij.nl • www.hilverdakooij.nl 

Hilverdakooij_178x124.indd 1 25-05-11 09:37 

649xxx_ad_FCI_178x124_24_mei.indd 1 24-05-11 16:12

World News 

by Arturo Croci 

Buongiorno! 

France 

PVR applications 

at all-time high 

During the first three months of the year 2011, 

the Community Plant Variety Office CPVO 

received 834 applications for Community plant 

variety rights out of which 343 (41%) were 

filed for varieties of ornamentals, 267 (32%) 

for agricultural crops, 172 (21%) for vegetables, 

and 52 (6%) for fruit. The total number of 

applications for the first quarter is the highest 

ever received. 

In 2008, the year the Office received the highest 

annual number of applications, “only” 700 

applications were submitted by the end of March. 

Ornamentals, usually counting for at least half of all 

applications have a lower share than expected; by 

contrast, applications for agricultural and vegetable 

varieties are scoring high. ||| 

United States 

Inspiring 

FNGLA 

Floriculture 

Field Days 

Excited, motivated, inspired - attendees came 

away from FNGLA's 2011 Floriculture Field Days 

using those words to describe the conference. 

On May 12 and 13, over 200 attendees came from 

across the country to attend the educational conference 

and tour performance trials held in conjunction 

with the Epcot International Flower & Garden 

Festival. Held for the first time at Epcot, it was a 

showcase of the season's new varieties. 

Not only did industry members get a chance to 

see how resilient over 236 varieties are to Florida's 

heat and humidity, but attendees participated in a 

top-notch educational program, toured private and 

public gardens and had a great chance to network 

with breeders and peers from across the country. ||| 

Flowers and tango 

After my health problems, every year I try to escape for a couple of weeks 

from the cold European winters. The middle of February, right after the 

busy Valentine’s Day sales season is the best time to visit Argentina because 

the warm, humid summer is usually followed by a nice and pleasant 

autumn: beautiful sunny days with temperatures ranging between 15°C 

at night and 30°C during the day. 

I’m lucky because in the Buenos Aires area I have a lovely aunt, an uncle 

and many cousins; this is due to the big Italian emigrations in the last two 

centuries. My aunt Effa lives in a special place in the north west of Buenos 

Aires; the property bought at the end of the 60s from Aristoteles Onassis 

and Maria Callas. In those days, the Onassis family used to spend some 

time in Argentina, mainly in order to participate in the Greek Week. 

The original Onassis’s wood house doesn’t exist anymore, but the garden 

trees have been kept and are those planted by Onassis and Callas, including 

a specimem of Cedrus deodara growing just next to the house 

designed by the architect Horacio Eduardo Inveraldi. Today, this Cedrus 

is considered an Argentine green heritage. 

When it come to flora, Argentina has a lot of endemic species, perhaps 

more than 10,000 and the potential of many of those has not yet been 

fully discovered. 

Buenos Aires is a metropolis with 15 million people and lots of greenery 

such as beautifully flowering trees like Ceibo (Erythrina crisa-galli, 

Argentina’s national tree). Palo borracho (Ceiba speciosa)’, Jacaranda 

mimosifolia and Ombù (Phytolacca dioica).. In some areas more maintenance 

is needed but the actual economical crisis also had its impact on 

the state of urban green. . 

Argentinean floriculture, thanks mainly to the ‘Argentinean Japanese’ 

(Italian, Spanish and other European emigrates who started growing 

nursery stock products, fruits or vegetables) produces for the local market 

. The different provinces have a lot of possibilities in growing plants and 

flowers ‘accordingly’ with the special local climates (varying from the very 

cold areas in the south to the tropical areas at the Brazilian border. 

The main production areas are: Buenos Aires, Chubut, Córdoba, Corrientes, 

Entre Ríos, Formosa, La Pampa, Mendoza, Misiones, Salta, Santa 

Fe and Tucumán. 

According to the ‘Fondo Argentino para la Floricultura’ the area dedicated 

to professional flower and plant growing is 2465,48 ha; 634,02 ha 

are protected crops (plastic tunnels). 51% is in the metropolitan areas; 

70.81% in Buenos Aires and Santa Fe Provinces), 42.6% of the producers 

deal with cut flowers, 30.6% with potted plants and the remaining both 

flowers and pot plants. 

Argentina is a country with great natural resources and a good potential 

in floriculture and nursery. The demand for flowers and plants is growing 

even if the effects of the economic downturn is hindering growth. 

Viva la vida 

Arturo Croci is the founder of Italy's leading 

horticultural business magazine Flortecnica and 

a walking encyclopedia of Italian horticulture. 

arturo@floracultureinternational.com 


Floral wholesale 

Statistics published 

by the Dutch 

Agricultural 

Wholesale Board 

HBAG show that the 

number of Dutch 

floral wholesale 

companies has 

dramatically 

decreased over 

the last five 

years. Meanwhile, 

production 

nurseries of flowers 

and plants have 

expanded around the 

globe, with direct 

sourcing between 

producers and retail 

chains and the 

internet becoming 

an increasingly 

important 

sales channel. 

FloraCulture 

International 

asked Winfried 

Falk of Florimex, a 

multinational which 

has withstood these 

turbulent times 

and is currently on 

the growth path 

with important 

acquisitions, what 

this all means for 

the traditional 

role of the floral 

wholesale business. 


Florimex withstands 

the test of time 

Let’s get the facts straight first. 

According to the HBAG, 

there were 870 floral wholesale 

companies in the Netherlands 

in 2007, one year later this number 

dropped to 857, while in 2009, 801 

companies remained. Last year, 

the numbers continued to decline 

to 765 wholesale businesses; a 5% 

decrease compared to 2009.Today, 

the Netherlands hosts only half of 

the number of wholesalers ithad ten 

years ago. 

Overall, you can say that less 

companies generate more turnover. 

Flower farms have grown in size 

and turnover, but their numbers 

have decreased significantly. 

Supply chain under 

pressure 

In this issue, and also in our 

previous May issue, FloraCulture 

International focused on flower 

auctions around the world. Flower 

auctions around the globe highly 

vary: Japan, for example, hosts 

an important number of retail 

auctions, while in the Netherlands 

flower auctions are owned by 

grower cooperatives. There are also 

auctions serving both the traditional 

wholesale as well as the newly 

emerged retail chains. 

In floral sales, two sales channels 

play an important role: retail chains 

such as supermarkets and DIY stores, 

florists and garden centre chains. 

When it comes to production and 

consumption, the vertical supply 

chain, as a whole, is under pressure. 

Also, online sales are constantly 

gaining market share, flowers and 

plants have a huge E-commerce 

potential which means the supply 

chain and internet sales are likely to 

further shorten the supply chain. 

Volatile market 

This is the era when the market, in 

the true economical sense of the 

word, is the place where demand 

and supply meet to set a price 

for flowers and plants. In these 

turbulent times, companies sometimes 

disappear even quicker than 

they emerge. There is one name, 

however,which has withstood 

the test of time: Florimex. If one 

Winfried Falk, 

CFO Florimex 

compared the list of the most 

important and influential floral 

wholesale companies of twenty 

years ago with the current business 

ranking, there would be 

only one name featured on both 

lists: Florimex International B.V. 

All through history, Florimex 


Florimex’ human resource management examines what can or should be done to make working people more productive and satisfied. 

and Zurel have claimed to be 

the largest floral wholesaler in 

the world. As we all know, Zurel 

has dissolved into Ciccolella and 

Florimex underwent a complete 

makeover from a Germany-based 

wholesaler in Nurnberg, to a Dutch 

wholesale company with its headquarters 

in Aalsmeer. High time 

for an interview with Winfried 

Falk, CFO of Florimex new style 

and sole survivor of an impressive 

number of takeovers. 

The 48-year old Winfried Falk 

started his career at Florimex 

twenty years ago as financial 

director, working from his office 

in Nurnberg - at that time, the 

company’s beating heart. 

Let’s kick off with a big question: 

How did you survive the period of 

constantly changing owners, from 

Kerscher to Dibrell, from Dimon to 

USA Floral and Acon 

“Well,it has been a challenging 

period, which I enjoyed most of the 

time as it keeps one flexible. After 

USA Floral had acquired Florimex,I 

went away for two years. Today, 

now that Florimex headquarters 

have moved to Aalsmeer, the Netherlands, 

we are proud of having a 

strong and healthy company owner. 

The renowned Bencis Capital 

Partners is an independent private 

equity firm, targeting mediumsized 

companies in the Benelux 

Bencis has an outstanding business 

network and a solid financial 

reputation. 

Business structure 

The business structure is kept 

simple with the holding located in 

Aalsmeer, just like its divisions Florimex 

Aalsmeer (cut greens),Cees 

van Starkenburg (flower wholesale 

Europe),Baardse (worldwide potted 

plant whole sale and retail). Sierafor, 

one of the oldest and biggest 

supermarket suppliers, is located in 

Rijnsburg. 

“We are focusing on those activities 

we think we can do well”, says Falk. 

He adds, “The widely dispersed 

network of Florimex offices worldwide 

has been brought back to sales 

companiesFlorimex Spain and 

Florimex Portugal, and a purchase 

activity in Ecuador:Florimex 

Ecuador. Our main sales activities 

Newly appointed CEO 

>>> 

As of April 1st ir. Atze Bosma has joined Florimex as its 

new CEO. Meanwhile, company owner Bencis Capital 

provided Florimex with extra working capital and the newly 

appointed CEO recently revealed a new growth strategy with 

a strong focus on human resources, international expansion, 

acquisitions, marketing and team building. 

“It’s unbelievable”,says Atze referring to the fact that the 

floral wholesale business is way behind other important 

industries when it comes to entrepreneurial spirit, creativity 

and innovation. There will be plenty of business opportunities 

if the floral wholesale companies succeed in working like 

other international companies such as chemical corporations, 

engineering or food industries.” 


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Floral wholesale 

are mainly targeting Europe, but 

Florimex Ecuador, in addition to 

their trade flows to Europe, has 

kept strong business relations with 

the USA and Canada.” 

Challenges 

All floral wholesale companies are 

more or less facing the same challenges, 

says Mr Falk. 

“Florimex’ follows a customer-driven 

strategy. It’s the customer’s wish 

to see where the product originates 

from. The same customer decides 

which intermediary will take care 

of storage and transport. Margins 

are under pressure; new competitors 

are entering the market with 

lower cost structures. The economic 

crisis has caused a significant drop 

in flower and plant sales over the 

last years.” 

According to Florimex’ CFO, 

the future belongs to companies 

which are able to professionalise 

and to meet the growing customer 

demand for guiding and advice 

as many large retail chains are not 

really familiar with the flower and 

plant business. “This means you 

need to have very reliable and open 

contact with your customers and 

only then will they allow you to 

take care of this specific type of 

business. When new retail chain 

such as DIY stores set up a flowers 

and plants sales division, we can 

teach them a lot. What you really 

need is a team of professional employees 

in a professional wholesale 

company.” 

In search of the necessary product 

information, an increasing number 

of supermarkets are contacting 

the grower directly. “They want to 

speak with the product specialist of 

the nursery level.” 

Germany as 

economic engine 

The year 2010 showed improving 

sales especially in Germany. “We 

experienced a strong growth in 

the beginning of this year and we 

expect further growth for the rest 

of 2011. Germany is considered 

as the economic engine for floral 

consumption in Europe. Nobody 

can tell if the reported growth 

in Germany will be structural. 

Germany has a strong tradition in 

manufacturing, providing a strong 

base for the present growth.” 

When asked about the future, Falk 

foresees a further diminishing in 

the number of flower and plant 

wholesalers. “Luckily, we have 

witnessed only few bankruptcies. 

Blumex was the first really 

huge floral wholesaler to collapse I 

expect further consolidation of the 

business, with more increased cooperation 

and mergers. Something of 

which we should be more aware is 

that our industry hasn’t gained a 

good reputation amongst bankers. 

They often consider the risks 

too high and banks are extremely 

careful. Cash flow in our industry 

represents a problem. On the sales 

side, we have to take enormous 

debtor’s risks and on the purchasing 

side, the auction forces us to pay 

at once. Wholesalers are the biggest 

clients at the auction, but our 

mutual relation needs to change. In 

future, we would like to become 

a real partner of the auction and 

not just one of their many clients. 

While the auction should remain 

focused on sourcing, the wholesale 

business has to concentrate on sales. 

At Veiling Holambra in Brazil,the 

auction started in banking to 

finance trade and give support to 

their customers. Perhaps, also here 

in Holland, the auction should step 

into these activities to keep a strong 

network of sales companies.” 

Moderately optimistic 

Falk is moderately optimistic about 

the future “I hope we can achieve a 

more structural growth in the years 

to come.” 

Consolidation of the business is 

set to be an ongoing process, both 

on the growers and the traders’side. 

Falk concludes, “No more than a 

hand full of large trading houses 

will survive along with some 

smaller-sizes companies specialised 

in niche markets. Also Ciccolella is 

on its way to become an important 

player in the market. For Florimex 

too, a good future lies ahead. Our 

major shareholder, however, at 

some point will exit and therefore, 

there will always remain uncertainty 

about who comes next!” ||| 


Events 

OFA Plug & Cutting 

Conference is set 

to take place in San 

Jose, California from 

September 12-14. 

This internationallyrecognised 

event will bring 

together industry 

professionals for 

sessions, trade 

show, and idea 

sharing. 

OFA Plug & Cutting 

Conference set for 

September 12-14 

Hundreds of industry 

professionals from around 

the world will be in San 

Jose, California, USA for the 

OFA Plug & Cutting Conference, 

September 12-14, 2011. Geared 

toward growers of all levels, the 

conference it will be especially 

valuable for intermediate to 

advanced plug and cutting growers. 

Through hands-on workshops, 

in-person examples provided on the 

industry tour, learning labs with 

industry experts, and spending 

time with vendors in the sold-out 

trade show, you will get answers 

and ideas to improve your plug and 

cutting operation. 

There will be nearly 40 sessions and 

hands-on workshops that focus 

on plug and cutting principles, 

production inputs, and pest and 

Attendees will have the opportunity 

to tour the operations of some of the 

industry’s best-known growers and 

suppliers 

disease management. In addition, 

eight sessions will be presented in 

Spanish. 

Tour of Growers 

& Suppliers 

Attendees will have the opportunity 

to tour the operations of some of 

the industry’s best-known growers 

and suppliers. Pacific Plug & Liner 

has approximately 250,000 square 

feet dedicated to growing young 

plants. Attendees will see a stateof-the 

art production facility that 

includes rolling Dutch containers, 

irrigation booms, Argus environmental 

controls, high pressure 

fog system, and hydronic bottom 

heating. 

Rocket Farms 

Rocket Farms provides high quality 

ornamental plants grown in 

nine greenhouse growing facilities 

throughout California. The company 

has successfully introduced 

new products including orchids, 

Calla lilies, and fresh (organic and 

non-organic) herbs to its product 

line. 

Attendees on this tour will visit 

Sakata Seed America’s California 

Research Station which focuses on 

vegetable breeding and the evaluation 

of flowers and vegetables, as 

well as the research of vegetables 

grown in subtropical climates. 

Speedling at 

Watsonville 

Speedling at Watsonville was 

acquired to compliment the 

company’s ability to provide quality 

vegetable plugs. At the Watsonville 

location Speedling can grow 

organic products in a dedicated 

greenhouse range. In addition to 

producing a wide and varied range 

There will be nearly 40 sessions and 

hands-on workshops that focus on plug 

and cutting principle 

of vegetable transplants, Speedling 

provides poinsettia pots for the 

holiday season. 

Syngenta Flowers 

Syngenta Flowers is a global market 

leader in the breeding and production 

of seeds and cuttings for highquality 

pot and bedding plants. The 

company has a long history in the 

ornamentals industry, combining 

the strengths and experience 

from its origins in Holland (Sluis 

& Groot), Germany (Fischer), and 

the United States (Goldsmith and 

Yoder). 

American Takii 

American Takii Inc breeds both 

flower and vegetable varieties, 

and the company's goal is healthy 

seeds with high germination and 

vigor. American Takii’s wholesale 

dealers are located in the United 

States, Canada, Central America, 

and Mexico, and its varieties are 

available from all the major seed 

companies in North and Central 

America. ||| 

To learn more about the OFA Plug 

& Cutting Conference or to register, 

visit www.ofa.org/conferences 


International Events 

June 2011 

2 to 6. Ireland 

Bloom 2011, Ireland’s leading 

flower, food and family festivalat 

the Phoenix Park, Dublin. 

T (31)172236262/(31) 654770612 

fvsuchtelen@all-round.nl 

www.bloominthepark.com 

12 to 14. United States 

Trees Florida Conference and 

Trade Show at the Wyndham 

Jacksonville Riverwalk hotel in 

Jacksonville. 

T (1) 941 342 0153 

F (1) 941 342 0463 

treesflorida@comcast.net 

www.treesflorida.com 

13 to 16. United States 

GCA Summer Tour in New 

Jersey by the industry body 

‘Garden Centers of America’. 

T (1) 706 298 0287 

F (1) 706 883 8215 

info@gardenscentersofamerica.org 

www.gardencentersofamerica.org 


National Lawn and Garden Show 

at the Chicago O’Hare Crown 

Plaza hotel. 

T (1) 719 488 0226 

F (1) 719 488 8168 

nlginfo@nlgshow.com 

www.nlgshow.com 

14 to 17. The Netherlands, 

Germany 

2011 Flower Trials. Aalsmeer, 

Westland and Rheinland 

Westfalen (Germany) regions. 

www.flowertrials.com 


International Floriculture Expo 

at the Miami Beach Convention 

Centre, Miami. 

This year the show has been given 

the theme of ‘Connecting the 

industry from seed to shelf’. 

T (1) 207 842 5530 

csalmon@divcom.com 

www.floriexpo.com 

15 to 17. Brazil 

Hortitec at the Recinto da 

Expoflora exhibition centre in 

Holambra. 

T (19) 3802 4196 

vendas@rbbeventos.com.br 

www.hortitec.com.br 


SAF Growth Solutions, a mini 

conference for florists in Dallas. 

lweaver@safnow.org 

www.safgrowthsolutions.com 


FNGLA's Annual Convention 

is a time each year for FNGLA 

members and industry friends to 

celebrate the past year of success 

while welcoming FNGLA's new 

leadership taking office. It is also 

the venue for FNGLA's Annual 

Meeting and the platform for 

presenting FNGLA's Industry 

Award Winners. all 

T (1) 800-375-3642. 

ladams@fngla.org 

www.fngla.org 

June 25. United States 

CFA Awards & Annual Meeting 

2011 in East Hartford. The 

Connecticut Florists Association’s 

Awards program recognises 

exceptional achievement in our 

floral industry. The 2011 CFA 

Awards include the Florist of the 

Year Award, the CFA Marketing 

Award, the CFA Friend of Florist 

Award and the Rookie of the 

Year Award which spotlights the 

retailer, wholesaler, or grower who 

has made notable impact on the 

floral industry. 

ctflorists@aol.com 

www.flowerplantsinct.com 

28 to 29. United Kingdom 

HTA National Plant Show at 

Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. 

T (44) 118 930 3132 

F (44) 118 932 3453 

enquiries@nationalplantshow.co.uk 

www.nationalplantshow.co.uk 

July 2011 

3 to 6. Australia 

National Conference for 

Hydroponic and Greenhouse 

Growers at the splendid Adelaide 

Convention Centre. The event 

includes a trade exhibition, 

workshops, lectures and farm tours. 

For further information please 

contact Rick Donnan and 

Rosemary Viggers 

T (61) 2 4567 7960 

F (61) 2 8569 1064 

pcaconference@westnet.com.au 

www.protectedcroppingaustralia.com 


AIFD National Symposium 

‘Imagine’ at the Marriott Marquis 

San Francisco 

aifd@assnhqtrs.com 

www.aifd.org 

9 to 12, United States 

OFA Short Course at the 

Columbus Convention Centre in 

Columbus, Ohio. 

T (1) 614 487 1117 

F 91) 614 487 1216 

ofa@ofa.org 

www.ofa.org 

9 to 12. Brazil 

Enflor trade exhibition for florists 

and landscapers in Holambra 

www.enflor.com.br 


Perennial Plant Symposium at the 

Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel in 

Atlanta, Georgia 

T (1) 614 771 8431 

F (1) 614 876 5238 

ppa@perennialplant.org 

www.perennialplant.org 

20-23. United States 

California Floral Convention 

at the La Costa Resort& Spa in 

Carlsbad, California, The event 

is organized by NORCAL, the 

Californian Association of Flower 

Growers and Shippers. 

www.cafgs.com 

August 2011 

2 to 4, United States 

Penn Atlantic Nursery Trade 

Show PANTS 2011 at the Greater 

Philadelphia Expo Centre in Oaks. 

www.pantshow.com 

14 to 17. Canada 

Organised by the Canadian 

Gift and Tableware Association, 

the Alberta Gift Show is set to 

take place in mid August at the 

Edmonton Expo Centre in Alberta. 

aschachter@cgta.org 

www.cgta.org 


The Independent Garden Center 

Show at the Navy Pier in Chicago. 

www.igcshow.com 


Nursery Landscape Expo at the 

Dallas Convention Center. 

T (1) 512 280 5182 

F (1) 512 280 3012 

www.txnla.org 

23 to 24. Belgium 

Florall Autumn Fair, Flanders 

Expo, Ghent. 

T (32) 9 241 5091 

F (32) 9 241 5095 

info@florall.be 

www.florall.be 

24 to 27. The Netherlands 

Plantarium, Boskoop. 

info@plantarium.nl 

www.plantarium.nl 


Farwest Show at the Oregon 

Convention Center and organized 

by the Oregon Association 

of Nurseries. 

T (1) 800 342 6401 

F (1) 503 682 5099 

info@oan.org 

www.farwestshow.com 

26 to 28. Poland 

Green is Life trade exhibition 

with a focus on nursery stock 

and gardening. The 19th edition 

of the show is set to take place at 

the Warsaw International Expo 

Centre. This year’s theme is 

‘Garden: a good move!’ 

T (48) 22 435 47 20 

F (48) 22 435 47 20 

milek.boguszewicz@zszp.pl 

agnieszka.zukowska@zszp.pl 

www.greenislife.pl 

30 to September 1. Russia 

Expo Flora Russia at the 

Gostiny Dvor exhibition centre, 

downtown Moscow. 

T (31) 20 6622482 

F (31) 20 6752326 

jasper@hpp.nl 

www.expoflorarussia.com 

30 to September1. Russia 

Flowers Expo at the MVC/ 

Crocus Expo exhibition centre. 

T (7) 495 221 12 51 

mail@flowers-expo.ru 

www.flowers-expo.ru 

31- September 3, Russia 

Flowers 2011 at the All Russia 

Exhibition Centre in Moscow. 

T (7) 495 748-37-70, 544-38-20 

info@mvcexpo.ru 

www.expoflowers.ru 

September 2011 

4 to 6. Germany 

Spoga/Gafa, international garden 

trade show at the Messe Koln 

exhibition centre. 

k.schoen@koelnmesse.de 

www.spogagafa.de 

6 to 7. United Kingdom 

Four Oaks, the UK’s premier 

show for ornamental horticulture 

in Macclesfield. 

T (44) 1477 571392 

F (44) 1477 571314 

Four-oaks-hort@btconnect.com 

www.fouroaks-tradeshow.com 

7 to 8. The Netherlands 

FloraHolland Autumn Fair 

at the FloraHolland flower auction 

in Naaldwijk. 

www.floraholland.nl 

15 to 17, Italy 

Flormart, at the PadovaFiere 

exhibition centre in Padua, 

T (39) 049 84011 

flormart@padovafiere.it 

www.flormart.it 


Auctions (II) 

Established in 

1972, the flower 

wholesale market in 

San Remo is owned 

by the city of San 

Remo, but managed 

by the UCFLOR 

cooperative. In this 

business structure, 

decision-making 

is rather slow, 

hampering growth 

and hindering 

renovation plans. 

The newly appointed 

Cristina Banaudo, 

daughter of a local 

lily grower faces 

the daunting task of 

taking the market 

to its next stage of 

evolution. 


The battle between 

blooms and 

bureaucracy 

Growers cooperation UC- 

FLOR (Unione Cooperativa 

Floricoltori della Riviera) 

was formed on the 16th December 

1972 to represent the interests of 

the flower growers in the Liguria 

region. As of 1999, UCFLOR has 

managed the San Remo Flower 

Market which is in the Armea Valley, 

located just outside San Remo. 

It is a city which, in Italian, is often 

referred to as the Città dei Fiori (the 

City of Flowers) and also known 

for its annual music festival. Sited 

with direct access to the motorway 

network, the UCFLOR San Remo 

wholesale flower market is well 

placed not only to serve the whole 

of Italy, but also the neighbouring 

countries such as France, Germany 

and Switzerland. 

According to UCFLOR’s Enrico Sparago cut foliage is one of San Remo’s cash crops. 

Cooperative Italian style 

“Our primordial task is to manage 

the flower market. UCFLOR is a 

cooperative, but not in the Dutch 

sense of the word, because the 1100 

adhering members do have control 

over their own management but 

don’t own the premises, which 

belong to the town of San Remo. 

This represents a huge disadvantage, 

as managing a company like the 

San Remo Flower Market would 

be much easier if the building were 

owned. Today, we find ourselves 

in a situation where renovation 

for the 30-year old building is 

required. This must be discussed 

with the landlord, the city council 

of San Remo and then it becomes, 

‘difficilissima’, a very bureaucratic 

and complicated thing,” explains 

44-year old Cristina Banaudo, who 

joined UCFLOR in 2010 as its new 

president. 

Financing refurbishment works 

also represents a problem, as the 

bank only lends money on the security 

of real estate. “Since we are not 

the owners of the building, we can’t 

get access to the necessary loans. 

Consequently, we limit ourselves 

to a mere management task”, says 

Banaudo. 

Emotional burden 

The San Remo Flower Market finds 

itself right in the horticultural 

heartland of the Liguria region. 

The rocky hills that lie behind and 

around the market are awash with 

terraced glasshouses. Liguria, as a 

matter of fact, is considered to be 

the cradle of the world industrial 

floriculture, delivering cultivated 

cut flowers to imperial Russia even 

before the end of the 18th century. 

“Liguria has a long standing floral 

tradition. In the past, there have 

been several local flower markets 

which step by step amalgamated 

into one single flower wholesale 

market.” 

It’s a testing time for the Liguria 

flower industry. “The road ahead 

is extremely difficult with high 

labour costs and a logistic system 

which is not so well-oiled as in the 

famed Dutch one. On one hand, 

we are very fortunate to have this 

long standing floral tradition, but 

on the other, we carry a large 

emotional burden with a tendency 

of looking back to the good old 

days, in stead of ahead. Some 

growers still find it very hard to 

admit that today’s floriculture is 

no longer reigned by San Remo. 


UCFLOR’s president Cristina Banaudo. 

Today, we have to face world-wide 

competition. Flowers are grown 

in South America, Africa and 

in Asia. This is the famous era of 

globalisation. In general, I believe 

that the Italian flower growers 

and, in particular, the San Remo 

flower growers, should not focus 

on large scale production as most 

companies are small to mediumsized 

and family owned. All 

energy should be put in fulfilling 

the growing demand for quality 

specialty products. This is what I 

hope to achieve together with the 

local growers.” 

Speaking about local growers, 

Banaudo, representing the second 

generation of lily growers in San 

Lorenzo del Mare, estimates that 

Liguria hosts around 3000 flower 

farms, with an average size of 2,000 

to 3,000 m 2 . “This is a highly fragmented 

industry with an overall 

lack of supply chain transparency. 

One of our main goals is not only 

to regain our position as market 

leader in Italy, to bring together 

supply and demand into one single 

marketplace closely linked to both 

the local production, but also to 

the close production in the Var and 

Alpes Maritimes areas.” 

Flow of business 

Seven or eight years ago, UCFLOR 

had a consistent flow of business 

with customers from Northern 

Italy purchasing at the San Remo 

market on a weekly basis. Times 

have changed, “From our side, we 

have experienced a lack of proper 

governance for some time, while 

in the meantime our competitors 

didn’t let the grass grow under their 

feet and started to purchase their 

flowers in the Netherlands and to 

sell them through door- to-door 

van sales in the north of Italy.” 

Meanwhile, transportation costs 

have increased dramatically which 

made floral wholesalers from 

Northern Italy think twice before 

coming over to San Remo to load 

their trucks. Furthermore, in a fast 

changing world traditional ways 

of communication seem to be out, 

while online is in. “Using the Internet 

can be a great way to communicate, 

but it has also encouraged 

wholesalers to buy online at the 

Dutch flower auctions. However, 

even today, the San Remo Flower 

Market hosts a number of export- 

Season Comparison Quantity Value 

Auction Non auction Total TOT € Average 

Ranun Asiatico 1.660.820 5.527.694 7.188.514 1.382.264 0,19 

23% 77% 100% 

Ranun Clone 3.164.910 779.345 3.944.255 1.484.269 0,38 

80% 20% 100% 

Season 2009/2010 4.825.730 6.307.039 11.132.769 2.866.532 

Ranun Asiatico 1.786.140 5.042.765 6.828.905 1.219.335 0,18 

26% 74% 100% 

Ranun Clone 3.069.170 534.780 3.603.950 1.350.893 0,39 

85% 15% 100% 

Season 2008/2009 4.855.310 5.577.545 10.432.855 2.570.228 

UCFLOR sales in Ranunculus in the 2008/2009 and the 2009/2010 season. 

>>> 


Auctions (II) 

ing wholesale companies with a 

long standing tradition. This means 

a lot to us, because their presence 

strengthens our conviction that we 

still can revive the Liguria flower 

industry to become a leading supplier 

to the whole of Europe.” 

Auction clock 

In addition to the traditional 

wholesale activity in which it is 

not directly involved (estimated 

turnover: € 3 million in 2010), 

UCFLOR features two digital 

auction clocks (turnover in 2010 

€ 4.2 million) which were installed 

in November 2008, by the Belgium 

supplier Aucxis.. One of the shortterm 

objectives is having the clocks 

running more smoothly than they 

do today. “Major focus should be 

put on broadening our assortment, 

as for the third consecutive season 

we have marketed Ranunculus almost 

exclusively - the only product 

whose supply we have been able to 

concentrate at the San Remo flower 

market. By broadening our assortment, 

we hope to extend the period 

of auctioning. With Ranunculus 

being a typical seasonal product, 

the UCFLOR auction clock runs 

only 5 months a year.” 

The rocky hills that lie behind and around the San Remo 

flower market are awash with terraced glasshouses. 

Netherlands, lacks a long standing 

tradition in auctioning. To 

change the grower’s mentality is 

very difficult. Even in Italy, there 

are important cash crops which 

could guarantee a year round supply 

at our auction. However, these 

large producers have developed 

their own sales channels with a 

consolidated customer base. And 

especially in economically difficult 

times, to change the certain for the 

unknown is not an easy thing.” 

Hope, however, is on its way. The 

good news is that UCFLOR and 

Florasta have signed a letter of 

intent to join forces. “Actually I 

used to be the founding president 

of this small rose auction Florasta 

which opened its door six years 

ago. We are currently preparing the 

merger. The idea is that Florasta 

will move into our premises shortly. 

It all depends on how the growers, 

in particular the rose growers will 

react. We hope that this acquisition 

will allow UCFLOR’s turnover 

to grow by 25 to 30%. It will 

definitely broaden our assortment 

in roses.” 

International sparring 

partners 

The economic downturn, on the 

other hand, has encouraged UC- 

FLOR to also look for international 

sparring partners. “Cooperation 

with other flower markets is 

crucial,” stresses Banaudo. When 

asked about a possible cooperation 

with FloraHolland, she stated that 

this auction was too large and too 

distant. “Talking out of personal 

experience, I think that if your 

counterpart is too strong, it is very 

hard to negotiate. What could 

be our added-value for FloraHolland 

Most probably this would be 

our buttercups. But it would be a 

silly idea to give away our premier 

market position in buttercups. 

UCFLOR would then lose 

everything and become a small 

subsidiary of FloraHolland and 

that doesn’t make any sense.” 

Hyères is clearly a much better 

option, as this French flower 

auction is size wise comparable to 

Banaudo adds that she faces some 

difficulties in achieving market 

acceptance of the auction clock. 

“Marsala, Vittoria and San Remo 

are the only three working flower 

auctions in Italy. One should be 

aware that Italy, contrary to the 

UCFLOR features two digital auction clocks (turnover in 2010 € 4.2 million) which were installed in November 2008, 

by the Belgium supplier Aucxis. 


Prices 

FloraHolland 

clock sales 2011 

The San Remo Flower Market hosts a number of exporting 

wholesale companies with a long standing tradition such as 

B&B with Silvio Bregliano as president of Italy’s flora export 

association ANCEF. 

UCFLOR. “Hyères and UCFLOR are 

working together in the Flormed project, 

establishing quality standards and 

focusing on web auctioning. Another 

possibility would be to regroup the auctions 

in Italy, or to look for cooperation 

in Spain. These last years we have been 

somewhat snowed under by the Dutch. 

Finally, when we didn’t know where to 

source our products from, the only reaction 

was: Let's go to Holland. Personally, 

I think we should pay much more 

attention to the preservation of the local 

production in the near future.” 

Future 

Speaking about the future, Banaudo’s 

personal wish is to attract more youngsters 

to the flower business. “Supported 

by the European Flormed fund, we 

are currently busy with implementing 

the remote buying system. Maybe this 

could be a way to attract young people. 

Showing them that today’s floriculture 

is high tech business could be a way 

to attract young people.. And when I 

think about the years that I used to get 

up at three in the morning to go to the 

market, this was a huge sacrifice. Being 

a grower would be a perfect job if these 

exceptional working hours at night 

could be cancelled. As for the education 

of young people, we are lucky to have 

the Agricultural University of Turin and 

two research centres in the direct vicinity, 

although they could work somewhat 

more closely together.” ||| 

Weeks 1 to 19 

Category Product Quantity % 11:10 Price 2011 Price 2010 

Cut Flowers Rose large 866,053,681 3.9 0.26 0.27 

Tulipa single-flowered 772,810,910 1.5 0.12 0.13 

Chrysanthemum. Spray 261,192,367 -11.9 0.29 0.24 

Lilium oriental 33,374,112 1.4 0.78 0.82 

Gerbera mini 169,312,945 4.8 0.12 0.14 

Rosa small 107,748,142 -19.3 0.12 0.12 

Chrysanthemum disbudded 47,585,940 -1.0 0.46 0.43 

Cymbidium large flowered 5,883,655 -2.8 2.56 2.55 

Freesia single flowered 70,982,253 0.7 0.16 0.18 

Chrysanthemum Santini 61,637,065 16.1 0.19 0.20 

Alstroemeria 54,538,930 -6.1 0.17 0.18 

Spray roses 34,665,549 51.5 0.27 0.33 

Paeonia 18,771.320 102.9 0.44 0.71 

Eustoma rusell. Single flowered 22,991,896 23.2 0.30 0.36 

Hydrangea 4.305.219 27.2 0.94 1.15 

Total Top 15 2.531.853.984 0,9 0.22 0.22 

Indoor Plants Phalaenopsis 6,946,516 -25.6 3.81 3.38 

Kalanchoe 11,002,531 -12.6 0.61 0.62 

Rosa 4,699,864 -27.4 1.13 1.06 

Anthurium 2,774,418 -5.4 2.81 2.68 

Hydrangea 3,248,157 -6.8 2.12 2.27 

Ficus 2,769,425 -16.9 1.77 1.72 

Zantedeschia 1,031,241 14.5 2.18 2.55 

Campanula 1,794,147 46.0 1.29 1.47 

Bougainvillea 380.171 51.4 2.72 3.85 

Hibiscus 564.017 18.0 1.59 2.08 

Total Top 10 35,210,487 -14.2 1.83 1.80 

Garden Plants Pelargonium 5,018,104 -3.6 0.48 0.57 

Misc. bedding plants 6.306,499 24.6 0.22 0.28 

Misc. trees, shrubs, climbing plants 606.128 8.5 3.77 4.05 

Osteospermum 5.601.325 40.1 0.46 0.63 

Hydrangea 580.074 18.1 2.82 2.96 

Total Top 5 18,112,130 18.3 0.57 0.69 

Source FloraHolland 


Braam Youngplants.pdf 1 29-03-11 16:52 

Tel. 001 760-723-9568, Fax 001 760-723-9639 

“THE SOURCE” 

Email: info@braam.nl 

Braam_178x124.indd 1 29-03-11 16:53

Auctions (II) 

The whole country 

is suffering under 

the earthquake. 

This hurts 

production and 

consumption. 

I hope our readers 

understand that 

we want to publish 

on the Japanese 

flower industry. 

Our personal 

thoughts, however, 

are with our friends 

and colleagues in 

Japan. We hope 

that the country 

comes out even 

stronger than 

before. 


Japan hosts no less than 

140 flower auctions 

According to the Auction 

Association Japan in Japan 

there are 140 auctions of 

flowers and plants. Total sales have 

been declining since 2007 from 

€4.5 billion to €4 billion in 2009. 

The biggest auctions are OTA with 

8.6% market share and an annual 

a turnover of €270 million in 2009 

and the Flower Auction Japan with 

a turnover of 220 million in 2009. 

A strong new comer is Aucnet: an 

online auction. Aucnet has been 

selling flowers through digital 

internet auctions for 13 years. Their 

turnover last year was approximately 

€ 55 million. The Aucnet organisation 

expects a strong growth 

for the coming years. 

A special letter from OTA 

OTA Floriculture Auction Co., Ltd. is Japan’s largest flower auction 

when it comes to turnover and scale in a land with as many as 140 

flower auctions (in 2009). OTA was founded by wholesalers and not 

by a growers cooperative. Because of its position, the auction has 

served as a bridge for the distribution of flowers between growers 

and consumers in the supply chain, working both fairly and equally. 

We now have to redefine ourselves to fulfil evolving roles, because 

we stand at the pivotal point of flower consumption and distribution. 

Firstly, Japan's baby boomers, born between 1947 and 1951, are 

now starting to reach retirement. The generation of baby boomers is 

expected to boost demand for flowers, but with a different view from 

their parents. By making use of long term and good relationships 

with the growers and the consumers, we have to increase consumer 

demand and develop products together with the growers. 

Secondly, the government of Japan formulated the policy of choosing 

several centralised core markets among a huge number of auction 

markets in Japan. We, as one of the centralised core markets, have to 

play an important role as a the hub of flower distribution for the whole 

of Japan and to strengthen relationships with regional auctions. 

Furthermore, OTA’s accumulated experience and know-how in 

auctioning and logistics offer perfect opportunities for cooperation 

with other Asian countries where vigorous investment in social 

infrastructures can be seen. 

With the kindest regards, 

Mr Ryoji Kato 

Ota Floriculture Auction Co., Ltd. 

Sales deptartment Business Development Office 

In general, the turnover has not 

only been declining because of a 

decreasing demand but also due to 

the fact that the average age of the 

growers has increased and the number 

of new growers is low. Many 

growers do not have successors. At 

this moment the average age of the 

entrepreneurs is around 60. The 

most important local flower crop is 

Chrysanthemum and the average 

age of the Japanese Chrysanthemum 

grower is 72. 

Many products sold through the 

auctions do not come for the clocks 

but are presold to the traders or sold 

through the cash and carry stores at 

the auctions. 

The import of flowers is still very 

important, but the market share of 

import from Holland has decreased 

dramatically also due to the relation 

euro - yen. Important import countries 

today are Malaysia, China, 

Thailand, Taiwan, Korea but also 

countries such as Colombia, and 

India export flowers to Japan. Many 

imported flowers are sold through 

the auctions. 

OTA is important for selling not 

only locally grown flowers but also 

imported flowers. OTA’sCEO Mr 

Nobuo Isomura explains that he 

himself opens the auction each 

morning by expressing a word of 

Aucnet presentation 

at 2011 IPM. 

welcome along with wishes for a 

good successful trade day. Most important 

products at the OTA auction 

are foliage, Chrysanthemum, 

rose, carnation, Dendrobium and 

other orchids, Hypericum, native 

flowers Anthurium and lily. 

In the same building Flower Auction 

Japan is hosted. The auctions 

are independent from each other 

but rent the premises from the 

municipal government. CEO Mr. 

Shunzou Fujisawa said 50% of the 

total turnover of € 220 million are 

cut flowers and the other half potted 

plants. 80% of the cut flowers 

are presold and 60% of the potted 

plants are presold, what means 

that 20 % and 40% respectively is 

auctioned. 

The market share of supermarket 

sales is relatively low, so experts expect 

that the main growth in future 

will come through this channel. ||| 


Auctions (II) 

Veiling Holambra 

officially opened its 

doors in September 

2009. Time for a 

visit. We had the 

honour to speak 

with Mr Theo 

Breg, the auction’s 

chairman whoguided 

us around. 


reports impressive 

growth 


Veiling Holambra is a 

Dutch-style auction with 

clocks counting downwards 

and a 100% cooperative with 320 

member growers. Holambra’s 

membership is reserved for growers 

only and according to the Brazilian 

law, the association is owner of 

the auction and its properties and 

the members own the association. 

The board consists of six member 

growers who are elected during the 

general member’s meeting which 

takes place every year. The voting 

principle is:one member, one vote, 

regardless if you are a natural person 

or a corporate body and regardless 

of the size of your turnover. 

New board members are proposed 

by the sitting board. Theo Breg was 

elected vice-president in 2004 and 

president in 2007. 

Growth figures 

The turnover of the auction was 

320 million Brazilian real*in 2010. 

Last year Veiling Holambra reported 

an impressive growth: 2008 

The 7 ha new auction building is located halfway between Holambra and 

Santo Antonio de Posse within a stones throw of Holambra’s previous location. 

+14%, 2009 +12% and 2010 +20%. 

The results of the first months of 

2011 have also been promising with 

a 22% growth. The budget expectation 

for 2011 is based on a growth 

of 8%. 

Every grower of flowers and plants 

can be a member although formally 

Distribution area. 

the board decides. “Members have 

delivery duty”, explains Theo Breg, 

He adds, “So all the products they 

grow have to be sold through the 

association. We want to concentrate 

the supply and ascertain the trade 

so that all available flowers and 

plants can be purchased through 

the association.” 

The number of members as of January 

1st 2011 was 280. To facilitate 

its daily business operations, Veiling 

Holambra started their own banking 

activities. 

New premises 

The new building is based on the 

designs and knowledge of the auction 

FloraHolland in Rijnsburg, the 

Netherlands and the newly opened 

Veiling Rhein-Maas in Herungen, 

Germany. The new Veiling Holambra 

features three digital auction 

clocks, which were installed by 

the Belgian supplier of automation 

solutions for flower auctions Aucxis 

Products are brought to the auction 

by the grower and offered to the 


trade in an auction hall where 540 

buyers can be seated. 

As in the Netherlands, the buyers 

have booths to where the products 

are delivered following auctioning. 

The Veiling Holambra premises 

house traditional wholesale companies 

along with new supermarkets 

chains which use Holambra as a 

logistic hub. 

A booming local market 

In the 90s Brazilian growers looked 

for ways to export their flowers 

to the USA and even to Europe. 

However, thanks to the booming 

Brazilian economy under former 

president Lula,consumption of 

flowers and plants in Brazil have 

risen significantly. Today, all 

Holambra ornamentals are sold on 

the local market. 

The continuing strengthening of 

the demand brings even Columbian 

flower exporters to the Brazilian 

market. 

Mediation 

Additionally, the auction offers 

its customers a mediation 

service:auction employees make 

sales deals by offering and selling 

the products to the buyers.More and 

more the growers are offering their 

products themselves to the traders 

and making direct deals. This goes 

in full cooperation with the auction 

and according to the conditions of 

the auction such as paying on time 

and delivering according to the 

standard quality levels. 

The newly opened 


includes an 

auction room 

with three digital 

clocks. 

Floranet 

In 1998, a consortium of growers 

such as the Reijers family started 

a new sales organisation named 

Floranet. To date, around forty 

growers sell through Floranet which 

is managed by Francisco Bongers 

and Paulo Reijers. Through 

modern means, namely the digital 

exchange of information, based on 

Aucxis technology (see FloraCulture 

International October 2010 

section World News)producers/ 

sellers and buyers are connected on 

the Floranet systems and make the 

trade deals. 

The products are collected by Floranet 

and trucked across the country. 

Products can also be ordered 

and sold in advance. The growers 

give their yield expectations for the 

upcoming six weeks and buyers 

can order these products. Floranet 

employs 85 personnel and serves 

as a commercial platform for wholesalers 

and supermarket chains and a 

limited number of florists. Through 

tracing and tracking identifications, 

even the consumer can find out 

who the original producer of the 

sold flowers and plants was. 

When asked about the possibilities 

of a future merger between Veiling 

Holambra and Floranet Theo Breg 

and Francisco Bongers say that 

both parties are on speaking terms 

and regularly meet. “At Veiling 

Holambra we often receive people 

from Floranet,” says Theo. “We 

are open for cooperation and I 

reckon the same goes for Floranet. 

However, sometimes the healing of 

emotional wounds from the past 

needs more time than isrationally 

logical.” ||| 


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World News 

Australia 

National Conference for Hydroponic 

and Greenhouse Growers 

Protected Cropping Australia is 

holding its biennial conference 

from 3rd to 6th July at the splendid 

Adelaide Convention Centre. Formerly 

the Australian Hydroponic & 

Greenhouse Conference, this is the 

eleventh such national conference. 

The conference starts on Sunday 3rd 

July with the opening of the trade 

exhibition, which covers a wide range of 

industry trades including greenhouses, 

irrigation and climate controllers, 

movable screens, seeds, fertilisers, 

chemicals, growing media, propagators, 

IPM specialists, etc. As well as Australian 

companies exhibiting, there are also 

many from Holland and New Zealand. 

Lectures and workshops are held all 

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many of whom are world leaders in 

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A highlight will be Dutch expert Ben 

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‘Simcom4’ environmental control 

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updates of international developments 

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of grower presentations at the previous 

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Also covered are interesting newer 

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On Wednesday, delegates have the 

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including a visit to a 17-hectare, stateof-the-art 

glasshouse facility. 

There will be many opportunities to 

network, which is a valuable aspect 

of these conferences. Lunch and tea 

breaks are long enough to maximise 

time with other growers, exhibitors 

and experts. There are also great social 

functions, where the emphasis will be 

on networking. A welcome reception 

will be held on Sunday evening and the 

conference banquet dinner on Monday 

evening. 

For information contact: Conference 

organisers: Rick Donnan & Rosemary 

Viggers Phone: (02) 4567 7960 Fax0: 

(02) 8569 1064 Email: pcaconference@westnet.com.au 

Website: 

www.protectedcroppingaustralia.com 

RoyalAdministration_178x83.indd 1 28-10-2008 08:59:44 


owerCents_54x124.indd 1 22-01-2009 15:35:52 

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World News 

Italy 

CIOPORA celebrates 

50th anniversary in Rome 

CIOPORA, an international, non-governmental organisation representing the interests of breeders of asexually 

reproduced ornamental and fruit varieties, can look back on a very successful 50th anniversary celebration which 

included an international conference and gala dinner. 

Over half a century, CIOPORA has 

been striving to improve Intellectual 

Property (IP) protection for plant innovations. 

On Monday April 11th the 

congress started with a seminar on 

Intellectual Property including three 

lectures: ‘Basic of Patents’ by Dr. Jürg 

Bilang of the European patent Office, 

‘Application for Patens’ by Dr Ralf 

Badur, patent agent of Novartis and 

‘The basics of Patent Litigation’ by Dr 

Thomas Bouvet, Véron & Associés. 

Crop section meetings were held to 

end the day with a pleasant reception 

for the over 130 attendees, members 

and friends. 

On Tuesday, CIOPORA’s Annual 

General Meeting took place with CIO- 

PORA’s President Mr. Lars Henriksen 

(PLA International ApS Denmark) stepping 

down after serving CIOPORA for 

two terms of three years. 

Unanimously, the members elected 

Mr Andrea Mansuino (NIRP International) 

as their new President. 

In addition to Mr Mansuino, the newly 

elected CIOPORA board consists of 

Bruno Etavard, France (Meilland International), 

Lars Henriksen, Denmark 

(PLA International), Steve Hutton, 

USA (Conard-Pyle Co.), Per Klemm, 

Germany (Selecta Klemm), Maarten 

Leune, the Netherlands (Royalty Administration 

International), Focco Prins, 

the Netherlands (Fides BV - Agribio 

Holding), Jan de Riek, Belgium (ILVO 

Plant), Ms. Dominique Thévenon, 

France (AIGN) and Mr. Antonio Villarroel, 

Spain (GESLIVE). 

At the evening dinner, all past 

presidents were awarded the Silver 

CIOPORA Pin: Wilhelm Kordes II, Reimer 

Kordes, Patrick Dickson, Jaap van 

Andel, Peter Ilsink, Omer Schneider, 

Maarten Leune and Lars Henriksen. 

Alain Meilland received the CIOPORA 

Gold Pin and honourary membership 

recognising his hard work and commitment 

over the years, while Nellie 

Hoek was presented with CIOPORA’s 

Silver Pin. Also, special attention was 

paid to René Royon, honorary member 

of CIOPORA and former Secretary 

General. 

The 50th anniversary celebration 

ended with a gala dinner in the Villa 

Miani, a beautiful location on one of 

Rome’s seven hills. The highlight during 

the dinner was the premiere of the 

CIOPORA film about the horticultural 

business, the IP protection and the 

association CIOPORA. ||| 


World News 

United States 

White House 

takes next 

step on FTA 

The Obama 

administration 

this 

week took 

an important 

step 

toward 

ratifying a 

free trade 

agreement (FTA) with Colombia when 

it announced it was starting “technical 

discussions” with Congress on details of 

the agreement. 

These discussions are the first step in the 

deliberate process Congress must undertake 

before approving a trade pact. 

When ratified by Congress, the free trade 

agreement with Colombia would give dutyfree 

status to all flowers coming into the 

United States from Colombia. 

Although there appears to be general support 

in Congress for the agreement – and for 

those pending with South Korea and Panama 

as well – the pact is still controversial, with 

labor and business groups gearing up for a 

showdown this summer. 

Business groups tout job creation and the 

opening of new markets for U.S. products as 

key benefits of the agreement.Labor groups 

claim the pact sends jobs overseas, and they 

continue to have deep concerns over treatment 

of organized labor in Colombia – despite 

the country’s agreement to take a series of 

steps to protect unions and labor leaders. 

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman 

Dave Camp (R-4-MI) said he was encouraged 

by the Administration’s action and 

reaffirmed his desire to advance the trade 

pact along with other parts of the U.S. trade 

agenda including renewal of the Andean 

Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act 

(ATPDEA) – an issue SAF members took to 

Capitol Hill during SAF’s recent Congressional 

Action Days. 

While no timetable has been set, there is 

hope in Congress that the agreement can 

be ratified before the August congressional 

recess which begins August 8. ||| 

Happy Gardening 

by Anthony Tesselaar 

It's different! 

Some part of our brain must be hot-wired to get excited by something 

that is different. It's basic instinct. I spot something unexpected and I'm 

immediately all eyes and ears. And I know I'm not alone. If you don't 

believe me, just stop for a moment when you're next out shopping and 

take a look around. I do this a lot, both for professional reasons and 

because I'm often travelling with my wife Sheryl who enjoys buying 

presents for the family. 

People are forever scanning their environment and it's almost as if the 

usual is accepted without a break in step. But if you set up a flashing light, 

a fresh display or offer a totally new product, it's like a magnet. People 

veer off their path and into the orbit of the thing that is different. 

Take this car sales yard we spotted in New Zealand a few months ago. 

Parts of it are familiar to all of us - shiny new cars arranged on a paved 

area immediately outside a sales office. But here it's different. The parking 

bays are painted as a pastel piece of horizontal modern art. The black & 

white backdrop is another. The overall effect makes a specific potential 

market stop and consider buying a car which is itself clearly outside 

the range of conventional options. The choice to be different has been 

deliberate and I suspect great care was taken in doing so. 

Which is my point. There is no question in my mind that being different 

is a powerful tool, but it does need to be used with care. Something might 

be different but it also needs substance. It's a risk in business terms: what 

if the New Zealand car yard had gone too far and alienated it's target 

group of potential customers In this case I suspect the owners of the 

car yard clearly had to make decisions about the degree of difference, in 

everything from the colour of the parking bay lines to the look of their 

business cards. 

Despite the effort needed both to find a way of being different, and a means 

of putting it out there, it's definitely something worth doing. But we still 

need to do the housekeeping cross checks - does it mesh in with the business 

plan, staff expertise, the budget Because there is a risk that we could fall 

victim to the new thing just because it is different and new. After all, the 

difference is likely to be as seductive to ourselves as it is to our market. 

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 


World News 

The Netherlands 

FloraHolland reports 7% increase in 

With annual sales of over €4.1 billion, 2010 was a good year for the FloraHolland flower auction. Price recovery was 

the principal reason why sales increased by nearly 7 per cent. In excess of 12 billion flowers and plants were sold 

over the year through the cooperative's five Dutch locations at Aalsmeer, Bleiswijk, Eelde, Naaldwijk and Rijnsburg. 

“But even this price recovery was 

not enough in and of itself to put the 

growers and traders on the road to 

profitability,” general manager Timo 

Huges said as the annual figures were 

unveiled. “So more than ever, it's crucial 

to work closely with producers and 

traders to unlock the market potential 

that we see.”The cooperative auction 

organisation, whose production and 

sales are increasingly international in 

nature, marks its centenary this year. 

The auction's robust financial health 

has allowed some money to be 

returned to its members. “We've been 

able to hand back €19 million to our 

members, which is half of the money 

paid in 2010 in member loans — giving 

them a bit of a breather,” says financial 

director Erik Leeuwaarden. “With a 

solvency of 23 per cent and a solvency 

base of nearly 47 per cent, our cooperative 

has a sound base.” 

Over both 2010 and 2011, FloraHolland 

has been investing €75 million, 

especially in logistical resources (such 

as standardising the fleet of auction 

trolleys) and in expansion opportunities 

for its customers, wholesalers and 

exporters. 

Sales at the auctions are becoming 

more and more virtual. Around 50 per 

cent of cut flower sales via the auction 

clock are now processed through 

Remote Buying (KoA), a system that 

lets the buyer — whether present in 

the auction room or anywhere else 

in the world — make their decisions 

based on digital information. Over 70 

per cent of total flower and plant sales 

are traded without the buyer ever having 

physically seen the product at the 

clocks or at FloraHolland Connect. 

Italy 

Euroflora Italy attracts 430,000 visitors 

The 10th edition of Euroflora – which was held at Genoa Fair & Exhibition Centre (Fiera di Genova) from Thursday 21 April to Sunday 

1 May – was unanimously praised for the quality of its design solutions and the charm and excellence of the products on display. The 

show recorded 430,000 visitors over eleven days. 

Against the background of a long-lasting economic crisis which is 

affecting all the largest events applying the “entrance by ticket” policy, 

the visitor flow was excellent every day except on the Easter Saturday 

and Sunday - this was the first time Euroflora coincided with the Easter 

holidays. 

Thanks to the presence of 800 exhibitors representing 19 Italian regions 

and 16 foreign countries and to the organisation of 500 technical 

and aesthetic contests and 126 events (including conferences, workshops, 

missions of foreign professional operators and institutions), 

Euroflora is thus confirmed as the largest and most qualified flower 

show among the European floralies, a result that suggests promising 

perspectives for the extraordinary 2015 edition, which will coincide 

with Milan's Expo. 

According to Fiera di Genova’s Chairman, Paolo Lombardi, and 

Managing Director, Roberto Urbani, the 10th edition of the show has 

achieved three main objectives: an improvement of the products on 

display, a thorough rethinking of the event's organisation (including 

related events taking place in the city), and a special focus on internationalism 

and on ensuring the visibility of professional operators, 

also through a renewed involvement of large private nurseries. In 

the management’s words “Euroflora received extensive coverage 

on the media and on the web, which also played an important role in 

terms of e-ticketing. Moreover, the public seemed to appreciate the 

leading themes of the show: biodiversity, environmental sustainability, 

greenery and vegetable gardens meant as a lifestyle”. ||| 


Certifiable in California 

by John Ingwersen 

turnover 

Veiling Rhein-Maas in Herungen, 

Germany is a joint venture between 

FloraHolland and the German organisation 

Landgard. The former FloraHolland 

location at Venlo was merged into 

this joint venture in late November last 

year. So far, Veiling Rhein-Maas has 

been achieving higher sales than had 

been predicted. 

Production and sales are becoming 

increasingly international in nature. 

Also in Germany last year, the logistics 

hub of Tradepark Bremen was set up 

in partnership with the Flower Nursery 

Products Wholesale Association 

(VGB). 

By integrating the TFA import auction, 

FloraHolland has been able to offer 

growers and traders more market 

opportunities and a broader, more indepth 

assortment. It is partly thanks to 

this move that the number of overseas 

members of the cooperative has 

grown to over 500. ||| 

Less-than-fully 

rational optimists 

It’s been nearly three years now since the financial crisis and subsequent 

economic meltdown, and almost four since the beginning of the housing 

crash in the US. I recall pretty clearly when that happened, in July of 

2007. Things were going along swimmingly , then someone turned the 

lights out. Well, after lots of fun and games for the past few years, I’m 

pleased to announce that while I haven’t found the light switch yet, I have 

managed to get some batteries into my trusty flashlight and visibility is 

improving. What is that over there, a spot of optimism perhaps Let’s get 

some more light on that… 

I guess it all starts with the fact that to be a grower one really must be an 

optimist at heart. Considering all the challenges we face that makes a lot 

of sense. It’s hard enough competing with the known variables, much 

less the antics of mother nature. And then there’s the planning cycle, at 

least in the exterior landscape business. The palm and cycad seed I plant 

today will be ready to sell at the soonest in 3 to 4 years, and quite often 

much longer. Given fluctuations in economic conditions, the mere act of 

planting a crop that won’t be ready for years in and of itself represents an 

act of faith. If you hit it right, the payoff can be pretty good. If you hit 

it wrong, you’ve got the makings of a big heap of green waste. Pessimists 

would shrink from that scenario; too much risk for the potential of too 

little reward. 

So, while the pessimist might possess the more rational outlook, it bears 

pointing out that one of the main reasons humanity has progressed is 

because of those less-than-fully rational optimists. For my part, that 

means it’s time to start browsing lists from various seed vendors. This 

is fun. I hate going to the mall, but I can spend hours going through 

seed availability lists. Should I get this one, or that one What the heck, 

let’s try a couple thousand of both. I’m sure I’ll be able to sell it at some 

point, assuming I can sprout it and grow it successfully, of course. Take 

Jubea chilensis, the Chilean Wine Palm, for example. The seed can take 

up to 2 years to sprout, and then about another 8-9 years before you’ve 

got a saleable plant. There’s no way I can justify planting that seed from 

a business perspective. In the same amount of time I could raise and sell 

3 or 4 crops turns of other, faster palms. But I do it because I happen 

to like the plant, and because I’m not just creating a bit of cabbage, I’m 

helping to start a legacy. A Chilean Wine Palm can live to be more 

than 200 years old (if I have my numbers right, I think they can live 

even longer than that) and so there’s a bit of gratification knowing that 

something I started will be still be around long after I’m gone. Perhaps it’s 

putting it a bit simplistically, but to me that’s one of the rewarding parts 

of what it means to be a grower. 

And so, even with all the moaning and groaning and complaining that 

growers are so fond of, we keep growing away, partly because growing is 

what we do, and partly because we know, really, that tomorrow is going to 

be a better day. Now where’s that darn light switch….. 

John Ingwersen graduated with a degree in marketing 

from Georgetown University in 1990, and founded 

Jungle Jack’s, Inc. in 1995. 

sales@junglejacksthailand.com 


World News 

Germany 

Christian Wulff opens BUGA 

Germany’s president Christian Wulff opened the Federal International 

Horticultural Show, BUGA, on Friday April 15th. 

This year’s BUGA is being held in the 2000-year old town of Koblenz, 

the third largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate, with a population of 106,000 

inhabitants. 

The 48 ha Federal Horticultural Show Koblenz 2011 offers its expected 

2 million visitors no less than 3,000 recreational and cultural attractions 

and events, including 23 indoor flower shows. 

Conducting the official opening of BUGA, Germany’s president Christian 

Wulff took a humoristic look at BUGA’s breathtaking scenery. “Here 

we have the famous ‘Deutsches Eck’, the German ‘corner’ where the 

Moselle joins the Rhine, the palace and the fortress. It may look like a 

temporary stage which has been built purposely for BUGA, however, it 

has been there for ages.” 

Commenting on BUGA’s educational task for its young visitors, Wulff 

expressed his wish that after BUGA, all children were to know more 

flower and vegetable names than car brands. 

The BUGA show runs until October 16th. ||| 

Germany’s president Christian Wulff 

(right) opened the BUGA show on Friday 

April 15. 

Cold Resistant 

Anthurium varieties 

offer new chances for 

the cut flower World 

There is enough to see and discover. More than 200 novelties 

and varieties will be exhibited, both in the fields of Patio-, 

pot- and cut anthuriums as well as the product groups Vitex, 

Bougainvillea, Curcuma etc. 

But as a real breakthrough in the field of Anthuriums, 

RijnPlant Breeding presents its ‘cold resistant’ line. 

RijnPlant Breeding makes its entrance during the FlowerTrials® 

You are most welcome at our location “Berckenrode” in 

Naaldwijk (the Netherlands) from Tuesday 14th to Friday 

17th June (8.00-17.00) 

Breeding BV 

® 

The address for visits during the FlowerTrials® will be: Bosweg 6, 2671 BT Naaldwijk 

(the Netherlands) For quick access to all FlowerTrials locations, we advise you to register 

your visit online via www.flowertrials.nl 

For questions or more information, you can contact us in the following ways: 

email – flowertrials@rijnplant.com or tel. +31 (0) 174 44 56 95 


Science Monthly 

Your source for the latest horticultural research news 

Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture is a leading research institute in the international greenhouse 

horticulture. Experience in both greenhouse horticulture and research allows the institute to develop and 

implement innovations for and in partnership with the horticultural industry. Research is focused on the 

development of a sustainable and competitive greenhouse horticulture. This section provides the readers of 

FloraCulture International with a comprehensive review of the latest research and the provisional results. 

For further information please contact: José Frederiks, T +31 317 48 38 78 jose.frederiks@wur.nl 

The Naked Garden 

In early July, 

various crops 

grown in 

hydroculture 

will be on 

display at 

the Hampton 

Court Flower 

Show. Growers, 

Wageningen 

UR 

Greenhouse 

Horticulture 

and Experimental 

Garden Zwaagdijk are supplying technique and plants for a 

show garden designed by the English garden architect David 

Domonayn. Tests with Petunia, Penstemon and stem roses on 

water are already running in Bleiswijk. 

'The Naked Garden' is the name of the garden designed by David 

Domoney for the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in Surrey, 

South-West of London. Garden architect Domoney will be displaying 

plants that are growing in hydroculture. The garden will count twelve 

trays of 1 m 2 . He is designing the garden together with scientists 

Tycho Vermeulen and Filip van Noort, perennial nursery Molter and 

Delphinium grower Nico Wigchert, both from Noordwijkerhout, and 

Ammerlaan Soil- and Hydro culture from Pijnacker. Together they 

will be supplying various herbaceous plants, stem rose, Delphinium, 

Dracaena, and fruit vegetables. 

“The crops will be grown in the Netherlands. Domoney will take 

care of the logistics and everything else that is required for building 

the show garden,” says Vermeulen. “The show garden will be demonstrating 

that Dutch horticulture is focusing on quality, innovation, 

and sustainability. At the same time, we learn about the possibilities 

of root spraying and floating systems for a broad range of crops.” 

The Hampton Court Flower Show will be running from 5 to 10 July. 

Opening times during all days will be from 10:00 - 19:30 h. Tickets 

can be obtained from the Royal Horticultural Society. ||| 

Daylight Greenhouse focuses on environmentally 

friendly grown pot plants 

Daylight Greenhouse focuses on environmentally friendly 

grown pot plants The Daylight Greenhouse (formerly Fresnel 

Greenhouse) on the Innovation and Demo Centre (IDC) has 

kicked off a research project on environmentally friendly produced 

pot plants. 

The Daylight Greenhouse (formerly known as the Fresnel Greenhouse) 

was opened in Mid March and is the result of collaboration 

between Bode Project and Engineering and Wageningen UR Greenhouse 

Horticulture. The greenhouse combines the cultivation of pot 

plants with the collection of sustainable energy. 

The Greenhouse as Energy Source 

An experiment has been started with seven different pot plants and 

energy yields are being recorded. This research is financed by the 

Product Board for Horticulture and the Ministry of EL&I (Economic 

Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation) in the context of the programme 

Greenhouse as Energy Source. 

At the south side of the Daylight Greenhouse fresnel lenses are 

placed between a double glass cover. A fresnel lens is a special lens 

that is deviating direct sunlight to a focal line. Electricity and heat can 

be collected by placing a collector in such a focal line. Only diffuse 

light is entering the daylight greenhouse because (almost) all direct 

light is intercepted in this way. This is an ideal situation for pot plant 

cultivation, because these plants are originating from the undergrowth 

of the tropical rainforest. 

Demo with pot plants 

A prototype of Daylight Greenhouse has been realised at the IDC. 

This greenhouse is 500 m 2 and has a span width of four metres. 

Three spans are fitted with thermal collectors and the fourth span 

has photovoltaic collectors. 

This summer, researchers of Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture 

will grow seven different pot plant species in the Daylight 

Greenhouse: Areca, Anthurium, Bromelia (Guzmania), Calathea, 

Asplenium (bird’s nest fern), Blue Star (fern) and Ficus.. Growth rate, 

fresh and dry weight, and - most importantly - quality, expressed 

in possible leaf damage or discolouration of these plants, will be 

recorded. The total permissible (diffuse) light level is still considerably 

higher than the level allowed in practice (0-70% depending on 

the crop). 

Energy yield of the collectors will be measured as well. It is expected 

that at the end of the summer 15 to 20 m³ natural gas equivalents of 

heat per m² greenhouse will have been collected from the sunlight 

and around 25 to 35 kWh electricity. ||| 


Keukenhof Awards 

Keukenhof offered 

no less than fifteen 

indoor flower shows 

where breeders and 

professional growers 

were invited to take 

part in a VKC Quality 

Competition.From 

Freesias to daffodils, 

orchids to lilies, the 

2011 Keukenhof 

Indoor Shows had it 

all. It was blooming 

big business at the 

Keukenhof. 

by Jaap N. Kras and 

Ron van der Ploeg 


as ‘crowning glory’ for 

breeders and growers 

Freesias 

When looking back on the past 

Keukenhof Freesia Show, Peet van 

Os, export manager at Dutch bulb 

supplier Van den Bos Flowerbulbs 

and chairman of the Dutch Freesia 

Promotion organisation, is satisfied 

with the quality level of the 100 

vases on display. “Attendance at the 

show, however, was somewhat flat”, 

says Van Os. He adds, “There are 

currently around 70 Freesia growers 

accounting for a Freesia hectarage 

that has decreased from 470 ha in 

1988, to 150 ha in 2011. If only half 

of the Freesia attended the Freesia 

Award Ceremony evening, we 

would be more than happy. Unfortunately, 

there are far less growers 

showing up. Therefore, we are 

currently looking for ways to retool 

the whole event in order to make it 

more attractive for the entire Freesia 

industry.” 

It’s a testing time for Dutch Freesia 

growers, because while some businesses 

are blooming, others are collapsing. 

Last year alone, the Freesia 

production area in the Netherlands 

decreased by 25ha. 

Nevertheless, huge progress has 

been made in Freesia growing. Back 

in 1988, growers used to grow 

one single crop, while nowadays 

they produce two crops per year. 

Some growers succeed in harvesting 

two crops with an average 

annual production of 400 stems 

per square meter, an absolute top 

performance compared to 20 years 

ago. “Over the last years, lots of 

Freesia specialist 

Cor de Hoog was 

awarded the Silver 

Freesia Pin. 

time and energy has been put into 

a successful year round production”, 

outlines Van Os, “the product 

quality and production yields have 

improved significantly. Lighting 

and mist-type irrigation have been 

introduced and now that we have 

nearly everything under control, it 

looks as if year round production 

is playing against us. An increasing 

number of consumers are turning 

towards seasonal products and consider 

Freesia a typical spring flower. 

The peak sales season for Freesia 

runs from January to June. From 

July to December, however, we have 

to pull out all the stops. Valentine’s 

Day, International Woman’s Day 

and Mother’s Day are simply not 

enough to run a year round Freesia 

business.” 

In 2010, the Dutch flower auctions 

marketed 30 million Freesia stems 

of which the majority were grown 

in the Netherlands. Freesia growing 

outside Europe, in countries such 

as Morocco and Ethiopia represents 

not more than 11 ha. “On the one 

hand you could say that this plays 

to the advantage of Dutch growers, 

who are not menaced by cheap 

imports, as is the case with roses. 

On the other hand, being a typical 

Dutch production, with a decreasing 

number of companies means 

that the Freesia risks becoming a 

somewhat unknown flower snowed 

under by cash crops such as roses 

and mums”, says Van Os. He adds, 

“Therefore, in promotion, the focus 

should be put on increasing the 

brand awareness of Freesia.” 

Meanwhile, the Keukenhof Freesia 

show has evolved into a powerful 

way of promoting Dutch Freesias 

competing for coveted awards in 


Prize winners of the 2011 Keukenhof Hyacinth Show. 

the VKC Quality Competition. 

On the growers’ side, Keukenhof 

Awards were handed out to John 

Kunst Bloemkwekerij from Heerhugowaard 

for their single, dark 

pink Freesia ‘Claire’ (9.66 points). 

In double Freesias, the first prize 

for growers went to VOF. M&A 

Barendse from ‘s-Gravenzande 

who obtained 9.50 points and the 

first prize for Freesia ‘Zafrerine 

Mandarine.’ 

In the category breeders, the single 

Freesia ‘Claire’ was awarded 9.56 

points and the first prize, while the 

Freesia with code number R-135 

from Penning Freesia won the first 

prize for double Freesias. 

Van den Bos Flowerbulbs won the 

Best Stand Award, while P. Hofland 

was presented with the coveted 

Goemans Trophy for their stunning 

yellow Freesia ‘Maya’. 

Growers association Unicum celebrated 

its 15th anniversary and named a Freesia. 

At the occasion, consultant Cor de 

Hoog was awarded the Silver Freesia 

Pin for his leadership, vision and 

commitment as Freesia specialist 

serving the Dutch Freesia industry. 

The evening ended in a festive 

mood with grower’s association 

Unicum celebrating its 15th 

anniversary. Unicum was one of 

the first grower’s associations in 

the Netherlands, in an attempt to 

increase sales, especially in the UK. 

Today, Unicum has 15 member 

growers who produce 150 million 

stems per year, which accounts for 

50% of the total Freesia supply in 

the Netherlands. Over the years, 

Unicum’s major goal, a better price 

for the adhering Freesia growers, 

has remained unchanged yet the 

association is now also targeting 

different export markets, such as 

Germany. 

Prize winners of the 2011 

Keukenhof Freesia Show. 

Breathtaking 

Freesia beauty. 

Photo: Nora van Zalinge 

Hyacinths 

At the end of March Keukenhof’s Willem- 

Alexander pavilion was the home of the 

hyacinth. Opened on March 24, the 24th 

Hyacinth Show ran for a whole week, attracting 

thousands of visitors with its diverse 

aromas and incredibly bright colours. 

The Dutch Hyacinth industry, covers a rather 

stable 1200 ha. Research is underway, looking 

for ways of emission-free production of 

bulbs. In tests crates with five different types 

of substrate are used for bulb production 

allowing for a better control of pests and 

diseases while reducing emissions of fertilisers 

and pesticides to the surface water. 

Research is also focused on the technique of 

scoring, which is used to improve offset bulb 

initiation and its related risks on pests and 

diseases. Also, much effort has been put into 

finding a solution for the growing problem 

of hyacinth bulbs cultivated in potato disease 

sensitive soils in Northern Holland. A problem 

which doesn’t exist in the famous bulb 

area Duin and Bollenstreek where there is a 

general interdiction to growing potatoes. 

Traditionally the opening of the Hyacinth 

Show coincides with an Award Ceremony 

event at Keukenhof where the winners of the 

VKC Quality Competition are revealed. 

This year J. S Pennings from Breezand won 

the Best Stand Award for their broad assortment 

in striking colours. 

In the category red, orange, pink, the associated 

growers Nord/Lommerse/NJJde 

Wit/Hobaho took the first prize for their 

impressive presentation of the oldie ‘Pink 

Pearl’, which was praised by the VKC jury 

for the perfect balance between foliage and 

flowers. In addition, the same ‘Pink Pearl’ 

was recognised as Keukenhof’s Best Hyacinth 

and awarded with the Keukenhof Award. 

In white and yellow hyacinths, Hogervorst/ 

Van der Salm took home the first prize with 

a hyacinth under code number, while in blue/ 

purple J.S. Pennings from Breezand swept 

the boards with a Hyacinth under code 

number but in super quality. 



Daffodils 

Leenen’s daffodils at Keukenhof. 

Daffodil fields at Leenen. 

The fifteen Indoor Flower Shows 

at Keukenhof address a wide audience, 

from consumers to industry 

peers and serve as an important 

platform for the exchange of ideas 

and research findings. In the four 

pavilions at Keukenhof, breeders, 

growers and buyers will not only 

find the most beautiful varieties but 

also the latest breeding breakthroughs. 

Starting with Freesia, 

Amaryllis and tulips, the Keukenhof 

Indoor Flower Show traditionally 

ends with the largest Lily Show 

in the world. 

On Thursday April 14th, the Keukenhof 

Daffodil Show opened its 

doors and on the same daygrowers 

and breeders participated in a VKC 

Quality Competition, including 

awards for the best daffodils 

for containers, landscaping and 

borders. 

The delicate scent of daffodils filled 

Keukenhof’s Oranje Nassau Pavilion, 

where the Daffodil Show took place 

from April 14 to 19. Daffodils are 

the ultimate heralds of spring and 

not only omnipresent in the Keukenhof 

gardens, but also in meadows 

and alongside public roads. 

Narcissus ‘Pacific Rim’ of grower’s 

association the Daffodil 10 from 

Burgervlotbrug, won the Best 

Container Daffodil Award , Narcissus 

‘All White’ from J. de Winter 

Voorhout took home the Best 

Border Daffodil while Narcissus 

‘Baby Boomer’ of Breeder’s Association 

Spectrum Breezand won the 

Best Landscape Daffodil Award.In 

the Best Stand Competition, H.M. 

Meeuwissen from Voorhout won 

the first prize. 

The royal general association of 

the Dutch bulb industry KAVB, 

named daffodil breeder and grower 

W.F. Leenen as Best Daffodil 

Breeder. For generations Leenen 

has bred daffodils and the assortment 

is astonishing and diverse 

in colours. Leenen’s assortment 

includes species which vary from 

green to nearly red and feature 

two-toned and double flowers. “In 

daffodil breeding, we look for 

upward facing flowers” JaapLeenen 

explained. Another specific breeding 

criteria is the strength of the 

stem. “We only select varieties with 

a strong stem. Daffodils on sturdy 

stems not only appeal to the florists 

and consumers, they are also much 

easier to harvest.” 

Fragrance is another important feature, 

outlines Jaap. He says, “The 

scent of daffodils and hyacinths 

is for many people the sign that 

spring has finally arrived and therefore 

these flowers are really loved.” 

For decades, Leenen has been a 

family company and Jaap’s two 

sons, Jaco and Dirk and his daughter 

Geertje, work in the company so 

the continuity is secured. 

Is it possible to makea living by 

Daffodil breeding “No,” says Jaap 

decisively. He adds, “ But we also 

propagate and grow daffodils as cut 

flowers, keeping most of our own 

varieties to ourselves. Inthe sales 

season of cut daffodils, which runs 

from November to April, we work 

exclusively together with a specific 

group of floral wholesale friends and 

our priority is to keep the supply 

chain closed. Therefore, we usually 

manage to receive very good prices 

for our flowers.” 

In an attempt to spread labour, 

Leenen also specialises in Amaryllis 

and Frittalaria breeding.“These 

flowers come later and the harvest 

and preparation of bulbs follows the 

daffodil season. Also, markets are 

different with a high demand for 

daffodils in Europe. As for Frittalaria, 

the UK is an important export destination 

for Amaryllis while Frittalaria 

is a bestseller in Japan. 

For further information visit 

www.wfleenen.com 

Leenen specialises in a beautiful 

assortment of rare varieties. The company 

is run by hard working people 

with a no nonsense approach and 

therefore really deserves recognition 

from the KAVB. 

The KAVB named daffodil breeder and grower Jaap Leenen as 

Best Daffodil Breeder. 


Cees Hageman, sales manager De Ruiter Innovations BV 

and co-organiser of the Keukenhof Rose Show. 

Keukenhof showcased the widest array of roses, 

in all shapes, sizes and colours. 

Roses 

With an estimated 100% of Dutch 

rose breeders and a 50% of Dutch 

rose growers participating, the 

Keukenhof Rose Show is strongly 

supported by the sector. The event 

has emerged as a powerful way to 

promote Dutch roses. 

Gerard de Wagt, secretary of the 

VKC (Permanent Judging Committee) 

revealed the winners of the 

2011 Rose Quality Competition on 

Thursday April 20th. 

In the category Breeders, Schreurs 

was presented with the Keukenhof 

Award with its ‘White Naomi’ rose 

with a score of 9.55 points. Kordes 

Roses International came second 

with its new large-headed, yellow 

variety ‘Sunstar’. The orange and 

yellow hued ‘Cuba Libre’ from Olij 

Rozen ended third earning 9.35 

points. 

On the growers side, Meijer 

Roses again swept the boards in the 

category Large-headed Roses with 

a stunning display of ‘Avalanche’ 

(9.55 points). Like last year this 

rose grower from Pijnacker was 

presented with the Keukenhof 

Award. In spray roses, breeding 

company Interplant from Leersum 

took home the Keukenhof Award 

for their ‘White Lady’. 

Rosa ‘Sweet Avalanche+’, from 

Meijer Roses was awarded the 

VGB Award. A jury of Dutch 

exporters elected the soft pink 

tea hybrid as the rose with 

the best marketability. ‘Red 

Naomi’ from rose grower Van 

der Drift from Kwintsheul and 

Rosa ‘Avalanche+’ from Meijer 

Roses Pijnacker took second 

and third prize with respectively. 

Both ‘Avalanche+’ and ‘Sweet 

Avalanche+’ are bred by the Lex+ 

the Rose Factory. 

Alstroemerias 

The Keukenhof Alstroemeria Show 

ran from April 28th to May 3rd 

with the winners of the VKC Quality 

Competition revealed on Thursday 

28th. The show was a sound 

successand featured more than 70 

vases and 50 different Alstroemeria 

varieties. 

Overall, premium quality flowers 

could be seen on display: colourful, 

big-budded, long-stemmed and 

exotic Alstroemerias. 

In the Best Stand Competition 

H.M. Tesselaar from Heerhugowaard 

took the first prize while 

breeder HilverdaKooij won the 

Alstroemeria Award with the pink 

and white-edged Alstroemeria 

‘Hawaiian Dream’. 

As for the growers, H.M Tesselaar 

from Heerhugowaard was 

presented with the Alstroemeria 

Grower Award for its Alstroemeria 

‘Siberia’ which scored 9.75 points. 

BZ Together2Grow took home 


OZ Export’s Marco Vermeulen presents 

Kees Zuidgeest of BZTogether2Grow 

with the VGB Trade Award. 

the VGB Trade Award for again 

Alstroemeria ‘Siberia’. 

Alstroemeria grower Tesselaar did a 

really marvellous job by occupying 

the first eleven places in the 

Quality Competition for Growers.: 

‘Siberia’ (1), ‘Komodo’(2), ‘ Balo’ 

(3), ‘Hercules’ (4) , ‘Tonatiuh’ (5), 

‘Adelaide’ (6), ‘Toronto’ (7), ‘Paxi’ 

(8) , ‘Santiago’ (9), ‘Monte Azzuro’ 

(10) and ‘Casino’ (11). 

Alstroemerias wowed 

the crowds at this 

year’s Keukenhof. 




Bouvardias and Carnations 

Keukenhof’s Bouvardia Show 

proved that even a small flower 

can have a huge potential. The 

event coincided with the official 

launch of the high profile 

Bouvardia-Make-Every-Moment- 

Special campaign. 

In the VKC Quality Competition 

breeding company Royal van 

Zanten, which acquired the Bouvardia 

nursery of John de Jong in 

Roelofarendsveen in 2009, took 

home the Keukenhof Awardfor 

their Bouvardia ‘Diamond 

Darkpink’ (9.48 points), while 

Bouvardia grower Jaap Vreeken 

from Rijsenhout ended second 

with his ‘Royal Daphe Fresco’, 

which was good for 9.36 points. 

The Bouvardia Show ran parallel 

to the Carnation Show where 

grower Zuurbier form Heerhugowaard 

was presented with the 

Keukenhof Carnation Award 

for their standard carnation 

‘Hilnotre Notre Dame’. In spray 

carnations grower André van 

Kester took the first prize with 

his Dianthus ‘White 

Fleurette’(9.48 points). 

Bouvardia, a small flower with a huge potential. 

Spray carnations stole the show. 


Exotic Phalaenopsis beauty. 

Orchids 

In large flowered cut Cymbidium 

grower Ronald Ammerlaan 

took home the first prize with 

his orange ‘Manon’ which was 

given 9.50 points, while in small 

flowered Cymbidium grower Leo 

v.d. Helm from Nootdorp was 

presented with an Award for his 

‘Sultan’. In potted Cymbidium 

Ruiter Orchids form Andijk took 

home an award for its ‘Dorothy 

Stockstill’ (9.40 points). 

In large flowered potted Phalae- 

nopsis Piko Plant from Nootdorp 

swept the boards by occupying the 

first five places in the VKC Quality 

Competition.. Piko’s ‘Fancy’ was 

recognised as overall winner and 

was good for a Keukenhof Award. 

In small flowered potted Phalaenopsis 

grower Pannekoek from Berkel 

and Rodenrijs won the first prize 

for their ‘Tiny Doll’. The VKC jury 

praised this Phalaenopsis for its 

sturdy long stems, uniform flowering 

and perfect growth habit. ||| 


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Advertising 

Basis_85x124.indd 

Index 

1 25-05-11 14:29 

COMPANY PAGE WEBSITE COMPANY PAGE WEBSITE 

Art Design Associates Inc. ...........................................49..........www.artdesignassociaties.com 

Asocolflores (Proflora 2011) ........................................ 36 ...............................www.proflora.org.co 

Braam Young Plants....................................................... 30 ........................................www.ferns.com 

Briza Publications ........................................................... 46 ...............www.briza.co.za/floraculture 

Dutch Plantin ..................................................................... 6 ..........................www.dutchplantin.com 

Eco Protecta/Hortus Supplies ......................................36...................................... www.protecta.nl 

E-Flora .................................................................................49............................... www.e-flora.waw.pl 

Ellegaard ............................................................................10.....................................www.ellepot.com 

Enbio Technology ............................................................18..................www.enbiotechnology.com 

Florasearch Inc. ...............................................................49........................... www.florasearch.com 

Floricultura B.V. ..................................................................6.............................www.floricultura.com 

Florist de Kwakel ................................................................2.................................. www.gerbera.com 

Flowers and Cents ...........................................................36...................www.flowersandcents.org 

Flowers Expo Moscow ..................................................30.............................www.flowers-expo.ru 

Herkuplast International ................................................22............................. www.herkuplast.com 

Hilverdakooij .....................................................................18.............................. www.hilverdakooij.nl 

IFEX (8th International Flower Expo Tokyo) ..............38..........................................www.ifex.jp/en 

Jiffy Products International B.V. ..................................38.....................................www.jiffypot.com 

Koppert ...............................................................................22........................................www.koppert.nl 

Lex+ .....................................................................................34................................................. www.lex.nl 

Market News Service ....................................................36.......................... www.intracen.org/mns 

Messe Essen GmbH ........................................................ 3 ................................www.ipm-messe.de 

OFA (Plug & Cutting Conference) ................................34....................www.ofa.org/conferences 

Pindstrup Mosebrug A/S ...............................................52................................www.pindstrup.com 

Plantarium..........................................................................22 ..................................www.plantarium.nl 

Policar Arava Farm .........................................................36.....................................www.smmol.com 

Rijnplant Breeding ...........................................................42..................................www.rijnplant.com 

Royalty Administration Intl. ...........................................35.......................www.rai-worldwide.com 

Sion ......................................................................................16............................................. www.sion.eu 

Takii & Co., Ltd.................................................................... 6 .........................................www.takii.co.jp 

Wetering Potlilium BV ....................................................51.................................. www.lilylooks.com 

Wilk van der Sande .........................................................34.............................................www.wvds.nl 

HTA (Horticultural Trades Ass.) ...................................50................................ www.the-hta.org.uk 

This index is provided as a service to our readers. The publisher does not assume responsibility for errors or omissions. 

Visit FloraCulture International advertisers on the internet by linking to their Websites from our Digital Online Advertiser Index at 

www.floracultureinternational.com. For readers who do not have internet access, please send your request for additional information from 

any of our advertisers to FloraCulture International B.V. (Vondelstraat 162, 1054 GW Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Be sure to include your name, 

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