Flora Culture 1

RUUD KNORR,
DIRECTOR OF
VEILING RHEIN-MAAS
Proud to be the sole auction
reporting growth in clock sales
IPM ESSEN HAS IT ALL
IPM ESSEN will open its doors
from January 22 - 25, 2013
LIGHTING
Growers will be important
users of UKs LED4CROPS
Propagation
Tapping into unconventional
Phalaenopsis cloning
FloraCulture
The business magazine
for worldwide oriculture
J
A
N
U
A
R
Y

2
0
1
3
W W W. F L O R A C U L T U R E I N T E R N AT I O N A L . C O M
i
n
t
e
r
n
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
More info www.dutchlilydays.com
Danziger Dan Flower Farm, Moshav Mishmar Hashiva 5029700. P.O.Box 186, Israel
Tel: +972-3-9602525, Fax: +972-3-9605896, E-mail: danziger@danziger.co.il, www.danziger.co.il
Extra Large, Extra White. Extra ordinary
GYPSOPHILA
Danziger Dan Flower Farm, Moshav Mishmar Hashiva 5029700. P.O.Box 186, Israel
Tel: +972-3-9602525, Fax: +972-3-9605896, E-mail: danziger@danziger.co.il, www.danziger.co.il
Extra Large, Extra White. Extra ordinary
GYPSOPHILA
The Second Chamber of the Commercial Court of Ghent has given the
following judgment in the case of:
LUC PIETERS , business manager, resident at Koewegstraat 4, 9270
Laarne,
CAROLINE DEMEYER , business manager, resident at Koeweg-
straat 4, 9270 Laarne,
Plaintiffs, represented by Philippe de Jong and Kirian Claey, lawy-
ers in Brussels;
versus
NV DEROOSE PLANTS , with registered ofce at Droogte 139,
9940 Evergem, enterprise no 0441.725.528;
Defendant, represented by Christaan Beyaert, lawyer in Ghent;
The grounds and pleadings of the parties were heard in the public
session of 10 September 2012, after which the discussion was
closed and the case was considered.
The court took note of the documents and evidence, including the
introductory writ duly served on the defendant on 25 August 2009.
I THE ACTION
The action of the plaintiffs seeks to:
- prohibit the defendant to produce, offer for sale, market, possess
for the purposes of sale or supply, exchange, sell, supply, import
or export plant material in Belgium that falls within the scope of
the protection of the Belgian Plant Variety Certicate number 1542
on penalty of a ne of EUR 1,000 per single infringement of such
prohibition and per day that that the infringement persists, on the
understanding that each plant or part of a plant within the scope of
the said protection and with respect to which one of the aforemen-
tioned acts is committed, shall constitute a single infringement
prohibit the defendant to produce, or further propagate, act with
a view to propagation, bring to the market, export, import, stock
for one of these purposes, plant material in the Netherlands that
falls within the scope of the protection of the Dutch Plant Variety
Certicate number 19379, or cause any such action to be taken,
on penalty of a ne of EUR 1,000 per single infringement of such
prohibition and per day that that the infringement persists, on the
understanding that each plant or part of a plant within the scope of
the said protection and with respect to which one of the aforemen-
tioned acts is committed, shall constitute a single infringement;
to order the defendant, at its own expense, to uproot and destroy,
monitored by a court enforcement ofcer appointed by them, all
plant material from the plants under the names 'Starlight (plant
code G8834) and 'Catherine' (plant code G8770) still in its posses-
sion or in the possession of any third party working with it under
licence or otherwise, on penalty of a ne of EUR 2,500 per day
that it shall still hold such material, with effect from fourteen days
after notication of the judgment to be pronounced;
to order the defendant, for the period to 27 February 2009, to pay
them damages which, on the basis of the information in Mr
Golverss expert report of 1 July 2009, are estimated at EUR
629,358.72, increased at the statutory interest rate by the com-
pensatory and judicial interest calculated from the date that
'Starlight (1 January 2000) and 'Catherine (1 January 2002) were
rst marketed;
to order the defendant, for the period from 27 February 2009 to the
date of the judgment to be pronounced, to pay them provisional
damages of EUR 10,000 and to require the defendant, in accor-
dance with article 35 of the Law on the protection of plant varie-
ties, not later than a date proposed by the court, in a documented
manner and under the supervision of a company auditor chosen
by the plaintiffs, to report the quantities of material produced and
traded from 28 February 2009 under the names 'Starlight (plant
code G8834) and 'Catherine' (plant code G8770) and of any other
plant material which falls within the scope of the Belgian Plant
Variety Certicate number 1542 and/or the Dutch Plant Variety
Certicate number 19379;
to order the defendant to pay the costs of the case, including the
procedural indemnity estimated at EUR 22,000, and the costs of
seizure on grounds of counterfeiting;
In the justicatory part of their pleading, the plaintiffs also ask that
the publication of the judgment be required in two specialist trade
publications of their choice, at the defendants expense;
all this through an immediately executable judgment, notwithstan-
ding any legal grounds advanced, without collateral and with the
option of payment into court.
The defendant argues, in the rst place, for the dismissal of the case
as admissible but unfounded, and for the costs of the case to be
awarded against the plaintiffs.
In the alternative, it argues that that plaintiffs claims should be
declared admissible, but before further proceeding to justice, it de-
mands that an expert should be appointed with a full remit to pro-
vide an opinion as to whether the plants it markets under the names
'Catherine' and 'Starlight' infringe the plaintiffs plant rights on their
plant Calypso, after the origin of all the plants concerned has been
investigated.
In the further alternative, the defendant claims the reduction of the
damages claimed by the plaintiffs.
II THE FACTS
The plaintiffs are managers of Exotic Plant BVBA, with registered
ofce at Koewegstraat 2-4, 9270 Laarne. This company specialises
in the development and improvement of plants of the Bromeliaceae
family.
The defendant is active in the development and sale of ornamental
plants, including Bromelias.
On 1 March 1999, the plaintiffs obtained a Belgian certicate for
the plant variety "Calypso". On 14 August 2000, they also obtained
a Dutch certicate for Calypso.
On 13 December 2000 the plaintiffs wrote to the defendant that:
At the Hortifair, they had pointed out to the defendant that its
plant Starlight had the same characteristics as Calypso;
The defendant had subsequently removed the Starlight name
board, by mutual agreement;
Despite the defendants promise, they had not yet received any
plant material for investigation at the plant variety rights re-
search centre in the Netherlands. They asked for an urgent
response.
On 23 October 2001 the agricultural research centre of Ghent delive-
red a DNA investigation of Starlight and Calypso at the request of the
plaintiffs. The investigation reached the following conclusion:
- Distinguishability: with the two primer combinations the two
cultivars cannot be distinguished, there are no polymorphisms
(presence or absence of given DNA fragments). See the electrop-
herograms.
Relationship analysis: with the two primer combinations a rela-
tionship tree was constructed for the two cultivars under inves-
tigation, and a series of other cultivars as a frame of reference.
An obvious cluster of Calypso and Starlight Bromelia guzmania
cultivars could be observed.
It can therefore be said that the Bromelia guzmania cultivars Calypso
and Starlight presumably refer to one and the same cultivar.
Subsequently a comparative morphological investigation was con-
ducted on Starlight and Calypso at the CGN (the Dutch centre for
genetic resources) in Wageningen, the Netherlands. On 18 August
2006 the plaintiffs passed a copy of the CGNs report of 21 April 2005
on to the defendant. In the report, plant inspector de Greef concluded:
The plant material was planted in the greenhouse in section 20 at
the Nergena Proeftuin (experimental garden) in Bennekom. When
both varieties were sufciently mature, the plants were treated with
acetylene (in gaseous form) in order to force the plants to ower.
During cultivation the plants were inspected regularly to see if there
were any differences between them. There was a very small dif-
ference in plant size visible, but this can be explained by the fact
that the samples were not the same size when they were supplied.
Material from two different companies always differs.
On 20 August 2003 both samples were in full ower and could be
assessed. There was only a difference in size between the 'Calypso'
and 'Starlight plants (Calypso was a little larger). This difference, as
indicated above, was present from the start. On 2 September 2003,
Mr M. van Winden examined these plantings and could not explain
what the differences might be. He did recommend cutting the plants
after owering, because that could cause differences to appear. This
was carried out after owering in January 2004, but there have so
far been no demonstrable differences. However the material is no
longer in ower. Since both companies have concluded that further
investigation makes no sense, I have been asked to issue a report
on the results.
Conclusion:
From this investigation, it appears that 'Calypso' and 'Starlight' do
not differ from each other morphologically. The only difference is the
very slight difference in size which already existed on delivery. Since
this difference appeared during cultivation itself, this cannot be inter-
preted as a genetic difference.
Since October 2006 the parties have sought an amicable settlement
of the dispute.
However, the negotiations did not lead to any result and broke down
in December 2007.
Meanwhile, a further dispute arose between the parties regarding
the defendants bromelia Catherine.
On 16 January 2009, via a unilateral application, the plaintiffs ob-
tained an order for seizure on grounds of counterfeiting, and the
appointment of Hendrik Jan de Greef and Luc Golvers as experts.
Notice of the order was given on 27 February 2009.
On 16 May 2009 Mr de Greef sent a DNA analysis to the court.
On 25 May 2009 Mr de Greef submitted his interim report.
On 1 July 2009, Mr Golvers submitted his nal report.
On 25 August 2009 the plaintiff served a writ on the merits.
On 14 December 2010 Mr de Greef submitted his nal report.
III DISCUSSION
1. THE INFRINGEMENT OF THE PLAINTIFFS PLANT
BREEDERS RIGHTS.
The expert witness Mr de Greef conducted a comparative genologi-
cal investigation of Calypso, Catherine and Starlight. He then carried
out a morphological comparative study of Catherine and Calypso.
Regarding the morphological study of Catherine and Calypso, the
expert concluded:
The 'Calypso' sample and the two 'Catherine' samples examined
do not differ from one another morphologically. Although the values
measured may differ slightly, this is insufcient to classify this as a
distinction. According to the calibration test the measured values fall
within one expression. However, the bract characteristics give rise
to discussion. Hypsophylls, bracts and prophylls are all bracts. Today
these characteristics are dened more clearly. Hypsophylls are now
called leafy bracts, and bracts which give colour to the inorescence
are now known as ower bracts.
Prophylls are also ower bracts, but of another order, and are still called
prophylls. In 1995 this classication had not yet been clearly dened,
and the term prophylls was regularly confused with the (ower) bracts
which give these species their red colour. The conclusion is that these
three samples are the same. This is also conrmed by the report on
the DNA analysis which was submitted to the court on 16 May 2009.
For the morphological evaluation of Starlight and Calypso, the expert
refers to the report of 21 April 2005.
The plaintiffs rely on the ndings of the expert. The defendant chal-
lenges these.
Firstly, the AFLP method used allegedly does not prove that the plants
are also morphologically alike. However, the defendants criticism is
unconvincing. The expert has conducted a phenotype (morphological)
investigation as well as a genological study. That a small genetic
difference can make a large phenological difference is true, but is
irrelevant given that a phenotype study also took place. The results
of the genological investigation thus do not replace the phenotype
study, but instead conrm its results.
The suggestion that the morphological investigation was unreliable
because it has not been established that the expert received Calypso
from the plaintiffs, rather than Starlight or Catherine, is unconvincing.
There is no reason to assume that the expert uncritically received
plants from the plaintiffs and did not pick them out himself at their
registered ofces.
The defendant then questions whether the present Calypso still has
the same varietal characteristics as when the plant variety certi-
cates were granted. Once again, this is a mere assertion. In any case
the burden of proof lies with the defendant, which has failed to make
its case.
It can be assumed with sufcient certainty that the plants
Catherine, Calypso and Starlight are now of the same variety, as the
various investigations show:
That no relevant phenotype distinction can be made between
Starlight and Calypso (report of 21 April 2005);
That no relevant phenotype distinction can be made between Ca-
therine and Calypso (report of 13 December 2010);
That the samples of Starlight, Calypso and Catherine were geno-
typically very closely related.
The argument that the expert took plants of the same size and not of
the same age does not convince. The expert documented the (slight)
Public session of 3 December 2012
Second Chamber
no A/09/03215 Rep. No 9114 Exotic Plant versus
difference in size properly, and took it into account in his investiga-
tion. In view of the very small size when the plants were collected in
comparison with their full mature size, we can accept that the plants
sampled were of around the same age.
The credibility of the expert investigation is not undermined by the
fact that the expert based his conclusions on his morphological in-
vestigation of 2005 rather than conducting a new phenotype study of
the Calypso and Starlight plants.
Firstly, the defendant does not prove that the two plants have since
changed (this was disproved by the genological investigation).
Secondly, the defendant agreed after the morphological investi-
gation of 2005 that further investigation would be pointless, and
said at that time that it was prepared to pay royalties, which is
hard to explain if it did not believe that both plants were the same
(plaintiffs exhibit III.8).
The investigation ordered by defendant itself does not have the same
value as a judicial investigation in which all parties are represented.
Nor is it clear how visual discrimination by the owners could overturn
the result of the expert investigation.
Little objective value can be afforded to messages from messrs
Bunnik and Koolhaas, suppliers of the plants under investigation
to the defendants and not involved. The court concurs with the
plaintiffs observation that no evidence has been put forward
of an alleged plant breeders right to Catherine and Starlight,
which should be possible for the defendant. The suggestion that
Messrs Bunnik or Koolhaas are the owners of this plant breeders
right, and that it can therefore not submit it to the court, is a
very poor excuse.
In summary, the infringement of the plant breeders right has been
established. The action for an injunction is found to be justied.
2. DAMAGES
The amount of the damages was the subject of the expert investiga-
tion by Mr Golvers. As the gures were provided by the defendant,
and contain discrepancies that could not be explained, the highest
gure was applied in each case.
The defendant refers in the rst instance to Article 2262bis para-
graph 1 of the civil code. Since the plaintiffs only issued the writ on
25 August 2009, the extra-contractual infringements from before 25
August 2004 are allegedly time-barred.
The plaintiffs rightly reply that the ve-year time limitation of Article
2262bis paragraph 1 of the civil code begins to run from the day after
that on which the injured party became aware of the loss... and of the
identity of the persons liable.
Knowledge of the loss and of the identity of the party responsible
assumes a sufcient degree of certainty. A mere assumption is not
enough.
In the case of Starlight, consequently, the plaintiffs knowledge, on
21 April 2005, of the comparative morphological study by the CGN
can be taken as the starting point for the period of limitation.
The notication of seizure on grounds of counterfeiting on 27 Febru-
ary 2009 also halts the period of limitation.
All infringements fall within the twenty-year period established by
Article 2262bis paragraph 1 subparagraph 2 of the civil code.
The infringements before 25 August 2004 are therefore not time-
barred.
In the case of Catherine, the period of limitation only begins to run
from 15 December 2010, the point at which, following the morpholo-
gical expert investigation, there was sufcient certainty as to the loss
and the identity of the perpetrator.
Again, all infringements in the case of Catherine fall with the scope
of Article 2262bis paragraph 1 subparagraph 2.
The claim is not time-barred in any respect.
In the second instance, the defendant claims that the protection of
plant breeders rights does not apply to sales concluded in the USA
and China by subsidiaries and other enterprises.
This is correct. The propagation of plants and tissues in the USA and
China are not covered by the protection of the law of 20 May 1975
protecting plant varieties.
However, the plaintiffs rightly note that the denition of trading in
Article 2 of the Law of 20 May 1975 includes possessing, selling,
offering for sale and import or export.
This means that the plaintiff may claim a royalty for all the plants
that were found in the defendants possession, or were sold and/
or exported by it.
The sales results achieved by its subsidiaries in, e.g. China, cannot
be taken separately into account. Firstly this lies outside the territo-
rial protection of Belgian law. Secondly, this entails (partial) double
counting with the exported plants and clumps.
There is no reason to double the normal royalty which the plaintiffs
estimate at EUR 0.065. Such doubling cannot be deemed to cover
the loss which the plaintiffs have suffered, now that the numbers
sold are known.
There is even less reason to pay more than one royalty for the clumps.
Indeed, once abroad clumps can be propagated even further. This
also applies to normal plants.
Now the defendant admits that it can (on average) produce four
plants per clump, justifying a fourfold royalty per clump or 0.065 x
4 = EUR 0.26.
These principles lead to the following calculation:
1. Catherine
Plants found: 62,259 x 0.065 = EUR 4,046.84
Clumps found: 1,924 x 0.26 = EUR 500.24
Plants traded: 877,042 x 0.065 - EUR 57,007.73
Clumps traded: (3,510 + 28,433) x 0.26 = EUR 8,305.18
SUBTOTAL: EUR 69,859.99
2. Starlight
Clumps found: 3,727 x 0.26 = EUR 969.02
Plants traded: 465,602 x 0.065 = EUR 30,264.13
Clumps traded: (6,180 + 33,377) x 0.26 = EUR 10,284.82
SUBTOTAL: EUR 41,517.97
TOTAL: EUR 111,377.96
Compensatory interest is granted from an average date, 30 June
2005 for Starlight and 30 June 2006 for Catherine.
For plants and clumps traded from 2009 an additional expert inves-
tigation may be ordered, also under the supervision of the court and
not by an auditor appointed by the plaintiffs.
A provisional sum of EUR 10.000,00 may be awarded for infringe-
ments from 1 January 2009.
3. THE FURTHER CLAIMS
The plaintiffs demand the uprooting and destruction of the plant ma-
terial still present. Under Article 36 paragraph 5 of the law of 20 May
1975 this can be granted.
Given the persistent nature of the defendants infringement, even
when faced with unambiguous expert reports, the claim for publica-
tion in two trade journals is justied.
In view of the nature of the measures claimed, and the continuing in-
crease in losses to the plaintiff, immediate enforceability is granted.
ON THESE GROUNDS, THE COURT,
having heard the arguments:
With regard to Articles 2, 32, 34, 36, 37 and 41 of the Law of 15 June
1935 on the use of languages in legal proceedings,
Declares the claim admissible and well-founded as follows:
Orders the defendant to pay to the plaintiffs the sum of:
EUR 69,859.99, plus interest at the statutory interest rate from the
averaged date of 30 June 2006 until the day of full payment;
EUR 41,517.97, plus interest at the statutory interest rate from the
averaged date of 30 June 2005 until the day of full payment;
EUR 10,000.00 provisionally for infringements since 1 January 2009;
Prohibits the defendant to produce, offer for sale, market, possess
for the purposes of sale or supply, exchange, sell, supply, import or
export plant material in Belgium that falls within the scope of the
protection of the Belgian Plant Variety Certicate number 1542 on
penalty of a ne of EUR 1,000 per single infringement of such prohi-
bition and per day that that the infringement persists, on the under-
standing that each plant or part of a plant within the scope of the said
protection and with respect to which one of the aforementioned acts
is committed, shall constitute a single infringement;
Prohibits the defendant to produce, or further propagate, act with a
view to propagation, bring to the market, export, import, stock for one
of these purposes, plant material in the Netherlands that falls within
the scope of the protection of the Dutch Plant Variety Certicate num-
ber 19379, or cause any such action to be taken, on penalty of a ne
of 1,000 EUR per single infringement of such prohibition and per day
that that the infringement persists, on the understanding that each
plant or part of a plant within the scope of the said protection and
with respect to which one of the aforementioned acts is committed,
shall constitute a single infringement;
Orders the defendant, at its own expense, to uproot and destroy, mo-
nitored by a court enforcement ofcer appointed by the plaintiffs, all
plant material from the plants under the names 'Starlight (plant code
G8834) and 'Catherine' (plant code G8770) still in its possession or
in the possession of any third party working with it under licence or
otherwise, on penalty of a ne of 2,500 EUR per day that it shall still
hold such material, with effect from fourteen days after notication
of the present judgment;
Appoints as expert Mr Luc Golvers, with ofces at Baron de Vi-
ronlaan 108/11, 1700 Dilbeek, with instructions to report in a docu-
mented manner the quantities of material produced and traded by
the defendant from 28 February 2009 until today under the names
'Starlight (plant code G8834) and 'Catherine' (plant code G8770) and
of any other plant material which falls within the scope of the Belgian
Plant Variety Certicate number 1542 and/or the Dutch Plant Variety
Certicate number 19379;
Grants the expert a period of eight days after the notication of this judg-
ment to refuse the instruction, with appropriately reasoned justication.
Rules that consequent upon the expert investigation, the expert and
the parties shall further act in accordance with the provisions of Arti-
cles 962 to 991bis of the Judicial Code, proceeding as follows:
rules that the expert shall have 15 days following notication to
announce the location, the day and the time of the start of his
activities. The expert shall give notice by registered letter to
the parties and by normal letter to the chairman and members
of the court;
the expert shall, during the course of his task, himself determine
whether it is necessary to have recourse to technical advisors;
the sum of the advance that must be paid by the defendant to the
court registry (account no 679-2008472-87) within 14 days of
the acceptance of the instructions by the expert, is set at EUR
2,000.00 ex. VAT;
11
the
reasonable proportion of the advance that may be paid to
the expert is set at EUR 1,000.00 ex. VAT, and will be released
within ten days of receipt;
the expert will himself determine the reasonable period within
which the parties may submit their comments on his provi-
sional opinion;
the deadline for the submission of the nal report shall be four months
from the date on which the expert commences his activities,
without prejudice to article 972bis, paragraph 2, second subpara-
graph of the Judicial Code (If all the parties or their legal advisors
request postponement, the expert must grant this request. In all
other cases he may permit or refuse the postponement and shall
notify the judge of his decision by ordinary letter.)
Rules that the expert is not permitted to accept a direct payment from
a party to the proceedings (article 509quater of the Criminal Code);
Orders the publication of the judgment in two specialist trade jour-
nals of the plaintiffs choice, at the defendants expense;
Dismisses the counterclaim for the appointment of an expert with a
comprehensive remit as admissible but unfounded;
Sends the case to the special roll of the Second Chamber; Reserves
the costs;
Declares the judgment immediately enforceable regardless of the ap-
plication of any legal remedy and without collateral.
Judgment is thus pronounced in ordinary open session on Monday
the third of December two thousand and twelve.
The case was judged by Frederik De Vylder, judge at the court, chair-
man: Andr Van Maldegem and Frank De Wilde, commercial judges,
assisted in their judgment by Alwin Bruynooghe, registrar.
Bruynooghe F. De Wilde A. Van Maldege F. De Vylder
Deroose Plants
Floraculture International
encourages the pursuit of
joint activities in areas of
mutual interest with national
and international societies,
companies and organizations.
Agreements have been
reached between Floraculture
International and leading
growers and trade associations
in 24 countries. is unique
partnership includes a
complimentary copy for each
member of the registered
associations. Floraculture
International is proud to
announce the cooperation
with the following
associations.
KwaZulu Natal
Flower Grower's
Association
www.ibraflor.com
Turksh
FONT
HARRNGTON
From the editor 09
Miami 15
Dutch Comfort 19
Happy Gardening 35
Certiable in California 41
Green Vitamins
reinvigorate Iberora
Spains largest trade show and conference for
the ornamental horticulture and gardening
industry took place at the Feria Valencia exhi-
bition centre from October 3 to 6, 2012.
by Ron van der Ploeg 16
Nursery stock conference
Around 350 people from 12 countries took
part in the international Research and
Development in Nursery Stock conference,
which was held in Oarw Mazowiecki near
Warsaw on 17-18 November.
by Alicja Cecot 21
Unconventional
Calvin Andersons use of unconventional scien-
tic methods to clone Phalaenopsis orchids has
proven to be very successful.
Messe IPM Essen
Over 1,500 exhibitors from more than
40 countries will present themselves at
the world's premier horticultural trade
exhibition.
Jordan has key ingredients
for a vibrant ower industry
An overview of the Jordanian horticulture
scene.
by Eyal Policar and Saleh Adwan 30
Reducing spread of plant
pathogens with disinfestants
Disinfestants are used to eliminate pathogens
from areas where previous crops were grown or
from tools that contact infected plant tissue or
infested soil or organic media. Like all disease
control methods the purpose is to minimize
the occurrence and severity of disease.
by Warren Copes 39
LED4CROPS
Europes biggest open horticultural research
facility for LED lighting technology went
into operation in England last year. Sited at
Stockbridge Technology Centre (STC Ltd.),
it is co-sponsored by the Dutch company
Philips Lighting and by CambridgeHOK.
by John Sutton 42
Reliable quality links
Grnewald to Ellepot System
Jonge Planten Grnewald in e Netherlands
produces about 55 million plant plugs annually
for Grnewald Group customers all over Europe.
All plugs are Ellepots, made on one of two Elle-
gaard substrate pot machines that have operated
in s Gravenzande succesfully since 1999.
by Harmen Kamminga 46
Proud to be the sole ower auction
reporting growth in clock sales
FCI recently spoke with Ruud Knorr, director of ower auction Veiling Rhein-Maas,
about business and asked him about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead
for the German Dutch ower auction and its role in the international market.
by Ron van der Ploeg
January 2013 | www.FloraCultureInternational.com 7
10
World News 15
Prices 37
International Events 45
Advertising Index 49
Table of Contents
January 2013 Volume 23 Number 1
URBINATI SRL , Via della Liberazione 18 47030 San Mauro Pascoli (FC) Italy
Tel +39 0541 932018 - www.urbinati.com - info@urbinati.com
Nursery technology
TRAYWASHER
LAV 10
MADE IN ITALY
WE WI LL BE AT
IPM ESSEN
BOOTH 3D80
Jungle Jacks
Thailand, Ltd.
Were pleased to offer the worlds nest plumeria,
including our exclusive dwarf varieties, available from
cuttings to landscape specimens. Shipping worldwide.
Please contact Sales@JungleJacksThailand.com
for further information and ordering details.
Divine, dwarf Plumeria rubra
www.oricultura.com
Leading producer of
young orchid plants
orchids@oricultura.com
A
since 1933
The orchid professionals
Noordlierweg 18b
2678 LV De Lier - The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)174-520713 -F: +31 (0)174-510017
info@armadayoungplants.nl - www.armadayoungplants.nl
Armad A
Breeding Chrysanthemum and Aster, potplants and perennials
Supplying high quality young plants and cuttings
Offering licences for propagation and production
Marketing your varieties worldwide
Project breeding exclusively for you
Sweet Star Aurelio Captiva Beach
C
rea
tin
g
y
ou
r va
rieties!
C
rea
tin
g
y
ou
r va
rieties!
Visit us at IPM ESSEN
HALL 2 - 2a12
advESSEN2012 11-12-12 16:02 Pagina 1
Editorial & Administration Oces
FloraCulture International
Business address: ECA Oce 140-21, Legmeerdijk 313,
1431 GB Aalsmeer
Postal address: Postbus 1081, 1430 BB Aalsmeer
T (31) 297 769 095 F (31) 297 365 366
Circulation Administration: FBW Woerden P.O. Box 612,
3440 AP Woerden, the Netherlands
T (31) 34 84 31 393 F (31) 34 84 32 552 info@fbw-woerden.nl
Editors: Ron van der Ploeg (ron@oracultureinternational.com)
Editorial team: Chris Beytes, Lotte Bjarke, Arturo Croci,
Audrey Gerber, Marie-Franoise Petitjean and Jennifer White
Founding editor: Debbie Hamrick
Publisher: FloraCulture International
(jaap@oracultureinternational.com)
Printer: Habo DaCosta
Designers: SDA Print + Media, Dirk van der Burgh
Copy correction and sub-editing: Vanessa Heinrich
Advertising Sales Oces
Europe, Africa, Asia/Pacic
International Accounts Management:
FloraCulture International,
Business address: ECA Oce 140-21, Legmeerdijk 313,
1431 GB Aalsmeer
Postal address: Postbus 1081, 1430 BB Aalsmeer, the Netherlands
T (31) 297 769 095 F (31) 297 365 366 M (31) 62 21 65 220
Dennis Seriese (dennis@oracultureinternational.com)
Angie Duree (angie@oracultureinternational.com)
Miguel Mendes de Leon (info@oracultureinternational.com)
M (31) 6 81543366
Italy, Southern France:
Arturo Croci, (acearturo@yahoo.it)
Scandinavia: Lotte Bjarke (post@lottebjarke.dk)
LB Text & Id, Sndervej 10, 8350 Hundslund, Denmark
T (45) 21 48 75 30
USA, Canada, Central America:
Paul Black (pblack@ballpublishing.com)
Ball Publishing, 622 Town Road,
PO Box 1660, West Chicago, IL 60186, United States
T (1)6 30 23 13 675 F (1)6 30 23 15 254
Miami: William Armellini (william@oracultureinternational.com)
China: Dr Sun Jing Xian (consultingower@yahoo.com.cn)
India: Niranjan Deshpande (team@kisan.com)
T (91) 20 302 52 000
Concordia res parvae crescunt
FloraCulture International (ISSN1051-9076) is published monthly.
Worldwide distribution. 2013 FloraCulture International magazine.
All rights reserved. No portion of editorial may be reproduced
in any form without written permission of the publisher.
Publisher is not liable for advertisements using illegally obtained images.
Send address changes to FloraCulture International magazine,
Postal address: Postbus 1081, 1430 BB Aalsmeer, the Netherlands.
Editorial & Administration Ofces
FloraCulture International B.V.
P.O.Box 82, 1850 AB Heiloo, the Netherlands
T (31) 72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521
Editors: Anabel Evans (anabel@oracultureinternational.com)
Ron van der Ploeg (ron@oracultureinternational.com)
Editorial team: Edward Bent, Chris Beytes, Lotte Bjarke, Arturo Croci,
Hans De Vries, David Gray, Kerry Herndon, Helen Moody,
Marie-Franoise Petitjean, Marta Pizano, Leaora Policar, Jennifer White
Cover: California Pack Trials
Publisher: FloraCulture International B.V.
T (31) 20 61 82 666 F (31) 20 61 81 333
Printer: Hollandia Printing, Heerhugowaard
Designer: Hollandia Media Productions
Cartoonist: Bas Kohler
Advertising Sales Ofces
T(31)20 61 82 666 F (31)20 61 81 333 M(31) 62 21 65 220
Ofce Manager: Claudia Stokreef
(claudia@oracultureinternational.com)
P.O. Box 82, 1850 AB Heiloo, the Netherlands
T (31)72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521 M (31) 63 03 99 450
Arturo Croci (arturo@oracultureinternational.com)
Scandinavia: Lotte Bjarke (lotte@oracultureinternational.com)
LB Text & Id, Sndervej 10, 8350 Hundslund, Denmark T(45) 21 48 75 30
South America: Marta Pizano de Marquez (marta@oracultureinternational.com)
Horti Tecnia Ltda., Calle 85 No20-25 Of. 202B, Bogot, Colombia
T (57) 15 30 20 36 F (57) 12 36 25 54 hortitec@unete.com
Miami: William Armellini(William@oracultureinternational.com)
Paul Black (pblack@ballpublishing.com) Lucas Nicholas
(lnicholas@ballpublishing.com) Ball Publishing, 622 Town Road,
T(1)6 30 23 13 675 F(1)6 30 23 15 254
Middle East: Eyal Policar (eyal@oracultureinternational.com)
T (972) 54 42 97 002 F (972) 86 58 19 07
Japan: Eiji Yoshikawa (callems@world.odn.ne.jp)
EMS Inc., 2-22-8 Matsubara, Setagaya-ku,Tokyo 156-0043, Japan
T (81) 33 32 75 756 F (81) 33 32 27 933
East Africa: David Gray (gray@africaonline.co.ke)
South Africa: Cilla Lowen (cilla@oracultureinternational.com)
T (27) 22 4857058 F (27) 22 4857415
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 Piza-
node Marquez
William
Armellini
Paul
Black
Lucas
Nicholas
Eyal
Policar
Arturo
Croci
Eiji
Yoshikawa
Cilla Lowen
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, the Netherlands.
In my opinion
With compliments
Quality, innovation, sustainability and logistics are words that
often appear in our editorial. is is a compliment to you, the
oriculture industry; the interviewees and contributors remain
focused on what can be rather than what isnt. e cut ower
market is di cult, 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, Ethiopias
explosive oriculture 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 ights between Nairobi and Atlanta; a deal between
Kenyas Astral Aviation and Etihad Crystal Cargo for the Nairobi-
Abu Dhabi route; should all have positive eects 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.
e Breeder Open Days in the Netherlands for the number one in
cut owers 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. e RHP Foundation is guiding the will to improve of
50 a 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
6001554_06_Colofon.indd 6 27-04-2009 13:08:58
Colofon
Ron van der Ploeg, editor
ron@oracultureinternational.com
From the editor
T (31) 72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521
T (31) 20 61 82 666 F (31) 20 61 81 333
T(31)20 61 82 666 F (31)20 61 81 333 M(31) 62 21 65 220
T (31)72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521 M (31) 63 03 99 450
T(1)6 30 23 13 675 F(1)6 30 23 15 254
T (972) 54 42 97 002 F (972) 86 58 19 07
T (81) 33 32 75 756 F (81) 33 32 27 933
T (27) 22 4857058 F (27) 22 4857415
Colofon

Ron van
der Ploeg

Dennis
Seriese
Claudia
Stokreef
Lotte
Bjarke
Marta Piza-
node Marquez
William
Armellini
Paul
Black
Lucas
Nicholas
Eyal
Policar
Arturo
Croci
Eiji
Yoshikawa
Cilla Lowen
In my opinion
With compliments
6001554_06_Colofon.indd 6 27-04-2009 13:08:58
T (31) 72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521
T (31) 20 61 82 666 F (31) 20 61 81 333
T(31)20 61 82 666 F (31)20 61 81 333 M(31) 62 21 65 220
T (31)72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521 M (31) 63 03 99 450
T(1)6 30 23 13 675 F(1)6 30 23 15 254
T (972) 54 42 97 002 F (972) 86 58 19 07
T (81) 33 32 75 756 F (81) 33 32 27 933
T (27) 22 4857058 F (27) 22 4857415
Colofon

Ron van
der Ploeg

Dennis
Seriese
Claudia
Stokreef
Lotte
Bjarke
Marta Piza-
node Marquez
William
Armellini
Paul
Black
Lucas
Nicholas
Eyal
Policar
Arturo
Croci
Eiji
Yoshikawa
Cilla Lowen
In my opinion
With compliments
6001554_06_Colofon.indd 6 27-04-2009 13:08:58
Angie
Duffree
Dr. Sun
Jing Xian
T (31) 72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521
T (31) 20 61 82 666 F (31) 20 61 81 333
T(31)20 61 82 666 F (31)20 61 81 333 M(31) 62 21 65 220
T (31)72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521 M (31) 63 03 99 450
T(1)6 30 23 13 675 F(1)6 30 23 15 254
T (972) 54 42 97 002 F (972) 86 58 19 07
T (81) 33 32 75 756 F (81) 33 32 27 933
T (27) 22 4857058 F (27) 22 4857415
Colofon

Ron van
der Ploeg

Dennis
Seriese
Claudia
Stokreef
Lotte
Bjarke
Marta Piza-
node Marquez
William
Armellini
Paul
Black
Lucas
Nicholas
Eyal
Policar
Arturo
Croci
Eiji
Yoshikawa
Cilla Lowen
In my opinion
With compliments
6001554_06_Colofon.indd 6 27-04-2009 13:08:58
e organisers of the worlds premier horticultural trade show, IPM
Essen will most probably still be rolling on the oor with laughter.
And right they are! What would you do if you read that your biggest
competitor, Horti Fair fades slowly into the shadow by moving to the
dark, old and dusty catacombs of ower auction FloraHolland, while
you yourself can jump for joy because youve just been given the green
light for a multi-million euro overhaul of half of your buildings?
Insiders have dubbed this massive, four year long, renovation project
Messe Essens open heart surgery as it will not have direct impact on
the day to day running of the exhibition centre. Starting in September
2013, Messe Essen will completely rebuild its east wing, a project that
will make it the most modern and functional single level facilities in the
world oering plenty of natural daylight.
e 2013 IPM Essen show, which will open its doors on January
22-25, couldnt have come at a more perfect time! From the complete
diversity of plants and owers via oristry highlights right up to the
newest trends from technology, equipment and services - over 1,500
exhibitors from more than 40 countries will present themselves at the
world's largest horticultural trade show. e top position of IPM ESSEN
will once again be underpinned not only by the constantly growing
internationality amongst the exhibitors and the visitors but also by an
extensive range on oer as well as a rst-class supporting programme.
For 2013, the sectoral meeting point at Messe Essen will expect around
60,000 trade visitors who will want to establish business contacts, to
consolidate existing ones even further and to obtain information about
innovations, market opportunities and future perspectives in the green
sector. Page 25.
Even the best trade shows, however, go through down cycles, but the
mark of a true survivor is the ability to minimise the length of those
weaker years and come back as strong as ever. In the past few years,
it seemed that the Iberora trade show in the Eastern Spanish city of
Valencia was stuck in the midst of one of those down cycles. Last year
it came back stronger than ever. A mega dose of Green Vitamins (the
ocial theme) boosted plenty of new initiatives and exciting ideas.
Page 16.
Speaking about new ideas, FCI recently spoke with Ruud Knorr, director
of ower auction Veiling Rhein-Maas. We asked him about business and
the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the German Dutch
ower auction and its role in the international market. Page 10.
Also in this issue, our colleague Eyal Policar and Saleh Adwan provide
a comprehensive overview of the Jordanian horticulture scene. ey
travelled down to Ammans Bursa, the auction house and the hub of the
Jordanian horticulture scene. Page 30.
At the start of a new year, everyone here at FCI would like to take this
opportunity to wish you all a prosperous New Year. And a special thanks
goes out to our loyal readers, who make working for FCI and all of our
themed publications such a rewarding and challenging job. We also
want to thank our contributing writers, columnists, photographers,
and technical reviewers for their time and expertise.
Niranjan
Deshpande
T (31) 72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521
T (31) 20 61 82 666 F (31) 20 61 81 333
T(31)20 61 82 666 F (31)20 61 81 333 M(31) 62 21 65 220
T (31)72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521 M (31) 63 03 99 450
T(1)6 30 23 13 675 F(1)6 30 23 15 254
T (972) 54 42 97 002 F (972) 86 58 19 07
T (81) 33 32 75 756 F (81) 33 32 27 933
T (27) 22 4857058 F (27) 22 4857415
Colofon

Ron van
der Ploeg

Dennis
Seriese
Claudia
Stokreef
Lotte
Bjarke
Marta Piza-
node Marquez
William
Armellini
Paul
Black
Lucas
Nicholas
Eyal
Policar
Arturo
Croci
Eiji
Yoshikawa
Cilla Lowen
In my opinion
With compliments
6001554_06_Colofon.indd 6 27-04-2009 13:08:58
T (31) 72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521
T (31) 20 61 82 666 F (31) 20 61 81 333
T(31)20 61 82 666 F (31)20 61 81 333 M(31) 62 21 65 220
T (31)72 53 23 522 F (31) 72 53 23 521 M (31) 63 03 99 450
T(1)6 30 23 13 675 F(1)6 30 23 15 254
T (972) 54 42 97 002 F (972) 86 58 19 07
T (81) 33 32 75 756 F (81) 33 32 27 933
T (27) 22 4857058 F (27) 22 4857415
Colofon

Ron van
der Ploeg

Dennis
Seriese
Claudia
Stokreef
Lotte
Bjarke
Marta Piza-
node Marquez
William
Armellini
Paul
Black
Lucas
Nicholas
Eyal
Policar
Arturo
Croci
Eiji
Yoshikawa
Cilla Lowen
In my opinion
With compliments
6001554_06_Colofon.indd 6 27-04-2009 13:08:58
10 www.FloraCultureInternational.com | January 2013
Veiling Rhein-Maas
FCI recently spoke
with Ruud Knorr,
director of ower
auction Veiling
Rhein-Maas, about
business and
asked him about
the challenges
and opportunities
that lie ahead for
the German Dutch
ower auction
and its role in the
international market
Whilst they are managing to
endure this difcult period,
growers would welcome a
helping hand from Veiling
Rhein-Maas
Veiling Rhein-Maas takes an
pro active approach by organising
grower meetings. e main goal
is to bring growers and customers
together. is month, for example,
well hold our second Grower and
Customer Day which will host an
exciting line of speakers who will
talk about trends and marketing
tools. Our assortment managers
will be present to nd out about
the product mix that ts the Veiling
Rhein-Maas market place the most.
Ultimately the decision of what to
grow is taken by the individual en-
trepreneur, but we try to help him.
In our annual production review,
for example we ask growers what
quantities and varieties they plan
to market at our auction. It has also
become increasingly important for
auctions to work together with the
breeders to ensure the right amount
of specialist products at our market
place.
How big an issue is the lack
of specialist products?
Statistics from FloraHolland reveal
that the problem isnt as urgent
as the Dutch association of oral
wholesalers would like to let us be-
lieve. Nevertheless we are keen on
providing a complete range of cut
owers and pot plants. Last month,
I traveled to Israel, a country that
has witnessed a signicant decline
in summer ower production.
Gone are the days when Israeli
growers sold 80 trolleys of
two sides to every story. Speaking of
crisis, one could imagine that at the
beginning of a crisis people go out
less and prefer to stay in their own
home and garden, which is good for
our business. On the other hand,
individual buyers and growers really
suer. It is becoming increasingly
dicult to secure payments from
oral wholesalers. Bank guarantees
are an eective way of securing
performance and payment in an
increasingly challenging business
environment but obviously they are
very time consuming.
At growers level, a one cent higher
or lower yield can make the dif-
ference between business success
and business closure. Especially the
German cut ower growers face
sky high energy prices as they dont
benet from preferential gas prices
like their Dutch counterparts do.
In contrast, German nursery stock
growers can look back on a good
season.
Over the last ten years, operating
margins have shrunk signicantly.
I think the situation is much more
tense than before. Nevertheless, no
matter how dicult the path is,
growers have always had the ability
to persevere and hope for better
times. ats their unique strength,
mentality and culture.
I reckon the real eects of the crisis
are still to come. When you talk
to the banks, its not a happy story
they tell. eir prediction is that a
number of nurseries and wholesale
companies will fold in the next
few years. Consumers continue to
tighten their wallets and it is clear
that next year well have to work
harder to achieve the same results.
So Ruud, let me start with the
rst question. How is your
company doing?
Quite well. ere are always things
we could have done better but
overall I feel satised. 2012 showed
good growth and higher prices for
our growers. At the end of the day,
our raison d' tre is to help growers
achieve the best possible price.
Until week 45 we saw a 10.5% in-
crease in prices, compared to 2011,
for the total range of products. is
has resulted in a turnover growth
of around 5.7%. Also, last year,
the ongoing streamlining of our
operational process started to bear
fruit with lower costs and higher
revenues than expected in our
budget.
Did the economic downturn
affected your business as
much this year as it did in
previous years?
e nancial crisis continues to
dominate the news, but there are
Growth in
clock sales
Limonium in front of our clock.
Especially in winter time the
absence of Israelean summer ow-
ers is clearly visible. We are doing
our utmost to meet the demand by
teaming up with Puglia (Southern
Italy) based growers. We try to
convince them to grow Matthiola,
Calendula and Antirrhinum. Puglia
has the potential of becoming
the new Israel. e owers can
be trucked to our logistic hub in
Latina to be regrouped ready for the
North European ower auctions.
We are currently sourcing Ranun-
culus from Italian growers, who last
year were invited to our auction.
Meanwhile we continue to look
after our local growers as they are
the foundation of our success. e
Western European market isnt
growing. e cake is divided and
we have to enlarge our slice, which
is a very dicult and time consum-
ing process.
Is Veiling Rhein-Maas really
evolving into an online sales
platform?
Not yet. Last year we estimated
the KOA (Kopen Op Afstand =
remote buying system) sales would
increase to 20%. But by the end of
2012 we had only reached a modest
17% to 18% KOA growth. We
now have 219 KOA buyers and see
ourselves as followers rather than
leaders. We carefully look at what
is happening in the Netherlands
where is much more pressure to
go virtual. e truth is that our
auction room is still lled with 450
to 500 buyers on a Monday and
Wednesday morning and more
than 350 buyers on other weekdays.
We are proud of our own specic
buyers audience including small
to medium-sized wholesalers who
attach great value to checking the
product with their own eyes.
In terms of online sales, 2013 will
be an important year as we will
have to deliver the Linnaeus project
which aims at a massive reduction
of the VBN product codes. For
the introduction of six new digital
sort codes, well make partly use of
projection technology. Meanwhile,
we will continue to expand our own
KOA system as the move to online
services is unstoppable. We dont
care that were a little bit behind as
we are trying to combine the best of
two worlds by using the Landgard
and the FloraHolland systems. If
you ask me if the auction clock will
continue to exist, my answer is that
I dont foresee any real change for
the next three years.
One should also take into account
that Veiling Rhein-Maas has its
own specic buyers audience,
receiving 50% of its revenue from
pot plants. As can be witnessed in
the Netherlands, online sales of
cut owers grow much faster than
those of pot plants. It is estimated
that at the Dutch auctions about
85% to 90% of the cut owers are
bought via the KOA remote buying
system while the KOA share of pot
plants is only 25%. Being a high
value product, pot plants are more
likely to be viewed by the buyers
before the auction. KOA sales,
however, continue to expand and
recently started oering growers the
opportunity to add real time images
of their products. Veiling Rhein-
Maas has eight clocks of which two
are virtual. Most of the products
still pass under the auction clock.
e pertinent question is whether
we need to continue to send all
these plants and owers through
this narrow stretch of the auction
room at which trac is held up.
Here we see a phenomenon where
the capacity of our entire system is
limited by the lowest-capacity part
of our system.
Speaking of KOA , it is highly
interesting to see how the
new online sales and the
old economic model are
doomed to live together.
There is often tension
between the traditional
sales channel and the online
platform. The FloraHolland,
a 25% shareholder of Veiling
Rhein-Maas, clocks sales
have dramatically dropped
in favour of online sales.
How big is the tension in
Herongen?
FloraHollands 4% drop in clock
sales was partly caused by a lack of
import owers due to cold weather
conditions in Kenya and direct sales
from African farms to non auction
buyers. In our area snow and ice
in February 2012 hammered sales
activity and damaged 50% of the
rst ush Freiland roses followed
by hail damage on peonies. In pot
plants, we ask our growers to parti-
cipate in the online Jahresanliefer-
meldung and the Wochenmeldung,
an annual and weekly pot plant
supply prognosis, which greatly
enhance the auctions reliability in
terms of balanced supplies. It helps
us steer the auction process. e
Advisory Board played a pivotal
role in the implementation of these
measures. In fact, we received their
full support and it was their own
idea to also introduce a penalty
system for those growers who by
ursday 10 oclock have not com-
municated their expected supply
for the next week. is is a win-win
situation with growers clearly seeing
the benet. ere is less volume but
a higher price.

>>>
Ruud Knorr (pictured left) has become the sole CEO of the auction,
as Willi Honnen moves to the role of Landgard business manager
after sharing the Veiling Rhein-Maas leadership role for more than
two years. Ruud Knorr became co-director of Veiling Rhein Maas
in the autumn of 2010 and took up his new role as sole CEO as of
January 1st, 2013.
>>>
Veiling Rhein-Maas
If you would have to give the
Veiling Rhein-Maas auction
clock a mark out of ten
what mark would you give
it when it comes to overall
performance?
In terms of price setting a 7,5.
When benchmarking our results
against the Dutch auctions, Veiling
Rhein-Maas has more or less the
same price level. During the course
of the year, however there is still too
much uctuation in prices. One of
our top priorities is to strengthen
the buying power at the cut owers
clock. e problems is that we
heavily depend on the German and
more specically the Nordrhein
Westfalen market. is makes our
business very local with hardly any
peak sales in the run up to impor-
tant international ower holidays
such as Womans Day. Our busi-
ness is also a very traditional one,
with, for example, sales evolving
the weeks before Christmas (Grne
Woche = green week) only around
greens and typical Christmas items,
while at the Dutch auctions sales
on summer owers, Gerberas and
tulips are business as usual. We
would love to generate more buying
power at that time of year.
How?
Connecting Dutch buyers with
our KOA system would be bene-
cial, but this requires a profound
change of the supply chain. In
this case, the Dutch ower trucks
would have to stop in Herongen to
pick up the ower and plants and
continue their onward journey to
Germany. To truck KOA owers
and plants to the Netherlands is no
option as they would arrive too late
in Aalsmeer or Naaldwijk where
trucks normally leave at 2 oclock.
Its also a matter of mentality
and this is normally very hard
to change
eres a long way to go, but we
dont just sit and wait. Last summer,
we invited a group of 80 Dutch
KOA buyers of which two are now
buying at Veiling Rhein-Maas. Its
a beginning and its worth it. Some
of these buyers didnt even know
about our existence, while others
did but didnt realise how big our
business was. Dont get me wrong,
we are no Aalsmeer or Naaldwijk,
but in peak sales season we still
handle over 16,000 auction trollies
and are proud to be the only ower
auction reporting a growth in clock
sales.
Returning to the topic of
online sales, FloraHolland,
a 25% parent company
of Veiling Rhein-Maas is
teaming up with Plantion
to develop a virtual
marketplace. Speaking of
Plantion, did you follow the
FloraHolland/Plantion saga
last spring with Plantion
suing FloraHolland for
contract breach following
a merger refusal. In what
way does the Plantion topic
inuence the running of your
auction in the longer term?
Hardly. We and Plantion have
dierent customers. Some of the
customers that were previously
buying at Venlo, switched to Plan-
tion because our auction is too big
for them. At Plantion the auction
process nishes at 9 o clock while
in Herongen it can happen that the
last auction lot is sold at 11.30. But
there are also growers and buyers
who work with both auctions. Our
relationship with Plantion is good
and we meet each other twice a year.
What about your second
parent company, Landgard? It
nds itself in choppy waters...
In this tense situation, how
big is the pressure from
FloraHolland to acquire more
Landgard shares?
Landgard has had a very dicult
2011, recognizing a loss for the
rst time in its history of 61,5
million. Indirectly, this will eect
Veiling Rhein-Maas as it is closely
linked with the banks investment
policy in terms of appraising credit
proposals. In terms of investments
its only logical that we consider
Landgard rst as they have a 75%
participation in our auction.
I reckon having two parent
companies is very positive. Here
in Herongen, we saw an inux of
FloraHolland growers, but at the
moment there are no indications
that FloraHolland will increase its
In the peak sales
season Veiling
Rhein-Maas
handles over
16,000 auction
trollies.
Ruud Knorr,
director of ower
auction Veiling
Rhein-Maas.
participation in Veiling Rhein-
Maas. If, however, Landgard ends
up in a situation where the banks
lose condence, we could see things
move very quickly. But that s
merely speculation.

In the long term, could this be
an interesting scenario?
Veiling Rhein-Maas continues
to have aspirations to grow. As we
speak, we have a waiting list of
customers who would like to rent a
space. However, we dont have the
money to enlarge our buildings.
Another wish is to renew our im-
port department because from the
logistical point of view it is badly
situated which also goes for our CC
depot. We might nd another solu-
tion as Landgard owns several halls
and clustering activities that could
also be an option. If we are lucky
we can create new space without
building new premises. Meanwhile
our 2013 budget was approved in
November. Its a dierent budget
than if we had more money to
invest. In 2013, well continue to
expand our market place, but not so
fast as we would have wanted.
Your biggest challenge?
To get better acquainted with
our cut ower customers. Who are
they, how often do they buy, what
kind business do they run, who
are the potential buyers and most
of all, how can we persuade them
to buy more frequently. e other
challenges are more technical will
have to be solved in a more concrete
manner. In terms of customer
service, its also about trust and
fullling wishes. It is therefore nec-
essary to maintain an expert service
center, especially in the light of
increasing KOA sales. Good pack-
aging, products quality control,
loading eciency of auction trollies
and added value products are more
essential than ever. Well need an
extra 3 of 4 account managers only
for buyers.
Hopes for 2013?
I hope that 2013 will bring us
more or less the same weather
conditions as last year and that we
as an society will be able to cope
with the constant negative media
given to the economy. Sometimes
its refreshing to go out into town
on a Saturday afternoon. Seeing
an impressive shopping crowd, one
starts asking himself if we really
are suering from a crisis. Another
pertinent question is how to cope
with demography. Our current
consumers are from the baby boom
generation but what about the next
generation? Will they buy owers
and if yes how will they acquire
them?
e auctions role will change with
a stronger focus on market develop-
ments. We will have to bring our
buyers closer together with growers
and breeders by organising market
events. e auction clock has a fu-
ture but the market is changing and
we have to change along with it.
e ower auction an old fashioned
institution? Lets look at the facts.
e ongoing virtual systems mean
disconnecting the selling process
from the logistical process. is
means closure of auction halls. By
closing auction halls you unavoid-
ably take out the soul of the auc-
tion. Buyers are now sitting in their
own dealing rooms and it is even
possible to sell from the growers
coolstore to the buyer as long as
you can guarantee a well oiled
logistics process and timely delivery.
Meanwhile, Veiling Rhein-Maas is
still full of life with over 450 buyers
occupying our auction room in
the morning. at we were able to
achieve growth at the auction clock
is mainly thanks to them.
|||
Veiling Rhein-
Maas is full of
life with over 450
buyers occupying
our auction room
in the morning.
It would be great to see you in
Herongen or at the IPM Essen 2013.
Hall 1, Stand number E21.
www.veilingrheinmaas.com
Superior spectra
Extensive energy savings
Extremely durable
Superior working light
No maintenance
Best light for plants!
Start piloting and discover
the benets for yourself!
Contact our staff at:
Phone: +358 10 2350 300
Email: sales@valoya.com
Professional horticulture LED lights
General greenhouse
roof lighting
Hydroponics conveyor
and multilayers
T8 uorescent tube
replacement
www.valoya.com
I am not sure I get Facebook yet. Sure I follow it like a sheep and
read aimlessly about friends' lives and the lives of friends I did
not know I had. When I recommended to my beautiful wife that
she check it out said to me why would I get on Facebook no one
knows me there? at might have been a mistake because now she
is hooked like a sh and is sure that checking her wall often is vital.
ese days if you are not on Facebook it is akin to not having a
mobile phone (4G of course) and yet somehow I survived just ne
without either in my life up to now.
I admit getting sucked into the open windows of so many others
lives. Clearly you get to know people better as they parade their
lives in front of those just willing to accept them as friends.
Speaking of friends, this use of the word friends makes me a bit
uncomfortable. I don't know about you but in real life, the one of
esh and blood, I don't have so many people that I call friends.
I have thousands of acquaintances and many people I know on
a rst name basis but only a handful that I call real friends.
ere are indeed good things about this public chalkboard. Like
being able to promote your band or event, nd like minded people,
support a cause, share a laugh, shed a tear, express your political
view or post something no one has even thought of yet. It has been
a great tool for helping nd homes for rescue dogs.
Businesses are beginning to pay less and less attention to their
websites and more and more to their social media presence. is
is where it gets more complex. Speaking strictly for myself, I am
not sure how to do much more on Facebook than post some text,
pictures and like things. Even though I work in and around this
high tech world there is too much to learn in the time my brain
allows for these things. Indeed people are making a business on
how to manage your social media presence and there is no lack of
those willing to share their views on how to best take advantage
of Facebook, twitter, Tumbler, stumbler, jumbler, and who knows
how many other new ways exist to capture our attention and
money.
Originally I created one identity for business and one for personal
use and that turned out to be a bad idea. e reality is that sites
like Facebook by their very nature are merging the business and
personal proles of users into an ever larger pool of confusion.
For now it appears that I have to learn about a rst grade
graduation of someone that I only know from a picture, what
someone made for dinner last night, who won the little league ball
game between the Eagles and the Fighting Hens in Cleveland, who
has the best lilies for sale and what video went viral today and
and and
Face it
Miami
William Armellini. Editor Flowersandcents.com
Williee@williee.com
by William Armellini
World News
Norway
Yara well positioned
for protable growth
Last month, Yara International ASA met with investors
and analysts for Yara's Capital Markets Day to present
market prospects, Yara's differentiated position and growth
opportunities, and nancial scenarios.
For 2011/12 Yara delivered its highest seasonal EBITDA so far,
reecting the strength of its globally integrated business model
even with a disappointing European season. Stronger urea prices
have contributed to recent earnings growth, but European gas
prices have almost doubled in the last 3 years, limiting the earnings
growth in Yaras European commodity (ammonia and urea) plants.
However, Yaras upgrading and distribution activities have at
the same time seen a strong positive earnings trend. Illustrating
the different drivers and sensitivities of Yaras value-added and
commodity businesses is the focus area for todays presentation,
says President and CEO Jrgen Ole Haslestad.
Yara presents new scenarios for future earnings at the Capital
Markets Day. The scenarios are not a prediction of future results,
but are what if examples based on selected fertilizer and energy
price scenarios and Yaras current business.
A supply-driven market where China is the highest-cost exporter
translates into an estimated Earnings Per Share (EPS) of NOK 20
based on assumed domestic costs and zero margins, and an EPS of
NOK 35 based on the average domestic price level in China during
the 2012 low export tax period. A demand-driven scenario with
USD 150 per ton urea margins yields an estimated EPS of NOK 57.
Yaras balance sheet has never been stronger, reecting strong
earnings from our globally integrated business model, and a
deliberate effort to build nancial exibility for growth execution.
Yara intends to use its nancial exibility both to realize well-timed
protable growth, and to return cash to shareholders in line with its
policy, says President and CEO Jrgen Ole Haslestad.
|||
Spain
Spains largest
trade show and
conference for
the ornamental
horticulture and
gardening industry
took place at the
Feria Valencia
exhibition centre
from October 3 to
6, 2012. This years
show boosted plenty
of new initiatives
and ideas.
Iberora and Eurobrico have been
held in conjunction with each other
since 2008. e news this year is
that they share a common pavilion,
the Gardening Hall, where visitors
can nd a wide range of gardening
equipment. Bringing the Iberora
and Eurobrico brands together is
a natural evolution and creates ad-
ditional convenience and benets as
well as synergies for our exhibitors
and visitors.
Being held once again against
a gloomy economic backdrop,
Iberora took a mega dose of Green
Vitamins (the ocial 2012 theme)
to ercely and successfully ght its
way back to the top. e number
of exhibitors and visitors plunged
in just over ve years from 581 in
2006 to 400 in 2011, but the worst
is denitely over. Last year, we hit
rock-bottom and we are delighted
that the decrease in exhibitors has
come to a halt, Peris Alcayde said.
He added, For the rst time in
three years theres a modest growth
even if the trend is towards less
square metres per participant. ere
are an increasing number of collec-
tive stands oering exhibitors the
opportunity to save money while
preserving their own corporate
identity. Weve done our utmost to
retool and reinvigorate the show,
which this year boosts plenty of
new and exciting initiatives. Host-
ing a special novelties section and
the Iberora Innovation Awards,
the show oers the ideal platform
for companies looking to showcase
ground-breaking product develop-
ments and provides an insight into
the future trends of the garden-
ing world. Well-worth a visit for
sector. Some visitors and exhibitors
frowned when seeing cement mix-
ers, roong, bricks, pets and pets
accessories occupying part of the
exhibion area.
Cleary, it would be wrong to blame
them for a problem which is partly
due to an economy which is strug-
gling through recession. In the af-
termath of the massive overdevelop-
ment that went on in the rst half
of the decade, there are now around
700,000 empty, newly-built homes
on the market. Empty homes mean
empty gardens and thats not good
for the ornamental plant business.
Additional convenience
Commenting on the dual concept
trade show Iberoras chairman,
Vicente Peris Alcayde, said that,
Green Vitamins
reinvigorate
41
st
Iberora
E
ven the best trade shows go
through down cycles, but the
mark of a true survivor is the
ability to minimise the length of
those weaker years and come back
as strong as ever.
e past few years, it seemed that
the Iberora trade show in the
Eastern Spanish city of Valencia
was stuck in the midst of one of
those down cycles. e message of
its organisers was not always clear
and consistent and not everybody
understood their side-by-side
trade show concept. e concept
combines the ornamental plant
show Iberora and Eurobrico, one
of the most important Spanish
industry trade shows for retail-
ers and suppliers of products in
the DIY and home improvement
Vicente Peris Alcayde, chairman of Iberora.
Clipped olive trees
example is the 21
st
Century Garden
Exhibit. Here, the Spanish Garden
Centres Association, AECJ presents
a large virtual show on all the
leading international trends when
it comes to garden centres from
around the world.
Educational programme
Iberora oered educational op-
portunities via free trade show oor
demonstrations and its top-notch
educational programme, which
included sessions that were speci-
cally geared towards landscapers
and business managers. e Profeve
company held a conference on
red palm weevil (Rhyncophorus
ferrugineus) control strategy that
provided analysis of the problem
and an update of research nd-
ings. An impressive line-up of
plant health experts informed the
audience about the latest advances
and tests done to ght plagues of
these weevils. At this moment the
red palm weevil has become the
most feared pest in the world for
palm trees. On the famous Costa
del Sol, as well as in many other
places in Spain, monumental palm
trees die one after the other. e
production and trade of palm
trees is equally suering. At the
700,000m
2
family run business
Orvifrusa, for example, Trachy-
carpus fortunei, Cycas revoluta,
Butia capitata, Chaemerops humilis
cerifera and Chamaerops humilis
nd themselves under netting that
prevent the red palm weevil to y
in. Orvifrusas production manager,
Jorge Ferrer Alba explained that
annual production currently stands
in excess of 2,600,000 2-, 3-, 5-,
7.5- and 10-litre pots, encompassing
ornamental trees, palms, fruit trees
and garden roses.
e company is run by father
Tomas and his three sons, Jorge,
Raul and Donis and their annual
palm production is approximately
20,000. Its a testing time with
the red palm weevil causing overall
damage to the palm industry, said
Jorge. e control of the insect
is extremely dicult costing the
nursery an estimated 35% extra in
production costs.
All those who grow and sell palm
trees say the red palm weevil has
seriously aected their operations.
Sales have slowed down, and
wholesale business has totally dried
up because retail customers aren't
placing their usual palm orders as
they witness dying palm tree in
private gardens, real estate develop-
ments , parks and everywhere. It is
said that palms in smaller pot sizes
are less sensible to red weevil attacks
but this doesnt mean they are safe
for future attacks when they grow
taller. What we now see is that
demand for medium sized palms
of 100 to 200 cm have dropped the
quickest because of their cost and
higher infection risk.
e species Palmae is checked and
regulated according EU directives.
Plant health checks are carried out
each month and trees are treated
with dierent crop protection
products depending on the season.
All our plants are accompanied by
a plant passport that guarantees the
quality and the phytosanitary status
of the plant.
Palms, olive trees
and urban gardening
Endorsed by Fepex (the Spanish
federation of exporters of orna-
mental plants and horticultural
product), ASFPLANT (the trade
by Marie-Franoise Petitjean
In order to give a new impetus to the industry, the growers associ-
ation FEPEX* will launch their own code of practice PPQS**, with
the objective to respond to market demands in terms of sustaina-
bility, health and safety protection, good social practice, hygiene
and traceability.
While started, growers will be audited by an independent body on a
yearly basis. FEPEX estimates that 40 to 50 companies may be intere-
sted to join the scheme, which cost is evaluated at around 1200.
When asked about the reason to develop a national scheme in an
internationally oriented industry, Lennart Lovn, chairman of the
Canaries growers association ASOCAN *** answered that PPQS was
more intended to promote Spanish products and growers on their
national market. As chairman of Union Fleurs, he also mentioned that
this association was working towards a system of correspondence
between the numerous existing schemes and their convergence
around a common core of good environmental and social practice
at international level, in order to improve clarity for the consumer.
Sustainability in oriculture started in Spain 2004 with MPS-ABC,
at that time with 10 participants. Since then, membership has grown
to 83 growers (71 in Spain and 12 in Portugal). Some groups, like the
CORMA cooperative in Barcelona, have all their members certied
MPS-ABC together with Trace Cert, a traceability scheme. MPS
Spain in working on various projects, among others establishing
specic standards for Mediterranean plants, together with Italy and
the South of France, as well as setting up a progress association.
PPQS is creating some kind of questioning among growers already
involved in other certication schemes, especially with regards
to aid conditionality. Time will say how the market will react, thus
helping growers to make their choice.
* FEPEX: Federacin Espaola de Associaciones de Productores Exportadores de Frutas,
Hortalizas , Flores y Plantas Vivas. FEPEX counts with 8 regional associations of ornamental
products, representing 85% of Spanish exports of owers and plants.
** PPQS : Plant production Quality System
***ASOCAN : Asociacin de Cosecheros y Exportadores de Flores y Plantas Vivas de
Canarias
Clipped olive trees

>>>
Spain
Fuelled by Spains booming prop-
erty market in 2006 (when Spain
built more than 760,000 homes,
ve times as much as the UK, the
company has quickly evolved into
one of Europes leading suppliers
of Nerium oleander, palms and
ornamental citrus.
Magraner said that Vivercid only
feels a limited eect from what is
also dubbed as Costa Catastrophe.
Last year was really bad but we
are now back on the growth path.
Vivercid consists of a group of six
nurseries covering a growing area
of 300ha. We have an extensive
range of products that includes
more than 1,500 species that are
sold to customers all over Europe.
So even in dicult economic times,
we can serve dierent markets with
dierent products. Over the years
the trend has shifted towards grow-
ing in smaller pot sizes and more
colourful products.

Flowers
Exciting colours were also be found
in Iberoras cut ower exhibition
area where, on the rst day, the
Spanish ambassador to Kenya,
Mr Bramwel Waliaula Kisuya
represented one of the main rose-
producing countries in the world.
Iberora and Kenya began negotia-
tions at the beginning of the year
to reinforce the cut ower sector
within the trade fair.
Floral art was another of the fairs
commitments this year. During the
three days the fair lasted, Iberora
oered oral demonstrations with
the special guest appearance of
Russian-born, Sergey Karpunin, the
world champion in this discipline.
|||
Another ongoing trend is urban
gardening. Acknowledging that the
current trend for home vegetable
gardens is still a largely untapped
area full of possibilities, Iberora
exhibited an urban kitchen garden
to inspire professional visitors by
showing them the latest ways of
growing fruit and vegetables at
home. Cooking demonstrations
using local, fresh seasonal farm pro-
duce attracted an eager audience.
Smaller pot sizes and
more colours
Optimism also ruled at the stand
of Vivercid, a brand with a 38-year
old history. Managing director Lara
Magraner explainsed that although
they are a relative newcomer to
Mediterranean plant production,
they have built on the companys
expertise in certied citrus seed-
lings for fruit production in the
open eld.
association representing the owers,
plants and horticultural technology
industry of the autonomous region
of Valencia), AECJ (Associacin
Espaola de Centros de Jardinera,
the Spanish association for garden
centres) and a team of elite sponsors
including Projar, Olivos Ornamen-
tales, Iberplant, Pindstrup Mose-
brug, Viveros Elche, and Viveros
Demoy, Iberora is an international
tradeshow with an exhibition area
of 38,000 m
2
. Showcasing more
than 400 exhibiting companies,
Iberora oers young plants, seeds,
bedding plants, perennials, trees,
shrubs, fresh cut owers and indoor
plants.
Besides its juicy oranges, Valencia
is famed for its palm and olive trees
that come in a wide range of sizes
and shapes. Beautifully clipped
olive trees are emerging as a leading
trend this season. A nice exam-
ple of this is Ecija-based Olivos
Ornamentales which exhibited
olive trees ranging from hundred
year old specimens to mini trees.
e 25 ha Olivos Ornamentales
nursery is located in the Seville
area, the countrys epicentre of olive
growing.
A real attention grabber was the
Macrobonsais of Iberplant that
transforms century old olive trees
into a work of art. Targeting a niche
market, Macrobonsais are exported
to France, Italy, and Arabic coun-
tries. Iberplant also specialises in
heat loving Ceratonia siliqua, more
commonly know as the carob tree.
Lara Magraner
of Vivercid.
World News
At a Blooming Breeders workshop in the Netherlands last month I
defended my opinion that over 50% of a companys success depends
on the surrounding business environment.
Meanwhile, I witnessed how the business environment of
commercial horticulture, has changed from horizontal organisations
to vertical businesses. Many breeders are aliated with breeders
associations, many growers are member of farmer unions while
wholesalers and orists adhere to wholesale organisations and
retail orist associations respectively. e commercial trade is
characterised by integrating activities vertically in the supply chain
and for good reason: as a farmer you earn your money by being as
close as possible to the consumers.
Spurred on by digital media, the commercial model of cooperation
turned from horizontal to vertical. You have to either sell a unique
product (or service) or be cheaper than your competitor (and be part
of the rat race).
Farmers have to use all their tools to strengthen their unique
position in the vertical supply chain. ey have to dierentiate
themselves in the marketplace in order to be recognisable for their
customers.
A grower, for example, can launch a unique breedersright protected
product and focus on exclusive production and sales agreements
with retailers and transporters. He can make the necessary
arrangements to grow the quantities and qualities and deliver
these in the agreed time to the retailer. e future is for those who
cooperate together in the vertical supply chain: breeders, farmers,
retailers including supermarkets and traditional orists.
For many organisations and entrepreneurs this means a cultural
change: we have to realign our company policy and total behaviour.
e Society of American Florists is such an example.
At the Blooming Breeders workshop one oral wholesaler asked
me about future perspectives for his business. I answered that there
will be no future for them if they continue to do business in their
traditional way. Collecting and distributing owers and plants alone
is no longer a raison dtre for the traditional wholesaler. is job
can easily be taken over by farmers, transporters, freight forwarders,
warehousing and cooling companies at airports.
e wholesaler became angry with me. Every day we work hard and
we still deserve a decent income, he said and walked away.
Suppose the dierence in price between what the grower receives
and the consumer pays is 170% then the pertinent question is
whether 170% is an attractive prot margin to divide amongst the
partners in the vertical supply chain?
Happy New Year.
Changing times
Dutch Comfort
by Jaap N. Kras
Jaap N. Kras
jaap@oracultureinternational.com
CIOPORA launches
new website
CIOPORA, the International Association of Breeders of
Vegetatively Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Varieties,
has just launched an updated website featuring new
content and an all-new look (www.ciopora.org)
Waiting for spring impatiently
has just been removed from the
CIOPORAs agenda, since already
now, on the break of winter, the
associations new website stands
in bloom demonstrating the best
of horticulture. The brand new
internet presence of CIOPORA,
which was launched on November
20, welcomed its visitors with a
fresh and colorful design. However, the eye-candy looks is
not everything the new CIOPORA.org has to offer. The recent
re-launch was primarily aimed at the enhancement of the user
experience, as well as update and restructuring of the contents.
Within the framework of CIOPORAs communication strategy
the new website was designed to become the central source
of information about CIOPORA, its activities and positions on
IP by consolidating all the available digital contents about the
association.
The new features of CIOPORA.org include a dynamic news-
slider screening the snippets of the cross-referenced log of
CIOPORAs latest activities, an all-new CIOPORA Publications
category with a full collection of the associations appearances
in media and press-releases, as well as a quick navigation
menu for direct access to the most important facts about the
community of plant breeders. Those interested in CIOPORA
membership will now nd the whole information package
online: the newly released CIOPORA Credentials brochure,
the CIOPORA lm, which is also available on the video web-
platform Vimeo, the Bylaws of the association, previews of
CIOPORA Chronicles & Newsletters, a gallery with captions of
CIOPORA events, as well as a library of CIOPORAs position
papers.
Members of CIOPORA are offered a reorganized and enriched
download center, which includes all CIOPORA documents
ranging from presentations held by leading IP experts at the
associations seminars and conferences to detailed event and
AGM reports. The navigation of the comprehensive content is
supported by intuitive icons. For the users convenience the
CIOPORAs prole on the business network LinkedIn.com is
included into the quick navigation. Although at the moment
the website is available only in English, the development of
German, French and Spanish versions is in the prospect.
The newly launched website will regularly deliver news about
CIOPORA and its positions on Intellectual Property Protection
for plant innovation. For breeders, growers, IP lawyers and
everyone who believes in value of innovation CIOPORA.org is
a brand new place to navigate.
|||
Poland
Around 350 people
from 12 countries
took part in the
international
Research and
Development in
Nursery Stock
conference, which
was held in Ozarw
Mazowiecki near
Warsaw on 17-18
November. The
conference was
organised by the
Polish Nurserymen
Association (ZSzP)
to celebrate the
20
th
anniversary of
its foundation and
was supported by
the International
Plant Propagators
Society (IPPS)
as well as the
European Nursery
Stock Association
(ENA).
by Alicja Cecot
conferences and study tours in a
professional way.
Foreign speakers appreciated the
high level of organisation of the
conference as well as its interna-
tional character, the high number
of participants and the spirit of co-
operation among them. ose like
Heinrich Lsing or John Adlam,
who had visited Poland before and
had been able to become familiar
with the nursery stock industry
in the country, emphasised the
progress it had made up until know
in terms of technology, assortment
and quality.
e idea to celebrate the 20
th

anniversary of the association by
organising a international confer-
ence came from its chairman Szc-
zepan Marczyski. Being a former
scientist and university teacher,
Marczyski understands the impor-
tance of exchanging modern, up-to-
date knowledge. All in all the event
made a remarkable nal touch to
his 3-year ZSzPs presidency, which
ended in November 2012.
|||
E
NA was represented by its
secretary, Mr David Brown,
who was also one of the
12 key speakers invited by the
organisers. ere was a strong line
up of international speakers such
as Marco Homan and Henk van
Reuler of the Dutch research in-
stitute, Praktijkonderzoek Plant &
Omgeving, John Adlam, consult-
ant at Dove Associates based in the
UK, and Heirich Lsing, a German
consultant.
e lectures, which covered a wide
range of topics like contemporary
tendencies in breeding, environ-
mental regulations concerning
nursery stock production, new
technologies, IT systems for manag-
ing a nursery and pests and diseases
were translated simultaneously into
English, Polish and Russian.
Apart from Polish growers, the
Russian speaking guests (not only
from the Russian Federation but
also from the Ukraine, Belarus,
Kazakhstan) formed the biggest
group of participants. Among them
were more than 30 members of the
Russian Nursery Stock Association,
who visited eight Polish nurseries
and the research Institute of Horti-
culture in Skierniewice prior to the
conference.
e programme of their visit was
coordinated by the Greenery Pro-
motion Agency (APZ), which is the
operating division of ZSzP. It was
also responsible for the organisa-
tion of the conference. According
to APZs president, Agnieszka
ukowska, the conference was the
second biggest project APZ has ever
dealt with after the annual Warsaw
exhibition Green is Life.
Irina Savvateeva, the president
of the Russian Nursery Stock
Association, said that she and her
colleagues learned from their Polish
colleagues not only how to produce
plants but also how to organise
A good dose of nursery stock
knowledge on ZSzPs 20
th
anniversary
Around 350 people from 12 countries
attended the conference.
Members of the Russian Nursery Stock Association made the biggest group
of foreign participants (left to right, president Irina Savvateeva, Margarita
Valerevna, Olga Talivanova, and Yury Bazhenov (Photo credits: Alicja Cecot).
Propagation
Calvin
Andersons use of
unconventional
scientic methods to
clone Phalaenopsis
orchids has
proven to be
very successful.
His degree in
construction
engineering gives
him a different
perspective than
most scientists.
He conducts his
research like he is
creating a building.
He started with a
solid foundation,
built a strong
framework, and
continues his
life-long work
by continuing to
improve precise
details.
parts of the Phalaenopsis plant to
determine whether one type of
tissue was easier to work with than
others. He tried stem sections, leaf-
culture, ower ovules and root tips.
While his most signicant success
at this early stage was with root tip
cultures, he could only produce the
eect 1% of the time. He is now
using stem node cultures only.

True to type plants
During the rst decade of his
research, he could only aord to
invest a minimal amount of time.
In 2004, the family plant nursery
was almost completely demolished
by Hurricane Charley. Calvin made
lemonade from lemons, and picked
up his research pace signicantly.
He initiated a process similar to Dr.
Ronald Defassios broad spectrum
chemicals and plants that later
proved to be invaluable.
Own media
combinations
After this foundation was complete,
he began working on his own
media combinations. He created a
giant chart of all of the chemicals
in every media he had researched to
compare the formulations. As he
did this, with the goal of looking
for similarities, he found they were
all over the chart. He did notice
that some exotic chemicals were
used by dierent researchers- to
name only a few: Phloroglucia-
nol, 1,3 Diphenyurea, Rutin, and
idiazuron. He was hoping one
of them would be a magic bullet.
During this same time, Calvin
was experimenting with dierent
C
alvin started his tissue
culture studies by attend-
ing Dr. Murashiges tissue
culture class in California in 1985.
He came home to Florida and im-
mediately built a lab. His journey to
clone Phalaenopsis started over 20
years ago by studying and replicat-
ing every published research paper,
about 40 at the time, using the
exact formulas and protocols. e
only one he could not replicate was
Dr. Pipers formula, only because
bleeding sap from a Birch tree was
too dicult to locate. Cal was un-
able to produce any of the reported
results by the researchers, however,
the experience proved useful as he
discovered more ecient meth-
odologies and became an expert
by hands on experience in the
symbiotic relationships of dierent
Tapping into
unconventional
Clones in bloom.
tissue culture experiment. Cal
would make ve dierent formula-
tions at a time. Every week he
would try ve more, tweaking them
to get better and better results. Not
only did he want to clone Phalae-
nopsis, but he wanted to do it in
a manner that produced true to
type plants. e type of tissue used
and how it reproduced was very
important.
Finally, on March 14, 2008 the
evaluation sheet for formula #457,
with its 37 chemicals, reached
beyond his wildest dreams. He had
multiple shoots growing like weeds
from a single node. He then made
a large batch of media #457 and
replated the several hundred other
nodes from the other media into
this new media. ey all responded
positively, again, beyond Cals
expectations. e Phalaenopsis bud
had lost its polarity and became a
spherical bush with axillary shoots
on the top, bottom, and sides.
Haircut
Cal had the framework in place,
and now it was time to nish o
the precise detail work. e cultures
were growing similar to foliage
plants, so he directed his techs to
treat them like foliage plants. ey
gave the clumps a haircut and cut
them into dime-size clumps and
put 3 or 4 clumps into a baby food
jar. With that method some clumps
lived but others died and Cal did
not know why.
Cal was reading the book e
Field by Lynne McTaggart and one
passage turned the light bulb on
in his brain: .a weak radiation
from tissues stimulates cell growth
in neighboring tissues of the same
organism. After he read that pas-
sage he jumped up, immediately
went into the transfer room and
told the techs to make the clumps
touch each other. From that point
on he was never plagued with dying
clumps again.
Incredible discoveries
e story of hard work and success
continued. Cal had to further
develop a method to create sustain-
able shoots that would root. e
entire process from node to plantlet
is now four separate steps. But
during this journey, not all of Cals
successes were carefully engineered.
He also made some incredible
discoveries both by happenstance
and even mistake.
In August 2010, Calvin discovered
that he had shifted a decimal point
by one place on his formula cut
sheet, and as a result, was putting
10 times more of one chemical into
the media. Furthermore, he had
been repeating that mistake for
six months. With extreme angst,
he evaluated the plants and found
no signs of toxicity. Instead, he
realized the plants were multiplying
and growing at a remarkable pace.
He continued with his mis-
take, now labeled an important
discovery, and cut the lights back
to 6 hours. e plants continued
to grow at an accelerated pace.
e culture rooms are lighted by
standard 8 foot 60 watt eco max
uorescent lights which give the
plants 30 mols/s/m
2
. He contin-
ued to lower the lighted time until
he reached 4 hours per day and still
observed healthy growth.
e 4000 square foot lab located
in Kissimmee, Florida has now
produced over 250,000 Phalaenop-
sis rooted plantlets of 900 cultivars
with only four hours a day of light
and only a nominal number of
plants that are not true to type.
Calvin never found a magic bullet
for cloning Phalaenopsis, but he
still prevailed. His success involved
a combination of hard work,
serendipity, and a few important
mistakes along the way.
|||
Stage 1
Stage 2 (1)
Stage 2 (2)
Stage 3 (1)
Stage 3 (2)
Calvin and Matha Anderson. Takii_85x254_January.pdf 1 02-01-13 15:57
ZA La Perrire - 17, rue Lavoisier
49800 Brain sur lAuthion - France
0033 2 41 54 57 10
0033 2 41 54 57 15
www.seeds-grainesvoltz.com
Discover the french tomato

taste and many more
exciting vegetables
taste an
excitin
Learn more
about the marketing campaign...
La slection du Chef

w
w
w
.
l
a
-
s
e
le
c
tio
n-du-chef.co
m
Your seed supplier
Germany
IPM ESSEN will
open its doors
on January 22 -
25, 2013. From
the complete
diversity of plants
and owers via
oristry highlights
right up to the
newest trends
from technology,
equipment and
services - over
1,500 exhibitors
from more than
40 countries will
present themselves
at the world's
premier fair in the
green sector.
is year too, Ilse Aigner, Federal
Minister of Food, Agriculture and
Consumer Protection, has agreed
to be the patron of the international
trade fair.
A truly
international event
e continuously high participation
of foreign companies emphasises
the signicance of IPM ESSEN to
the horticultural world. A lot of for-
eign participations will extend their
cooperative booths even further in
2013 and, in view of markets with
ever more global activities, will
oer the trade visitors a worldwide
overview. For the rst time, Korea
will appear in the Technology sec-
tion with a common fair booth. At
IPM ESSEN 2013, Sri Lanka will
also be represented with an ocial
national particiipation for the rst
time. In addition, the supporting
programme will reect the main
international role of IPM ESSEN:
e Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia) will be partners of the
International Horticultural Forum
on Eastern Europe. In the specialist
forum, experts will provide infor-
mation about new market opportu-
nities in the horticultural and plant
industries in Eastern Europe.
The Green City
e Green City in Hall 1A will be
the meeting point for associations,
institutions and service providers in
the green sector. Here, trade visitors
will nd topical sectoral subjects in
a condensed form in one fair hall.
In the Horticultural Info Center,
Zentralverband Gartenbau e. V.
(ZVG - Central Horticultural
Association), Landesverband Gar-
tenbau Rheinland e. V. (Rhine-
land Federal State Horticultural
Association") and Landesverband
Gartenbau Westfalen-Lippe e. V.
("Westphalia-Lippe Federal State
Horticultural Association) will
present a comprehensive cross-
section of their services and ranges
on oer.
With the title of Stress? - Come
on Down!, the ZVG Teaching
Show will make available interest-
ing information about the proper
handling of plants displaying stress
symptoms.
e Innovation Showcase has
become rmly established in Hall
1A: Here, international plant breed-
ers will introduce their innovations
throughout the period of the fair.
e best innovations will be distin-
guished by an expert jury during
the opening ceremony of the fair.
Applications can be submitted up to
the deadline on December 13, 2012.
High-class orists
e FDF FloristEvent Center in
the Green City will be the stage for
the newest trends and technologies
from the world of oral design and
the meeting point for orists from
all over the world: Here, Fachver-
band Deutscher Floristen (FDF -
Trade Association of German
Florists) will present itself together
with its partners. e range of
advice and information on oer
will be supplemented by spectacular
stage events in the FDF Arena and
various special exhibitions as well
as exhibition specials. As a point of
attraction for orists from all over
the world, the FDF Stage will await
international stars in the sector:
e winner of the European Cup
in 2011, Natalia Zhizhlo, as well as
the runner-up, Niina Minkinnen
from Finland, and Araik Galstyan,
who was honoured as the public's
favourite in the European contest,
will present their oral works of art
on the FDF Stage. In addition, the
top three in the German Floristry
Championship (the victor, Jrgen
Herold, the runner-up, Stefan
Gttle, and the third-placed
competitor, Victoria Salomon) will
demonstrate a owery and inspired
spring show.
|||
T
he top position of IPM
ESSEN will once again be
underpinned not only by the
constantly growing internationality
amongst the exhibitors and the visi-
tors but also by an extensive range
on oer as well as a rst-class sup-
porting programme. For 2013, the
sectoral meeting point at Messe Es-
sen will expect around 60,000 trade
visitors who will want to establish
business contacts, to consolidate
existing ones even further and to
obtain information about innova-
tions, market opportunities and fu-
ture perspectives in the green sector.
IPM Essen has it all

>>>
Germany
Dates: From Tuesday, January 22
to Friday, January 25, 2013
Organisers: Messe Essen GmbH
in cooperation with Landesver-
band Gartenbau Rheinland e. V.
(Rhineland Federal State Horticul-
tural Association), Landesverband
Gartenbau Westfalen-Lippe e. V.
(Westphalia-Lippe Federal State
Horticultural Association) and
Fachverband Deutscher Floristen e.
V. - Bundesverband - (Trade Asso-
ciation of German Florists - Federal
Association) with the sponsorship
of Zentralverband Gartenbau e.
V. (ZVG - Central Horticultural
Association)
Venue: Messe Essen exhibition
centre, Norbertstrae 45131 Essen
Trade show hours: 9.00 a.m. to
6.00 p.m.
Exhibitors: Over 1,500 from more
than 40 nations
On display:
Plants: Flowering potted plants,
ower bulbs, young plants, green
plants, hydroponics, vegetables, tree
nursery plants, palm trees, bonsai,
perennial plants, cut owers, seeds
as well as sales-promoting products
Technology: Greenhouse construc-
tion, measurement and control
technology, heating engineering,
machines and devices, soils, peats
and substrates, plant protection,
pots, irrigation and drainage
installations, cooling technology,
transport and hoisting devices,
commercial vehicles and trailers,
technology for fruit and vegetable
cultivation, technology for tree
nurseries, technology for horti-
culture and landscaping as well as
sales-promoting products
Floristry: Florists requisites, grave
decoration, arts/crafts, decoration,
greetings cards, candles, dried/silk
owers, wickerwork, embossing
machines, handmade ceramics,
ornamental owerpot holders made
of glass, ceramic, porcelain, plastic
and enamel as well as sales-promo-
ting products
Equipment: Garden equip-
ment, sales-promoting products,
packaging material, price marking,
fountains, working and protective
clothing, small tools, gardening
requisites, shop construction and
shopttings, EDP / EDP advice as
well as miscellaneous/services
Admission: Adults 21, two-day
ticket 32, four-day ticket 57.
Groups of 20 people or more (per
person) 12, students 12. Tickets
can be ordered in Messe Essens on-
line shop and printed out at home.
For further information: Messe Essen
Info Tel.: +49.(0)1805.221514/
www.ipm-essen.de
How to get there: by car
Via the Rhine-Ruhr motorways:
A 52 / A 3 and A 40 / A 42
From the Direction of Dsseldorf:
Via the A 52 as far as the Essen-
Rttenscheid exit.
From the Direction of Dortmund:
At the Essen-Ost motorway
merging point, turn on to the
A 52 towards Dsseldorf,
Essen-Haarzopf exit.
From the Direction of Duisburg:
A 40 motorway, Essen-Frohnhaus-
en or Essen-Zentrum exit, then
follow the signs for Messe/Gruga.
How to get there by
public transport
U 11 underground railway route
from Essen-Hauptbahnhof to
Messe West/Sd/Gruga and
Messe Ost/Gruga. Oer: To IPM
ESSEN 2013 by train for as little as
99. On the occasion of IPM ESSEN,
there will be a cooperation oer
from Messe Essen and Deutsche
Bahn (German Railways). e
return ticket to IPM ESSEN will
be valid all over Germany and will
cost 99 in the second class and
159 in the rst class. e ticket
will be valid between January 20
and 27, 2013 and will be available
from the service number: +49.
(0)1805.311153 (keyword: IPM).
How to get there by aeroplane
Dsseldorf International Airport,
IPM Airport Counter / Terminal B,
Airport Express Bus to Messe Essen
in 20 minutes, return ticket price:
20.
Hotel booking: Touristikzentrale
Essen, +49.(0)201.8872046/
touristikzentrale@essen.de
www.essen.de
HRS - Hotel reservation
http://partner.hrs.com/messe-essen.de
For more information:
www.ipm-essen.de |||
Pflanzen/Verkaufsfrderung
Plants /Sales Promotion

Technik/Verkaufsfrderung
Technology/Sales Promotion
Floristik/Verkaufsfrderung
Floristry/Sales Promotion

GALERIA
SERVICE OFFICE
MITTE
MIDDLE
WEST
WEST
SD
SOUTH
OST
EAST
HALLE 1A
IPM COMP ETI TI ONS
IPM WETTBEWERBE
Award 2013
Eurofleurs Junior Championchip
Worldskills Germany 2013
Gartenbauforum Osteuropa
International Horticultural
Forum on Eastern Europe
IPM Essen at a glance!
Belgium
31 rms which will be specialised
in ornamental plants, young plants
and tree nurservy products will
present themselves within the
framework of the Belgian coopera-
tive participation. ere will once
again be two Belgian cooperative
booths: in Hall 2.0 and Hall 12.
e appearances will be organised
by VLAM (Flanders Agricultural
Marketing Oce) and by the
General Association of Belgian
Ornamental Plant Cultivation.
e exhibitors will travel to Essen
with a large number of innovations,
including guzmanias, vrieseas,
pineberries, primulas, phalaenopsis-
es and elms. Since 2010, the Ghent
azalea has been acknowledged as a
European regional product. It will
occupy a particular place on the
Belgian cooperative booth.
(Hall 2.0, Booth 2B25 / Hall 12,
Booth 12C15)
Costa Rica
For the fourth time in succession,
Costa Rica will be represented at
IPM ESSEN with a cooperative
booth. Twelve exporters of green
and owering plants will be ex-
hibitors in 2013. ey will display,
amongst other items, ornamental
plants such as dragon trees, bro-
meliads, rubber plants, palm trees
or aglaonemas and tropical owers
such as heliconias and ginger. On
the lavishly decorated cooperative
booth, typically Costa Rican speci-
alities will be oered for tasting.
e objective of the joint appear-
ance will be to secure a stronger
position for themselves in the
market. For the companies, IPM
ESSEN is the most signicant fair
in their sector.
(Hall 1.0, Booth 1D21)
Denmark
Danish exhibitors will once more
occupy the complete Fair Hall 5.
ere, attention will primarily
focus on new plants and concepts.
In this respect, the spotlight will
be on the Floradania Innovation
Award 2013 which will be con-
ferred during IPM
ESSEN in three categories: house
plants, outdoor plants and con-
cepts. On Floradanias cooperative
booth, there will be a special exhibi-
tion - the subject has not yet been
announced. Speed dating sessions,
press tours and other activities will
await the international press.
(Hall 5.0)
France
Under the French ag of Valhor,
around 20 rms will participate
in IPM ESSEN 2013 in Halls 2
and 10. e cooperative booth will
present a wideranging available
spectrum of perennial plants,
tubers and ower bulbs as well as
plants and trees, starting with seeds
and young plants right up to semi-
nished and nished plants. ese
will also include a large number
of innovations, e.g. new breeds of
alstroemerias and agapanthuses as
well as hydrangea varieties which
have been newly bred only recently.
Booth 10A17)
United Kingdom
In the two British pavilions in
Hall 3 and Hall 10 which will
be organised by the Commercial
Horticultural Association, leading
suppliers will show their innovative
new products and service solutions
for the worldwide horticultural
industry. e cooperative booth in
Hall 3 will grow once more. e
exhibits presented there will include
pheromone traps for improved
pest monitoring, professional
fertilisers and high-quality coconut
bre products. e worlds largest
breeder and distributor of English
carnations, an internationally
recognised rose breeder, a company
Country pavilions at IPM ESSEN 2013
IPM Essen is a truly international event, featuring
exhibitors from over 40 nations who will present
their products and services. This years edition will
host a record number of country pavilions.

>>>
Germany
form the centrepiece. At this Info
Point, exhibitors will be able to put
their rms brochures on display.
Visitors will receive coupons for
Italian espresso.
Moreover, Italian companies from
the elds of greenhouse construc-
tion and agricultural technology
will be exhibitors in Hall 3. In total,
over 100 Italian exhibitors will be
represented at IPM ESSEN 2013.
(Hall 6.0)
Japan
e Japanese cooperative booth will
present itself in Hall 2 on an area of
100 square metres. In an ambience
with Japanese owers, the booth
will simultaneously oer space for
customer discussions and advice
sessions.
(Hall 2.0, Booth 2A19)
Poland
On the occasion of IPM ESSEN
2013, the Polish cooperative booth
has doubled its booth area in com-
parison with the previous year.
Polish tree nurseries will be repre-
sented by 13 plant manufacturers
from the entire Polish territory.
ey all belong to Polands largest
tree nursery organisation, Polish
Nurserymen Association.
On the cooperative booth, the
visitors will nd a wide range of
products which will be convincing
due to a high quality. ese will
include trees, shrubs, perennial
plants, climbing plants, plants pro-
duced in vitro as well as container
and oor plants.
(Hall 9.0, Booths 9A65 and 9B59)
South Korea
e South Korean cooperative
booth will be located in the Galeria.
As successful exhibitors at Flowers
IPM in Moscow, KAMICO
(Korean Agricultural Machinery
Industry Cooperative) will now
take part in IPM ESSEN 2013 for
the rst time with twelve manufac-
turer rms. e range on oer will
feature products for plant
cultivation in the greenhouse,
e.g. boxes, binders, strips, shears,
aluminium screens, fabrics, bind-
ing machines, LED lamps, air
circulation fans, air dehumidiers,
irrigation systems, geared motors
and switchboxes. Visitors will have
the possibilities of trying out the
products directly on the booth and
of obtaining advice.
(Galeria, Booth GA-2)
Spain
e 44 exhibitors in the Span-
ish cooperative appearance have
specialised in ornamental plants.
e companies are members of the
Spanish Association of the Socie-
ties of Exporting Producers of Fruit,
Vegetables, Flowers and Plants
(FEPEX). Its range on oer at IPM
ESSEN will be multifaceted; the
exhibits will include shrubs, bam-
boos, conifers and palm trees. A
few producers will bring very large
plants to the fair such as Washing-
ton palm trees, phoenix palm trees,
olive trees or butia palm trees.
(Hall 9.0, Booth 9A11 / Hall 12,
Booth 12D11)
USA
e USA will be represented
at IPM ESSEN 2013 with two
cooperative booths: In Hall 2, the
Southern US Trade Association
(SUSTA) will once again present
itself with a newly designed modern
and open booth.
In Hall 8, the second cooperative
booth will be promoted by OFA
(Association of Horticulture
Professionals).
(Hall 2.0, Booth 2D13 / Hall 8.0,
Booth 8B40)
|||
for micropropagation, one of the
worlds largest clematis breeders
as well as a manufacturer of root
control systems will be amongst the
exhibitors in Hall 10.
Booth 10C13)
The Netherlands
e Dutch pavilion of Flora Hol-
land will present itself in Hall 1.
Over 40 exhibitors will participate
in the cooperative booth. ey will
display a wide spectrum of ower-
ing and green house plants, garden
plants, cut owers, young plants,
orists requisites and packaging.
(Hall 1.0, Booth 1B11)
Proba
e Foundation for the Proba
Trade Fair for Tree Nurseries
(Stichting Vakbeurs voor de
Boomkwekerij Proba) will have
its cooperative booth in Hall 12.
44 Dutch exhibitors will present a
wide selection of tree nursery inven-
tory for the consumer market. eir
items on display will include not
only containers and plant pots for
tree nurseries but also plants which
grow directly in the substrate.
(Hall 12, Booth 12A13)
Hungary
Tree nurseries and plant wholesal-
ers will present themselves on the
Hungarian cooperative booth in
Hall 10, also including the two
largest Hungarian producers of
roses. In addition, the associations
of tree nurseries will represent the
entire Hungarian tree nursery
sector. e participating companies
will introduce the newest varieties
of large trees and new gloriously
colourful perennial plants as well
as heat-resistant and frost-resistant
quality plants.
(Hall 10 / Booths 10D10 and 10D11)
Italy
At IPM 2013, the whole of Hall
6 will once more be occupied by
Italian exhibitors. e entire range
of Italian production will be rep-
resented from producers of plants,
trees and cut owers right up to
leading suppliers of plant pots. In
this respect, the traditional Italian
hall will present itself with a new
concept: e Piazetta Italia will
Guzmania Calypso, a bred of Exotic Plant.
World News
Belgium
Court nds Deroose
Plants guilty of infringing
PVR
In a decision of 3 December, the Flemish plant grower Deroose Plants
was convicted by the Ghent Commercial Court for infringement of the
plant variety rights (PVR) of its competitor Exotic Plant.
Exotic Plant is a Belgian company es-
tablished in Laarne and specialised in
the breeding of bromeliads, a South
American ornamental plant spe-
cies. Exotic Plant protects its newest
varieties through plant breeders rights,
an intellectual property right
especially for plants. One
of these rights is for
the variety Ca-
lypso, which is
protected both
in Belgium and
the Netherlands.
After a long procedural battle,
the Court has now decided
that the bromeliads which
Deroose commercialises in
Belgium and the Netherlands under
the names Starlight and Catherine,
amount to an infringement of Calypso.
It was held that the plants cannot be
distinguished from one another. Deroose
immediately has to take its plants off the
Belgian and Dutch markets and destroy
all remaining propagating material.
Deroose has also been ordered to pay
a provisional amount of damages. An
expert has been appointed to determine the nal amount due. Luc Pieters
and Caroline De Meyer, the directors of Exotic Plant, are satised: Except for
the amount of damages, the judge has granted each and every of our claims.
We protect our nest varieties through plant breeders rights. This decision
shows that, despite the difculty in evidencing infringement, these rights are
certainly not an empty box. According to Philippe de Jong of the Altius law
rm in Brussels who represents the interests of Exotic Plant in this case, the
decision is noteworthy in more than one respect: it is particularly interesting
that the judge has granted our claim to have the decision published in spe-
cialised journals and that the decision was declared immediately enforceable.
That means that Deroose Plants, as soon as the decision is served upon it,
will have to do what the Court has ordered it to do in the judgment, regard-
less of any appeal that would be led. The judge did this because he felt that
Deroose had already been aware of the infringing nature of its plants for a
long time, but always refused to admit it, despite the existence of clear expert
reports.
|||
Israel
Signicant increase
in patent fees
Signicant increase in patent fees in Israel came
into effect on 1 January, 2013. These include a
marked increase in patent ling fees (approx.
two-fold) and in monthly extension fees (approx.
three-fold). Signicant increases will also apply
to initial maintenance fees.
A major portion of the new revisions to the Patent
Regulations came into effect on 1 January, 2013. Among
the most signicant changes are marked increases in
some of the Patent Ofce's fees. The basic patent ling
fees have been almost doubled with an increase in the
current fees from NIS 1,075 to NIS 2,000. There will
be a marked increase also in the monthly extension fee
from NIS 64 to NIS 200. Furthermore, there will also be
a marked increase in the initial patent maintenance fees
and a modest increase in renewal fees payable at the
more advanced years of patent life.
|||
Middle East
An overview of
the Jordanian
horticulture scene.
by Eyal Policar
and Saleh Adwan
are all the ingredients necessary
for a strong and vibrant industry.
At this very moment, there are 40
active ower farms with an average
size of 2.5 hectares. Many farms
specialise in select crops, others
grow seasonally.
Greenhouse technology is often up
to date including cooling, heating
and shading systems.
We saw crops grown on substrate
with good computerised ltration
systems.
Storage rooms boost an ample stock
of fertilizers, chemicals fumiga-
tion and pesticide; there is no
shortage of inputs as Jordan is an
agricultural country. Refrigerated
warehouses and packing/dispatch
areas look clean and tidy. e
countrys infrastructure, especially
their roads, are in perfect condi-
tion making transportation easy
and accessible. ere is a major 4
lane highway going from north to
south in, including to Queen Alia
international airport which is going
through a huge expansion stage.
Time is at a stand still
On the other hand it looks like time
may be standing still. Many of the
varieties grown here are outdated
greet us as we head down to the
Bursa, the auction house and the
hub of the Jordanian horticulture
scene.
Trac in downtown Amman is
always heavy, explained, in an
apologetic way, my good friend
Saleh, a banana grower from the
Beqa area, whom I have known
for many years. As we stand in one
of the trac lights a vendor with
a tray full of young bromeliads
approaches us. As it turns out,
throughout the year trac light
vendors will sell pot plants and cut
owers to customers on a regular
basis. In the winter, these appears to
be a feasible marketing strategy,
but thinking of the heat, dust and
pollution, that prevail throughout
the summer months with no cool-
ing facilities, one wonders what
kind of image these products have
in the minds of the local popula-
tion. One thing is for sure, their
shelf life cannot be very long.
Crossroad
Jordan is at a crossroads, and it
seems they have been there for
quite a while. However, the time for
decision making cannot be too far
down the road. On one hand there
I
t is 0900 Sunday morning, with
cold and windy weather prevail-
ing in Jordans capital city of
Amman, one of the most amazing
desert countries in the Middle East.
e winter season here is very short,
most of the year it is hot and dry,
but on this day rain, wind and cold
Jordan has key
ingredients for a
vibrant ower industry
The Bursa wholesale market.
and a large number of farms dont
have any of the modern facilities
required to reach a good quality
ower. In the last years, quite a few
farms have had to shutdown.
It seems unclear as to how knowl-
edge is obtained, and preserved.
A farmer will buy seeds or cuttings,
from a certain company and expect
that they will give good growing
and maintenance instructions,
however there is such diversica-
tion and micro climate dierence
between farms that this system
cannot be optimal.
It is also common practice that the
owner isnt really involved in the
daily planning and organisation,
but hired managers, and again this
is a burden on top quality produc-
tion.
Water is also a problem with interim
periods of shortage especially in the
summer. Transportation is not done
by cooling trucks, (picture) which
undermines the quality.
Bursa
e Bursa is a wholesale market
with each wholesaler doing a one
hour auction a day and a very
popular trading place for horticul-
tural products. However, with these
dierent wholesalers concentrating
too much eort on competing with
each other rather than concentrat-
ing their eorts towards the buyers,
much credibility is lost.
The countrys ofcial name is The Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan while the conventional short
form is: Jordan.
Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with a
representative government. The National
Assembly is bi-cameral; the Senate has
55 members and the House of Representatives
has 110. The King, His Majesty King Abdullah II,
has wide-ranging powers although his veto can
be overridden by a two-thirds majority of the
National Assembly.
Jordan is at a crossroads of the Middle East
with Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi
Arabia to the south and Israel and the West Bank
to the west. There are only 27km of coastline;
Aqaba lies at the northern tip of the Red Sea;
Aqaba is 330km south of Amman.
The population of Jordan is estimated to be 5.9
million; there is a current growth rate of 2.3%.
It has doubled since 1980 and 63.7% of the
population is between 15-64 years of age.
The population increased signicantly with
Palestinian, Iraqi and Syrian refugees.
>>>
Middle East
e Bursa market is opened 6 days
a week and the owers may vary
from day to day. Some farms send
products only two times a week,
and owers are usually seasonal,
still on any given days there are
more than 35 varieties available.
For the remainder of the day, the
Bursa is a cash and carry store with
no cooling facilities.
According to the Jordanian
Association for cut owers and
ornamental Plants 90% of the
business is done in the Bursa.
During auction time, owers are
bumped around from place to
place, the auctioneer writes down
all the transaction on pieces of
paper. Later he will explain to me
that it saves time.
e auction is the classical type
auction with highest bidder win-
ning (opposite of the Dutch auction
system)
e big advantage of the Bursa
is they pay farmers within 20
days and if need be, they will give
advanced payments. Wholesalers in
general have a 2 week credit, and of
course those wholesalers' who tag
behind cannot purchase again until
their tab has been paid.
Members of the particular auction
pay less commission, however any
grower can put his owers for sale
at any of the auctions.

5 million dollar industry
In order to fully understand why
they do their business this way we
have to understand how the indus-
try evolved and who the people in
the decision making capacities are.
Although the gures are a bit hazy
In Jordan, there is currently 250 hectares of horticulture pro-
duction land in use. On this land there are 50 cut ower farms
producing 50 million stems every year. The total value from this
production has a net worth of approximately 5 million USD. Pot
plants and green bouquet llers are mostly imported by three
major wholesalers, but no gures are readily available.
Jordan has easy access to export markets such as Syria, the gulf
states and Lebanon, but exports account for only 5% of Jordan
grown owers and plants.
There are three major production areas in Jordan. North of Am-
man, the area of Al Baqa, rising around 300-600 meters above sea
level, has very cold winters and hot summers. It is dubbed as the
Medium Altitude Area with Trachelium, Gypsophilia, Limonium,
Chrysanthemum, Lisianthus and Rosa being the main ornamental
crops.
The High Altitude Area, south of Amman in the Um Almad region
is located 800-1000 meters above sea level and produces mainly
Aster, Iris, Tulipa, Freesia, Liatris and Rosa.
The Jordan Valley, which nds itself 200-400 meters above sea
level has quite moderate winters but very hot summers. It is often
referred to as the countrys vegetable garden
producing an abundance of fruits, vegetables and cut owers
such as Tulipa, Gypsophila, Gerbera, Helianthus, Freesia, Lilium,
Lisianthus and Rosa.
Flower growing in Jordan can be done all year round and there is
no income or sales tax for exporters. Jordan is a member of UPOV
and the World Trade Organization. Standards and specications
are set by the Jordanian Institute of standards and there are 250
ower shops and vendors throughout the kingdom.
it is approximately a 5 million
dollar industry and around 50
million stems annually. Most of the
market is Rosa, Lilium, Gerbera,
Gypsophila and seasonal owers
such as Lisianthus, Matthiola and
Helianthus. ere is a bit of green
llers and pot plant is on the rise.
Many Jordanians especially in west
Amman live in small houses and so
landscaping is also popular. ere
are no statistics on this.
Most of the pot plants are imported
by three main wholesalers' who do
their business directly. Many of the
products come from Italy. Overall,
the market has been on a steady rise
over the last three years and this
is the reason for optimism among
the growers and wholesalers'. e
market is especially strong in the
spring and summer which is the
wedding season.
Import ban
Until the early 80's most of the
owers were imported however
when the Jordanian government
banned imports on owers, it was
considered a luxury and foreign
currency was hard earned not to be
spend on such things. So the local
population would pick wild owers
and the ower shops were the rst
to get their hands on farms and
began growing. Still today there is
a direct link between ower shops
owners and farm owners. It became
evident that production was higher
than any given shop could handle
and thus the Bursa was formed.
Today there are approximately 200
ower shops most in the Amman
area. ere is virtually no export
Trafc light vendors.
since the prices locally are fair
enough and overhead would be
too high and quality control would
remain a problem.
Good business
environment
Having said this, a little bit of
owers goes to neighboring Syria,
Lebanon and a bit to the Gulf
States. ere is a real lack of know-
ledge and the feeling of Mr.Ahmed
Channam the head of the Jordanian
Association for Cut Flowers and
Ornamental Plants (JACFOP)
is that there is a good business
environment in Jordan for investors
especially in the surrounding areas
of Amman. ere is no income tax
on farming, however in the Bursa
there is an 8% charge to the auc-
tioneer. ere is also a 2% charge
for sellers and 2% for buyers to the
Amman municipality. ere is also
a sales tax if exceeding a certain
limit which rarely happens. ere is
talk of nding a better location with
parking space and cooling houses.
We had a nice discussion at the
association with Ahmad, Mo-
hammad and Yousef Al-Khateeb,
Qasem Al-Humse and eng.Nada
Al-Hamad who is the secretary of
JACFOP.
I was invited to Amina Plant &
More ower shop owned and run
by Yousef Al-Khateeb. e family
also has a farm not to far from Am-
man which is run by his father Abu
Yousef Al-Khateeb nicknamed in
the market as king of owers and a
younger brother.
When commenting on his plans
for the future, Yousef said, "Today
we can make a living both from the
ower shop and the farm, however
if all the brothers will want to join
the business we may be in trouble.
Also we cover expenses and make
a small prot but not enough for
investments not to mention for
savings for the future.
If the trends of the last three years
continue then the prospect for
the local market is very good. If
the quality of the owers would
improve and cold chain maintained
and a stronger connection between
the wholesalers or growers could be
reached with Dubai and the Dubai
hub, markets could easily open
up.
|||
The Jordanian Association for Cut Flower and
Ornamental Plants, JACFOP was established in
July 2005. JACFOP is a non prot organisation
and aims to put Jordan on the world map of
ower producing countries and to unite all
Jordan greenhouse growers of cut owers and
indoor plants. JACFOP promotes the countrys
exquisite owers on the international market
place by developing quality standards that can
meet with international criteria.
Yousef Al-Khateeb, owner of
Amina Plant & More ower shop.
owerCents_54x124.indd 1 22-01-2009 15:35:52
World News
United Kingdom
UK maintains strong presence at IPM Essen 2013
Meet leading suppliers from the UK horticulture industry by joining the British group for an informal reception from 5pm on Wednesday
23
rd
January or visit the UK pavilion
A showcase of innovative new products and service solutions from
leading British suppliers to the worldwide horticulture industry will
be on display at IPM Essen 2013 from the UK Pavilions in Hall 10
(stand 10C13 and 10C17) and Hall 3 (stand 3B37).
Visitors and international buyers are able to see the latest offerings from
leading suppliers in a variety of different categories.
Building on a growing presence in Hall 3, CHA has extended the Pavilion
and will feature a number of novel products and services including a
range of new pheromone traps to allow accurate monitoring and better
control of pests, professional grower substrates and high quality coir
(cocopeat) products from a leading manufacturer and supplier. Along-
side this you will nd a designer and manufacturer of high-specication
glasshouses and glasshouse accessories, and a manufacturer of world-
renowned seeding machines.
In Hall 10 British exhibitors will include the worlds leading breeder and
propagator of English Pinks, an internationally recognised English rose
breeder, an expert micro-propagation company and one of the largest
clematis nurseries in the world. They will be joined on the UK Pavilion by
the manufacturer of a specialist root control system.
The pavilion is organised by the Commercial Horticultural Association
(CHA) who also operate an industry information stand (10C13) where
visitors can obtain details of British group participants and their products
via the UK Preview Guide, pick up a copy of the annual CHA Buyers
Guide, conduct meetings or attend the informal reception held on the
pavilion.
To make an appointment, register for the UK reception, or request your
free copy of the UK Preview Guide or CHA Buyers Guide, please email
stuart@cha-hort.com with your contact details, quoting reference FCI2.
UK Exhibitors at IPM Essen 2013 include:
Agralan Ltd Belstane Marketing Ltd Botanicoir Ltd Caledonian Tree
Company Cambridge HOK Commercial Horticultural Association
David Austin Roses Ltd The Guernsey Clematis Nursery Ltd Hamilton
Design Ltd Hotbox International HSK Gardening & Leisure Joseph
Noblett.com Kernock Park Plants Pennine Manufacturing Ltd Plant
Marketing International Ltd PPC Labels Sirane Ltd Solufeed Ltd
Tyne Moulds & Machinery Co Ltd VertiGarden Whetman Pinks Ltd
|||
Have I mentioned that I happily spend time
shopping with Sheryl, especially when were
travelling? Apart from it being one of the best
ways I know of settling into the culture of a place,
its also entertaining because it lets you take part
in that universal pastime - people watching.
eres a huge amount to be gained from getting
out amongst it all, because you can directly see
how the locals operate. And if your business
depends on marketing at some point, then its a
brilliant way to keep refreshing your gut feeling
about how people buy, what they buy and what
they walk right past.
So while the executive team were overseas recently I took some time out from busi-
ness to go shopping with Sheryl... which is how I came across this (see photo) in a
shoe department. To be honest, wed been out for a few hours already and I was on
the look-out for a place to sit down for a minute. And here was this slightly puzzling,
and strangely unsettling moment.
I took a quick photo because Sheryl wasnt shopping for shoes and wanted to move
on. (I should mention here that while she enjoys shopping, shes no spendthrift and
the vast bulk of what she buys is for her family.) Anyway, I pondered why that bit of
clutter in a corner of a department store was bothering me enough to bring it up with
her later over dinner. And she helped me spot the issue. Actually two issues.
Firstly, take a look at that pile of shoes. ough they shriek of being discarded theres
nothing actually wrong with them, but they clearly didnt t someones feet or expec-
tations. Carefully re-wrapped and returned to their boxes, its very likely that they
will nd their way out the door on another day, with someone whose feet do t them
and who likes the way they look and feel.
My feeling of discomfort came from the fact that the sta working in that depart-
ment store didnt respect those shoes (the product). ey also didnt respect the store
itself. Even if they were overworked, that moment - in my opinion - should never be
allowed to happen because those shoes were cheapened along with the image of the
store. And thats because the person who goes in to buy a pair of shoes wants more
than just the shoes. ey want to trust the store to sell them something of value, and
the message being broadcast by that pile of shoes & boxes was that the store clearly
didnt value its products or the department was poorly run - or both.
en theres the second issue which is more subtle. Does this pile of shoes represent
too much choice? Are there so many shoe options available that each one somehow
diminishes the value of the other? In my imagination I wondered if this pile of shoes
was created by a shoe-shopper who was simply overwhelmed by too much on oer,
who ran away from the responsibility of having to make a choice?
What I decided to take from this moment of pondering was as follows:
1. dont be fooled into oering choice for choices sake, but focus on the products you
genuinely value, and
2. only deal in products which you value and treat them with the respect they deserve.
A shoe stack
Happy Gardening
by Anthony Tesselaar
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
United States
Will 2013 be a year of
change for independent
garden centers?
Independent garden centers must change and
they need to do so quickly. This is the view of
retail experts John Stanley and Sid Raisch who
are joining forces for a two-day (January 30-31)
New Vision Summit to share global ideas and
national developments to help independent
retailers determine their response to the future.
Stanley and Raisch believe this because the average
sale per customer of a typical American garden
center is lower than many countries with developed
garden center industries. Furthermore, with the
economy emerging from a recession, now is the
time to ensure the future success of retailers. This
is a challenge and an opportunity. We can do better
as an industry and we can start with an in-depth
exploration of our business model, said Raisch.
Raisch and Stanley are providing a unique
opportunity for U.S. garden center retailers to further
develop their business and set a new direction for
the industry. These two leading industry consultants
are joining forces for a two-day New Vision Summit
to share global ideas and national developments to
help independent retailers determine their response
to the future. The event will be hosted by OFA
The Association of Horticulture Professionals.
The New Vision Summit is planned for January 30-
31, 2013, a day before the OFA/ANLA Next Level
Conference in Nashville, TN. The focused business
retreat is limited to 35 leading thinkers and non-
competing garden centers from Canada and the
United States.
According to John Stanley this is a unique
opportunity. This is not a series of lectures by
two consultants. Instead, the aim is for each of the
presenters to bring forward their ideas and then allow
the group to debate those ideas to come up with
new strategies for their business and the industry.
Imagine being in an elite group of independent
retailers taking the industry into the future, said
Raisch. This is an exciting opportunity when you
imagine some of the top thinkers in the industry
will be together for the purpose to develop new
strategies. OFA and the presenters are hoping this
will become a yearly event for the same group of
delegates.
Retailers that want to participate in this event
should visit the event web site at
www.YourNextLevel.org/NVF.
|||
World News
Prices
FloraHolland
clock sales 2012
Weeks 1 to 50
Category Product Quantity % 12:11 Price 2012 Price 2011
Cut Flowers Rose large 1,959,405,171 -7.5 0.25 0.25
Chrysanthemum. Spray 704,116,048 -5.1 0.26 0.23
Tulipa single owered 835,502,570 -3.2 0.12 0.12
Rosa sweetheart 172,987,164 -26.3 0.12 0.11
Gerbera mini 455,281,113 0.1 0.12 0.11
Lilium oriental 99,513,090 -2.9 0.60 0.64
Chrysanthemum disbudded 147,954,861 -4.3 0.41 0.36
Gerbera large owered 92,563,541 -10.9 0.22 0.21
Chrysanthemum santini 140,099,533 -13.2 0.21 0.17
Cymbidium large owered per stem 9,300,765 -15.0 3.44 2.97
Freesia single owered 116,400,134 -22.5 0.17 0.14
Hydrangea 31,610,394 6.8 1.01 1.03
Rosa spray 90,309,030 -2.8 0.33 0.29
Tulipa double 177.911.299 4.0 0.15 0.13
Alstroemeria 141,259,144 -8.9 0.18 0.16
Total Top 15 5,174,213,857 -6.7 0.23 0.22
Indoor Plants Phalaenopsis 21,862,528 13.0 3.34 3.56
Kalanchoe 24,976,386 -6.7 0.64 0.58
Anthurium 6,527,588 -12.0 2.68 2.61
Bromelia 11,267,139 -12.5 1.25 1.23
Potted rose 14,435,169 12.9 0.90 0.90
Pot mums 11,904,356 -9.3 0.68 0.65
Hydrangea 5,188,655 -9.3 2.10 2.03
Ficus 5,135,033 -21.1 1.88 1.77
Dracaena 7,178,317 -12.2 1.25 1.25
Potted Hyacinthus 22,538,685 -7.1 0.40 0.43
Total Top 10 131,013,856 -4.4 1.38 1.34
Garden Plants Miscellanous bedding plants 14,274,468 3.1 0.31 0.30
Hydrangea 1,961,147 2.4 2.89 2.56
Buxus 3,679,056 -1.1 2.33 2.20
Viola 18,450,354 -19.8 0.25 0.21
Misc.trees, shrubs & climbing plants 1,309,921 34.8 2.96 3.65
Total Top 5 39,674,946 -8.7 0.68 0.59
Source FloraHolland
Finland
Esa Tamsi Ltd
installs Netled
LED luminaires
Esa Tamsi Ltd has installed Netleds LED-luminaires
for 500m
2
area of salad production this autumn.
We have followed with great interest the pilots
of LED-luminaires in greenhouses and the eld
studies. We are convinced that LEDs represent the
most important new technology that will improve
the protability of Finnish greenhouse companies
and contribute to the survival of Finnish greenhouse
production in the future. Energy is the most signicant
cost in our production. With LED-lighting we can
reduce our energy consumption and improve the
protability of our business. We decided to choose
Netleds luminaires, because of the best energy
efciency and their minimum day light shading effect,
said Esa Tamsi, owner of Esa Tamsi Ltd.
We have been working closely together with growers
in our product development. We have listened to the
experiences of the led light use in greenhouses and
pursued to solve the problems in our own product
development. LED chips have now developed, what
comes to efcacy and prices, to the level, where
LED-luminaires are genuinely protable to invest in
professional greenhouse production. Esa Tamsis
investment is a remarkable opening of the usage of
new technology in Finnish greenhouse sector, said
Niko Kivioja, managing director of Netled Ltd.
Tamsi greenhouse group consists of 4 companies:
Esa Tamsi Ltd, Matti Tamsi Ltd, Tamsin Vihannes Ltd
and Tamsin Tarhat Ltd. Tamsi group produces salads,
dill and parsnip over 10 million pieces annually on 3,2
hectare greenhouse area. The group is one of the
largest salad production companies in Finnish market.
Netled Ltds product range consists of applications
for interlighting (tomato, cucumber, bell pepper), top
lighting (salads, herbs, owers) and growth chambers
lighting (breeding, micropropagation, research).
Netleds product range enables energy efcient lighting
solutions for large areas. Now Netled offers luminaires
for homegrowers, too. The rst consumer product was
brought into domestic market in November.
|||
World News
Kratbjerg 332
.
DK-3480 Fredensborg
.
Denmark
.
+45 48 48 30 28
post@poulsenroser.dk
.
www.poulsenroser.com
Perfect quality
Young plants by Poulsen
Full range of products from indoor minia-

tures to outdoor climbing roses and clematis
30% lower energy input than other
standard breeds
Easy-to-grow manuals
Only 8-10 weeks fnished production time
The products are ready for ordering in
plugs to make half-fnished in 10 cm pots
Exceptional keeping quality throughout
production, transportation, at the retailer
and with the end-user

The high-quality young plants are offered
by recognised high-end brokers.
Visit us at
IPM
2013
Hall 5, stand 5A13
Roses and clematis by Poulsen
3.
Finish
May-June
2.
Pot up
February-March
1. Place order
before 15. August -
delivery November-January
GREENEX

W
O
R
L
D
WI D
E

E
X
P
O
R
T

WE ARE AGAIN
EXHIBITING AT
THE TPIE SHOW IN
FORT LAUDERDALE
THE 23-25 OF
JANUARY 2013
GREENEX
UNITED STATES INC.
10620 GRIFFIN ROAD SUITE
B-206, COOPER CITY
FLORIDA 33328, USA
TEL: (+1) 305 812 3141
FAX: (+1) 905 682 9994
C
O
M
E

S
E
E
O
U
R

N
O
V
E
L
T
IE
S

F
R
O
M
A
R
O
U
N
D

T
H
E
W
O
R
L
D

A
T
B
O
O
T
H

#
2
1
3
1
.
Plants, technology,
supplies and expertise in
horticulture from the UK
www.cha-hort.com
Visit the UK
Pavilion on
stand 10C13
Join the British Exhibitors from 5pm on Wednesday
23 January for some light refreshments
IPM ESSEN 2013
22 25 JANUARY
Crop protection
Disinfestants are
used to eliminate
pathogens from
areas where
previous crops
were grown or
from tools that
contact infected
plant tissue or
infested soil or
organic media.
Like all disease
control methods
the purpose
is to minimize
the occurrence
and severity of
disease. This
requires knowing
the strengths and
weaknesses of
disinfestants and
combining that
with a knowledge
about specic plant
pathogens.
by Warren Copes
general, chemicals are more eective
when applied when the pathogen
population is low. Many pathogen
propagules dont survive well on
bare surfaces. Some spores are easily
killed with exposure to sunlight
and some loss viability when
exposed to alternating wet and dry
conditions. Pathogen survival in-
creases when the pathogen colonizes
organic tissue, whether that tissue is
a growing medium or plant tissue.
Many pathogen population levels
can be reduced by removing
the organic matter. If possible, leave
the area bare for several days before
applying disinfestant to the produc-
tion surfaces.
Lethality of some pathogens
requires a longer exposure to the
disinfestant. If weather conditions
promote rapid drying (e.g. in less
than 10 minutes), ecacy may
be improved by reapplying the
disinfestant a second time just
before the surface dries. For sur-
faces susceptible to corrosion, some
benet may be gained by rinsing
surfaces within hour of applying
the disinfestant.
Identifying pathogens
An additional key part of eec-
tively using disinfestants is knowing
which diseases can be a problem at
your facility, and identifying the
pathogens likely to carryover on
surfaces and infect an incoming
crop. If the pathogen is coming
primarily from an outside source,
such as on the incoming crop or
from other sources on your facility,
than only disinfesting a specic
production area will not give the
intended level of control.
If you feel a product isnt eliminat-
ing a pathogen, contact an exten-
sion agent, crop consultant, or plant
pathologist for assistance. Some-
times additional control approaches
are needed.
To learn more about this topic from
Dr. Copes, go to our online video
presentation at
www.watereducationalliance.org,
then click on the Workshops tab,
and then click on presentations.
e presentation Disinfestants
for sanitizing production surface
is under the Treatment technolo-
gies for irrigation water and surface
sanitation category.
Source: Reducing spread of plant
pathogens with disinfestants.
|||
Warren Copes,
warren.copes@ars.usda.gov
D
isinfestants generally are an
eective way to eliminate
pathogens from surfaces.
Unfortunately, use of disinfestants
is not as straight forward as many
people believe. Based on results
from several studies on plant patho-
gens and other microorganisms, not
every pathogen is inactivated equal-
ly, i.e. some pathogens are dicult
to kill. As a result, the disinfestant
will not always work. Companies
provide the best information they
have, but not enough research
information is available to know the
full scope of impact relative to every
pathogen; however, disinfestants are
a valuable disease control tool and
following label instructions usually
will provide control.
General safeguards
Some general safeguards can help
assure product eectiveness. In
Reducing spread of
plant pathogens with
disinfestants
For surfaces susceptible to corrosion, some benet may be gained by rinsing surfaces
within hour of applying the disinfestant. (Photo credits: Elianne van Winden).
Container Centralen GmbH. T +49 (0) 40 53908-0. F +49 (0) 40 53908-100. ccdach@container-centralen.com. www.containercentralen.com
Container Centralen: Proven Technology
The CC Flower Trolleys Family
Container Centralen is the market leader within the European horticultural logistics industry, and has the right
solutions to challenges encountered in the transportation of fowers and plants: the reliable carriers - CC Container,
CC Container, CC Eurocontainer, and CC Euro Trolley.

The CC Euro container and CC Euro Trolley are both particularly suited for displaying goods.

The European depot network also enables the use of CC Services:
- Repair and Maintenance Services
- Transfer Service to avoid unnecessary journeys
- Collection Service with inventory tracking, as well as optimization of transport and return logistics

The existing RFID technology can be used both for validating, as well as the tracking and tracing of goods.
The CC Pool allows you to focus on your core business anywhere in Europe and Container Centralen will ensure
that you have functional carriers.
Visit us in the Gallery
Booth No. 42
o
r
i
g
i
n
a
l
C
C
C
o
n
t
a
in
e
r CC Contain
e
r
C
C
C
o
n
t
a
i n
e
r C C C o n t a i n
e
r
T+31 (0)297-382038 www.hilverdakooij.nl Mijnsherenweg 15 1424 CA De Kwakel Holland
Blue compact
(Limonium) Winterbells
(Helleborus)
HilverdaKooij
presents new, eye-catching
pot plant varieties at IPM 2013
We hope to welcome you at our stand
Hall 2, stand number 2C-11
If youre reading this column then we have proof the Mayan calendar
was wrong. Evidently they werent predicting the end of the world on
12/21/12 after all. My own personal opinion is they either got bored of
hacking symbols into stone and left to take a break at the beach, or a
neighboring tribe came by and sacriced our poor calendarists on the
nearest altar, or (hehe) maybe they just couldnt count any higher.
Either way, the calendar never got nished. So alas, we must continue to
face the consequences of our actionsdarn. I was planning on having so
much fun those last few days. Instead, were once again back to business
as usual. Another day, another dollar(or euro). Back to the grind. Hello
2013. Feel free to insert your own clich here, I ran out
No, no prognostications this year. I will only say I think its going to be a
great (or at least an ok) year, and there will be some surprises, some good,
some probably not so good, and some probably bad. In other words, an
entirely normal year. After everything weve been through the past few
years, a normal year would be a treat indeed.
I have some personal reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the
coming annum. Ive received some preliminary bookings that are going
to enable me to more than double my US-based Plumeria production
this year ( happy face here Mr. Editor), and orders from my Plumeria
customers in Europe are holding at least steady, and even giving
indications that theyre going to increase a little.
I had been fairly concerned about that given all the doom and gloom
type news out of the Eurozone. Im not sure why this is the case, or if
its possible to read the tea leaves from it. After all, the state of Plumeria
cutting sales in Western Europe is about as far as one can get from a
leading economic indicator.
On the other hand, it is a leading indicator for this columnists personal
economy, and its pointing up. (more smiles here Mr. Editor). Along
these lines (and in a completely tasteless example of crass self-promotion),
if anyone reading this column would like to begin growing the nest
Plumeria in the world, please contact yours truly at the e-mail address
provided below.
is more or less concludes my columnar entry into 2013, with the
aside that I managed to get through an entire column without a political
insight, and I think Ill leave it that way. Now please excuse me while I go
and take a stroll o the scal cli
Happy New Year?
Certiable in California
by John Ingwersen
John Ingwersen graduated with a degree in marketing
from Georgetown University in 1990, and founded
Jungle Jacks, Inc. in 1995.
sales@junglejacksthailand.com
e Netherlands
Symposium on
growing media and
soilless cultivation
The International Society for Horticultural Science,
ISHS, has announced an international scientic
symposium on growing media and soilless
cultivation, which is set to take place at the Holiday
Inn hotel in Leiden, the Netherlands from June 17
to 21, 2013.
Endorsed by the International Society for Horticultural
Science and the International Peat Society, the 2013
Grosci event will be organised by Wageningen UR
Greenhouse Horticulture.
The symposium aims to gather researchers and
substrate and compost businesses and will focus on
the use of soilless growing systems and recycling
systems, aquaponics and microbiological processes
in substrate and compost. The symposium aims
to address world wide scientic and technological
advances in growing media and growing media
systems including water based rooting systems.
Topics are the worldwide impact of systems for
soilless culture on growing media, the emission
reduction of nutrients and plant protection products
to the environment and efcient use of water,
the combination of soilless plant production and
aquaculture, sustainable production, application and
development of (new) growing media, advances
in composting, physical and chemical substrate
properties, water and nutrient management, new
analytical methods, measuring, control and automation,
micro biological diversity, resilience and disease
suppression and control of soil-borne pests and
diseases.
Authors will be invited to submit their intended topics
via the ISHS system.
PhD students are invited to present their research
topics. Participation will be arranged at a reduced fee.
|||
World News
Lighting
Europes biggest
open horticultural
research facility
for LED lighting
technology went
into operation in
England last year.
Sited at Stockbridge
Technology Centre
(STC Ltd.), it is
co-sponsored
by the Dutch
company Philips
Lighting and by
CambridgeHOK. This
leading glasshouse
construction
company is a
certied Philips LED
Horti Partner.
by John Sutton
means of assessing the quality and
speed of growth achieved under
LED lighting. ere is also a fur-
ther experimental area dedicated to
looking at novel approaches to the
use of LED lights for horticulture.
HDC
Grower groups will be important
users of LED4CROPS. In the UK,
much of the applied horticulture
research and development for
growers is commissioned by the
HDC (Horticultural Development
Company). is not-for-prot or-
ganisation is supported by a levy on
growers turnover. e allocation of
HDC income to projects is largely
determined by panels of growers,
representing the various sectors of
the horticultural industry.
e HDC is currently part-funding
a research fellowship for ve years,
to investigate the application of
LED lighting technology. Dr. Phil-
lip Davies took up the fellowship
in October last year. He was previ-
ously research associate at Indiana
University in the USA. Overseeing
him are Dr Martin McPherson,
by changing the combination and
intensity of the blue, deep red, and
far-red light modules. e daily
period of lighting is of course also
adjustable, on both the research and
production module benches.
Fully environment
controlled
e benches, in four tiers, are
housed within a new and dedicated
200 sq m building. Fully environ-
ment controlled, it was designed
and built by Cambridge HOK. e
same company also undertook the
installation of the lights and their
control equipment.
Within the unit, in addition to the
research benches, there is an area
for small-scale pilot production
projects. If successful, these could
then be transferred to commercial
nurseries. A third area is a semi-
exible space, suitable both for
some research work and for produc-
tion testing.
Alongside the LED4CROPS facil-
ity there is a glasshouse for com-
parison trialling. is is to provide
a standard plant performance as a
T
he facility, named LED-
4CROPS, has more than
forty benches, each with an
overhead array of LED lights. ese
arrays use a combination of Philips
research (dimmable) and produc-
tion modules. e facility also in-
cludes a tracked light system. ere
are 16 research module benches
where the light spectrum for the
plants on the bench can be adjusted
to design specic light recipes for
individual crop species. is is done
Growers will be
important users of
LED4CROPS
Left to right, Dr. Phillip Davies and Dr Martin McPherson.
The facility, named
LED4CROPS, has more
than forty benches,
each with an
overhead array
of LED lights.
Science Director at the Stockbridge
Technology Centre, and Professor
Nigel Paul of Lancaster University
ere is provision within the new
LED facility for private contract
work. Individual LED racks
equipped for up to four lighting
regimes can be hired on a monthly
basis. Various projects in both orna-
mental and edible crops are already
under way, but because of client
condentiality details cannot be
divulged, says Dr. McPherson. He
will be pleased to provide informa-
tion about private contract work to
interested parties (e martinmcpher-
son@stc-nyorks.co.uk)
STC
Stockbridge Technology Centre
(STC) is in Yorkshire, in north-
ern England, and was launched
in 2001. It took over extensive
facilities on the existing site of
the former Stockbridge House
Experimental Horticulture Station.
A nancial support package was
brought together for the Centre
largely through the eorts of
Graham Ward, a leading gure in
the UK horticultural industry. He
is the current chief executive ocer
of STC.
STC currently has a sta of thirty.
Among facilities for the research
and development work conducted
at the Centre are forty modern
glasshouses of all sizes up to
1,000sq.m. For eld crop work,
there is 70 ha. of good quality land
available.
Research and development being
undertaken includes projects on
substrates, integrated pest manage-
ment for both protected and eld
crops, and disease control using
conventional fungicides and bio-
control products. STC also has a
well-used plant clinic.
Stockbridge Technology Centre
has become one of a considerable
number of organisations across
the world that are tapping into the
potential of LED technology. For
example, at Purdue University,
Indiana, work is in progress on
the USAs top ten bedding and pot
plants. In China, sta at Shanghai
Jiaotong University are working on
vegetable young plant production.
Large advantages
At the University of Warwick in the
UK Dr Steve Jackson has worked
on the replacement of tungsten
lamps for the control of ower
initiation in photoperiodic orna-
mentals. ese included Chrysan-
themum and Poinsettia. Promising
results were achieved with Philips
GreenPower lamps emitting red,
far-red and white light, and with
red & far-red LED modules.
LED lamps have very large advan-
tages over other light types with
established uses in horticulture.
ey are much more energy-e-
cient. ere is minimal wastage due
both to unwanted heat and to the
emission of light wavelengths of low
value for the horticultural purpose
required.
Although LED lights are at present
comparatively expensive, they are
condently expected to become
much more competitively priced.
ey may then replace the use of
other lamp types for crops planted
out in glasshouses in areas with
poor natural light in the autumn
and winter months. In owering
crops, Alstroemeria and Chrysan-
themums are examples.
Enthusiasm is
widespread
Enthusiasm is widespread for the
potential of LED lighting technol-
ogy in horticulture, and for the
rle of the research facility at STC
in realising the potential. Graham
Ward, chief executive ocer at the
Centre, says is revolutionary
way of growing plants year round is
the most signicant advance in my
lifetime in horticulture
Tim Howarth, general manager for
CambridgeHOK, says the project is
going to allow horticulture to make
a very big step forward. Philips
emphasizes the exibility oered by
LED lighting technology, putting
together a customised lighting
solution for every user. Currently
producers of tulips, ferns, lettuce
and tomatoes are among others
making use of existing knowledge.
And Dr Martin McPherson, Sci-
ence Director at STC, says that
In addition to the signicant
opportunities in the ornamental
sector, in the very near future novel
ways have to be found to feed the
fast growing population of the
world. Growing systems using LED
technology may very well be part of
that future.
(e Stockbridge Technology Centre
website address is stc-nyorks.co.uk)
|||
Stockbridge Technology Centre (STC) is in Yorkshire,
in northern England, and was launched in 2001.
Birds eye
view of STC
Theres
more to light
Philips GreenPower LED interlighting is
a great example of the new possibilities
opened up by LED. Developed in
intensive co-operation with researchers
and growers, the system is already
producing encouraging results.
With better light output and low energy
consumption, it ticks two of the boxes that
growers insist on.
Key to its success is the unique Philips light
recipe. Before implementing the system, our
experts take time to gather information about
you, your crops and the conditions in which
you grow them. This allows us to create a
tailor-made solution that optimizes light
levels, spectrum and light uniformity to benet
you and your business.
To nd out more about Philips LED lighting for Horticulture, please visit
www.philips.com/horti or visit us at Horti Fair, stand 11.0907.
To nd out more about Philips LED lighting for Horticulture, please visit
www.philips.com/horti or visit us at IPM Essen 2013, stand GA.11.
International Events
January 2013
8 to 10. Canada
Landscape Ontario Congress,
Canadas international
horticultural lawn and garden
trade show and conference at the
Toronto Congress Centre.
www.logcongress.com
9 to 11. United States
MANTS (Mid-Atlantic Nursery
Trade Show) in Baltimore, USA.
www.mants.com
11 to 13. India
e 8th edition of FloraExpo,
New Dehli, Indias largest
horticultural trade show for
oriculture, nursery stock, oristry
and greenhouse technology at the
NSIC Convention Centre.
T (91) 11 266 820 45/266 816 71
F (91) 11 266 816 71/266 801 53
ioramtpl@gmail.com
www.oraexpo.net
CENTS is the marketplace to
increase your buying and selling
power, attend educational seminars,
and discover up-and-coming
industry developments. As the third
largest trade show of its kind, and
the largest in the Midwest, CENTS
is a 'must-attend' event for all green
industry professionals.
www.onla.org
22 to 25. Germany
IPM Essen at the Messe Essen
convention centre.
MESSE ESSEN GmbH
Norbertstrasse
D - 45131 Essen
T (49) 201.7244.0
F (49) 201.7244.248
info@messe-essen.de
www.ipm-essen.de
Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition
(TPIE) at the Greater Fort
Lauderdale/Broward County
Convention Center,
Fort Lauderdale, USA.
www.tpie.org
February 2013
Holland Food & Flowers
Holland Food & Flowers. 80th
anniversary of the worlds largest
indoor bulb ower exhibition at
Bovenkarspel. is years time is
Russia.
www.hollandfoodandowers.nl
5 to 7. Spain
Viveralia, the 10th edition of the
international plant fair, Viveralia at
the IFA convention centre in Elche,
Spain.
www.feria.alicante.com
6 to 8. Germany
20th edition of Fruit Logistica,
the leading world event for the
international fresh produce industry.
It oers the sectors connected to the
fresh fruit and vegetable business an
ideal opportunity to present their
products to a truly international
audience.
www.fruitlogistica.de
19 to 21. France
Salon du Vgtal at the Angers
convention centre in Angers,
France.
T (33) 241 7914 17
F (33) 241 4529 05
salon@bhr-vegetal.com
www.salonduvegetal.com
24 February to 3 March.
The Netherlands
Holland Food & Flowers. 80th anni-
versary of the worlds largest indoor
bulb ower exhibition at Boven-
karspel. is years theme is Russia.
www.hollandfoodandowers.nl
March 2013
5 to 6. Belgium
Florall Spring Fair at the Flanders
Convention Centre in Ghent.
T (32) 9 241 5091
F 932) 9 241 5095
info@orall.be
www.orall.be
9 to 18. Taiwan
Taiwan International Orchid Show
info@tios.org.tw
www.tios.org.tw
World Floral Expo 2013 at the
Jakob K. Javits convention centre,
New York.
www.hpp.nl
20 to 22. Ethiopia
Hortiora at the Millenium Hall,
Addis Abeba.
www.hpp.nl
20 to 24. Australia
Melbourne International Flower
& Garden Show at the Royal
Exhibition Building & Carlton
Gardens.
info@melbowershow.com.au
www.melbowershow.com.au
21 March to 21 May 21.
The Netherlands
Keukenhof, the world famous
spring garden at Lisse.
www.keukenhof.nl
April 2013
California Spring Trials
www.ofa.org/springtrials
9 to 11. Ukraine
Flowers & Hortech, 8th
international trade exhibition for
the ornamental horticulture and
gardening industry.
T (31) 55 534 1140
F (31) 55 534 0168
info@bto-exhibitions.nl
www.owers-hortech.com
16 to 18. South Africa
2nd Cool Logistics Africa
conference to focus on innovation,
investment and eciency.
www.coollogisticsafrica.com
17 to 20. China
15th Hortiorexpo IPM
Shanghai, organized by the
China Flower Association, Intex
Shanghai and China Great Wall
International Exhibition Co Ltd.
and to be held in the Shanghai
World Exhibition Centre.
www.hortiorexpo.com
22 to 25. France
Annual General Meeting of
CIOPORA in Angers, France.
www.ciopora.org
week 17. the Netherlands
2013 European Spring Pack Trials in
the Aalsmeer area and the province
of North Holland. e open days
will be held on various dates in
week 17. Check the Fleuroselect
website for more information.
www.euroselect.com
24 to 25. Kazakhstan
Astana Flora Expo 2013, at
Astanas international exhibition
centre Korme.
T (7) 495 221 1251
M (8) 915 185 7903
mail@owers-expo.ru
www.owers-expo.ru
27 April to 5 May. Korea
International Horticulture Goyang
Korea show 2013 in Goyangs Ilsan
Lake Park.
sales@ower.com
www.ower.or.kr
May 2013
21 to 24. the Netherlands
2013 Spring Mechanisation Fair,
the premier trade show for the bulb
industry featuring the latest breeding
breakthroughs in lilies and cutting
edge machinery.
www.springmechanisation.com
9 to 11. Thailand
HortiAsia in Bangkok. Now in its
second year, HortiAsia will focus
on the entire supply chain of fruits,
vegetables, owers and plants.
Venue: Bangkok International Trade
and Exhibition Centre (BITEC).
hortiasia@vnuexhibitions.com
www.hortiasia.net
30 May to 3 June. Ireland
Bloom 2013 is Irelands most
important ower show which will
take place in the Phoenix Park in
Dublin.
www.bloominthepark.com
June 2013
5 to 7. Kenya
International Floriculture Trade
Expo (IFEX) at the Oshwai
convention centre, Nairobi.
www.hpp.nl
11 to 14. The Netherlands
Flower Trials in the Aalsmeer,
Westland and Rheinland
Westfalen (Germany) areas.
www.owertrials.com
17 to 21. The Netherlands
Grosci 2013, international
symposium on growing media and
soilless cultivation. growing media
and soilless cultivation at the
Holiday Inn in Leiden.
Grosci2013.symposium@wur.nl
18-21. United States
International Floriculture Expo
(IFE) at the Miami Beach
Convention Centre.
19 to 21. Brazil
20th Hortitec at the Holambra
Convention Centre, Holambra/SP.
www.hortitec.com.br
July 2013
2013 OFA Short Course at the
Columbus Convention Centre,
Ohio, USA.
www.ofa.org
14 to 16. Brazil
22nd Enor + 10th Garden Fair at
the Holambra Convention Centre,
Holambra/SP BRAZIL
www.enor.com.br
28 to 31. Australia
Protected Cropping Australia;
conference, trade expo and soilless
farm tours. Sebel Citigate Albert
Park, Melbourne.
www.protectedcroppingaustralia.com
August 2013
12 to 14. Canada
After an eight year absence, All-
America Selections is returning
to the Niagara Peninsula for the
annual AAS Summer Summit.
is years event will be held from
August 12-14, 2013 with e
Waterfront Hotel in Burlington
serving as the host hotel.
www.ofa.org
International Events
Automation
Jonge Planten
Grnewald in
The Netherlands
produces about
55 million plant
plugs annually for
Grnewald Group
customers all over
Europe. All the
plugs are Ellepots
and are made by
one of the two
Ellegaard substrate
pot machines that
have successfully
operated in
s-Gravenzande since
1999. Grunewald set
an absolute record
by producting
450 million Ellepots
over the years.
by Harmen Kamminga
4,4 cm for a 66 hole tray. Recently,
this machine was adapted for pro-
duction of 3,5 cm pots in 84 hole
trays. It required a minor invest-
ment when compared to the ben-
ets. e result is an old machine
which was completely rejuvenated
allowing Grunewald to produce
pots in smaller sizes. e machine
looks brand new and is ready to
serve for the coming decades.
Demand for the really big plugs
was dwindling, explains general
manager Boers. At this point in
time, the machine that makes the
smaller pots still covers 70 to 80%
of the total production, but we
estimate that with the upgraded
machine, production will eventu-
ally split fty-fty.
For storage and transport
Grnewald utilises Ellepot
Propagation Trays, but according
to Boers other trays developed for
the Ellepot t the machine perfectly
well and are currently also in use.
varieties from Grnewalds own
innovative breeding programmes.
Since we started out as a young
plant supplier, Grnewald has
always been in close contact with
its clients. Knowing our customers
wishes and demands enables us to
tailor our breeding exactly to their
wishes, He added, And of course
we also adapt our breeding ac-
cording to how we envision future
demand to look like.
Paper plugs
All the paper plugs needed for
the Dutch and German produc-
tion facilities, about 50 to 55
million per annum, are produced
at Jonge Planten Grnewald in
s-Gravenzande. Here, Grnewald
installed two Ellegaard substrate
pot machines in 1999. One makes
Ellepots with a diameter of 2,8 cm
which are automatically placed
in trays with 128 holes. e other
originally made bigger pots of
G
rnewald Group is an
internationally active
enterprise, specialising in
breeding, production and sales of
unrooted and rooted cuttings, lin-
ers of bedding and balcony plants,
perennials, ornamental grasses,
structural plants and herbs. e
company started in Germany more
than seventy years ago. Today, pro-
duction is based in Germany, e
Netherlands, France and Kenya.
Grnewald products can now be
found throughout Europe, e
Middle East, Russia, Taiwan and
North America.
Reliable product quality and long
lasting partnerships are the key
factor to Grnewalds success,
states Nico Boers, manager at Jonge
Planten Grnewald at s Graven-
zande, the Netherlands. Many of
our customers have been with us
for ten or fteen years, some even
longer.
Innovative breeding
Originally a supplier mainly
of Chrysanthemum cuttings,
Grnewald was among the rst in
Europe to specialise in the produc-
tion of cuttings for bedding plants
some forty-ve years ago. Boers
recalls, Back then most bedding
plants were still seed propagated.
Because of the serious benets for
growers and consumers alike, bed-
ding plants from cuttings proved
to be a hit and the Grnewald com-
panies experienced rapid growth.
According to Boers, the enterprise
is still expanding its businesses
today.
e new millennium saw a growing
number of sales of very successful
Reliable quality
links Grnewald to
the Ellepot System
NGL machine
Grnewalds Sjaak is highly
satised with the performance
of the Ellepot system.
Tried and tested
Boers remembers vividly how Jonge
Planten Grnewald chose the
Ellepot System in 1999. Back then,
we tested all the dierent kinds of
pressed pots, glue pots and paper
pots that were available on the
market. Our demands were very
specic. As we stand for the best
quality in young plants, we needed
a pot that facilitates root growth.
e glue pots we used previously
to the Ellepot System did not meet
our standards on that respect. And
as our young plants are distributed
all over Europe from Holland and
Germany, we need pots that retain
water long enough. Some young
plants travel for about a week in
a lorry before reaching their nal
destination. Of course they have
to arrive there in peak condition.
Only some pressed pots will retain
enough moisture to make such a
long trip a success, but in those pots
root growth will be impaired.
Ellepot System
To date, the only pot that success-
fully meets these contrasting
demands is the Ellepot System.
Ellepots are made from an eco-
friendly biodegradable paper sleeve,
lled with ne fractions of the
are still needed, but only operate
at about 10% of their capacity.
roughout the year, the Ellegaard
machines need little maintenance.
Boers: e machines are quite
robust and straightforward. An
experienced user can deal with
most smaller scale failures by him-
self. And as there are a few users of
Ellegaard machines in the vicinity,
we swap spare parts on occasion.
Boers cannot imagine Grnewald
without its Ellepot System. ese
pots have become vital to our
logistics. Especially the delivery of
our high-quality young plants to
the upcoming markets in Eastern
Europe would have been virtually
impossible without the Ellepot
System and its unique airy porosity
guarantees a sucient water buer
and good rooting alike.
|||
substrate of our choice. e soil
is sucked into the paper sleeve by
applying a vacuum. e result is
a loosely packed growth medium
with a great air lled porosity.
Back in 1999, that was the huge
advantage the Ellepot System had
over all other potting systems
and it still remains today. Even
though we produce over 50 million
plugs we still experiment with pot
systems and novel techniques from
time to time, admits Boers. But
the horticultural world has still not
come up with a better system to
make pots.
In the last decade, Grnewald
customers have grown familiar with
the Ellepots. For customers the
paper lining of the Ellepots oers
extra grip that makes for easier
handling during the transplanting
process", Boers knows. At rst,
customers commented on that posi-
tively time and again. But now they
have stopped talking about it. ey
have become accustomed to it.
Operation and service
To meet demand for young plants
for the main gardening season,
both Ellegaard machines at Jonge
Planten Grnewald operate at full
capacity between October and
March. e rest of the year they
The companys show garden in s-Gravenzande, the Netherlands.
According to Grnewald, the only pot that
successfully meets these contrasting
demands is the Ellepot System.
Full program for rolling and mobile benches
Width: 330 mm - 2200 mm / length: unlimited
Made of best quality ultra high
impact polystyrene
Long term UV, chemical and crack resistance
Up to 3500 m
2
in one 40' container
Fully Recyclable
27 years of worldwide proven use
STL & PLAST a-s
Industrivej 19 . DK-5750 Ringe
Telefon +45 62 62 12 16 . Fax +45 62 62 36 11
Classifieds
HELP WANTED
FLORASEARCH, INC.
In our third decade of performing condential key
employee searches for
the horticulture industry and allied trades
worldwide. Retained basis only. Candidate contact
welcome, condential, and always free.
1740 Lake Markham Rd.,
Sanford, FL 32771 USA
Phone (1) 407 320 8177,
Fax (1) 407 320 8083,
E-mail: search@orasearch.com,
Website: www.orasearch.com
FOR SALE
COCO PEAT / HUSK CHIPS /
CUT FOLIAGE
We exports Coir Products and Cut Foliage
from Sri Lanka since 2009.
Grower Bags,5 Kg Blocks, Planter bags,
Briquettes, 4 cuft bags,
www.trumpcoir.com or
info@trumpcoir.com
RENTAL
Once upon a time there was a beautiful place in
the world where one could sit all day just looking
out at the bay. A Tiki Hut providing shade from
the bright sun while the clear saltwater beckons you
to just dive in. Eagles y overhead and the sh are
jumping.........
I am spinning this tale to bring to your attention a
unique oer that I hope might interest just a select
few of you.
My family owns a lovely vacation property in the
Florida Keys and we have decided to open it up
for weekly or monthly rentals. It is a very special
laid back place where time is only what you make
of it. Relaxing and private this casual property is
surrounded by the best sport shing in the US.
We can accommodate from 2 to 5 couples.
Check it out at www.lost-habor.com
If you are interested please contact me
Williee Armellini
Williee@lost-harbor.com
US: 786-255-3335
COMPANY PAGE WEBSITE COMPANY PAGE WEBSITE
Althius ................................................................................ 4,5.............................................. www.altius.com
AMA Plastics ....................................................................34 ........................................ www.amaplas.com
Armada Youngplants .......................................................8 ........................www.armadayoungplants.nl
Brandkamp GmbH ..........................................................34 ...................................... www.brandkamp.de
CHA (Commercial Horticulture Ass.)..........................38 ........................................www.cha-hort.com
Container Centralen ........................................................40 .................. www.container-centralen.com
Danziger Dan Flower Farm ..........................................3 ..........................................www.danziger.co.il
Dutch Lily Days ..................................................................2 ..................................... www.dutchlilydays.nl
Ellegaard A/S ....................................................................48 ................................................www.ellepot.dk
FCI India ..............................................................................20 ....................................................www.kisan.in
Florasearch Inc. ...............................................................49 .................................. www.orasearch.com
Floricultura B.V. .................................................................8 .....................................www.oricultura.com
Florist Holland ...................................................................51 ......................................... www.gerbera.com
Flowers & Cents ..............................................................34 ..........................www.owersandcents.org
Graines Voltz .....................................................................24 ................................www.graines-voltz.com
Greenex A/S ......................................................................38 .........................................www.greenex.com
HilverdaKooij .....................................................................40 ..................................... www.hilverdakooij.nl
Jungle Jacks ......................................................................8 .................... www.junglejacksthailand.com
Messe Essen (IPM) ......................................................25-28 .........................www.messe-essen.de/en
Philips Lighting..................................................................44 .................................. www.philips.com/horti
Pindstrup Mosebrug A/S ...............................................52 ...................................... www.pindstrup.com
Ppplemann GmbH .........................................................50 ..............................www.poeppelmann.com
Poulsen Roser A/S ..........................................................38 ............................... www.poulsenroser.com
Stal & Plast A/S ................................................................49 ........................................ www.staal-plast.dk
Takii & Co., Ltd...................................................................24 ................................................www.takii.co.jp
TIOS (Taiwan International Orchid Show) ................36 ............................................www.tios.com.tw
Trump Coir Products .......................................................49 ...................................... www.trumpcoir.com
Urbinati SRL ........................................................................8 ...........................................www.urbinati.com
Valoya Oy ...........................................................................14 ............................................www.valoya.com
Veiling Rhein Maas .........................................................14 ........................www.veilingrheinmaas.com
VWS Export-Import Flowerbulbs ................................49 ............................. www.vws-owerbulbs.nl
Williee Armellini ...............................................................49 ....................................www.lost-harbor.com
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.oracultureinternational.com. For readers who do not have internet access, please send your request for additional information from
any of our advertisers to FloraCulture International (Postbus 1081, 1430 BB Aalsmeer, e Netherlands). Be sure to include your name,
company name, address, faxnumber and the name(s) of the companies about which you would like to receive additional information.
Advertising Index
Pppelmann Plastics UK Ltd. Unity House Rotterdam Road Hull HU7 OXD 0
Phone 01482 373930 Fax 01482 373939 teku-uk@poeppelmann.com www.poeppelmann.com

Discover all the AddedValues, unique product advantages as well as the innovations
available from Pppelmann TEKU
. Where? At the IPM 2013 in Essen hall 2,

stands D31 and E37. The TEKU
Team looks forward to your visit!

The huge plus
for your success.
Pindstrup_203x273.indd 1 04-02-2010 09:34:50
Pindstrup_203x273.indd 1 27-01-11 17:01
HORTI FAIR
HALL 8,
STAND NO.
08.0109
Pindstrup_203x273.indd 1 24-09-12 13:18
IPM HALL 5,
STAND NO.
5A14

Flora Culture 1

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Deskripsi Asli:

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Flora Culture 1

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

RUUD KNORR,

Discover the french tomato

Full range of products from indoor minia-

. Where? At the IPM 2013 in Essen hall 2,

Team looks forward to your visit!

Anda mungkin juga menyukai