The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) members consist of thousands of growers of flowers and ornamental plants around the world who are together united by one essential goal – promoting the place of plants in people’s lives.
AIPH hosts several conferences, webinars and events such as the International Grower of the Year award throughout the year. Read about these along with the latest news about the association’s activities.
AIPH’s key aim is to stimulate demand for ornamental trees, plants and flowers worldwide. We are committed to supporting growers in achieving this by protecting and promoting the interests of the industry.
The 2024 AIPH International Grower of the Year Awards took place on Tuesday 23rd January 2024 at IPM Essen and celebrated the best of the best in ornamental horticulture.
Established in 2009 with the support of Founding Partner FloraCulture International (FCI), the awards celebrate best practice and recognise the top ornamentals producers in the industry.
This year, ahead of the prestigious awards ceremony, AIPH presented the Seeds of Success webinar, featuring Keynote Speaker, Ynzo van Zanten, followed by a panel session comprising previous AIPH International Grower of the Year (IGOTY) Awards winners.
Watch the Seeds of Success Panel
Greenwood Plants, a UK wholesale nursery has been awarded the title of International Grower of the Year (IGOTY) 2024 by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH).
The coveted ‘Gold Rose’ award was presented to Greenwood Plants by AIPH President Leonardo Capitanio at the AIPH IGOTY Awards Ceremony 2024 on Tuesday 23 January 2024 at IPM Essen, Germany.
Greenwood Plants is a landscape supply nursery which specialises in the new build property, commercial, and infrastructure sectors. With over 100 acres, it produces around six million plants a year across its six nursery sites. In 2023, the company was awarded the HTA Peat-free Grower of the Year due to its commitment to sustainability.
“The team will be so delighted to have won this award,” said Melanie Asker, Managing Director of Greenwood Plants. “They’ve been really excited and it’s an absolute credit to their hard work. It’s a great accolade and the support that we’ve had from across the industry in the UK has been amazing, so it’s something everyone can be proud of.”
In addition to the Gold Rose Award, Greenwood Plants also won the Finished Plants & Trees category, presented by Torben Brinkmann, Head of Projects, IPM Essen, and the Sustainability category, presented by Sarah von Fintel, Key Account Manager for GlobalG.A.P. and G.N.N. Label.
The IGOTY 2024 category winners are:
Young International Grower of the Year
Winner: Colin Fernandes (Kenya)
Finalist: Tomasz Dźwigoń (Poland)
Finalist: Zhuoer Fang (China)
Cut Flowers and Bulbs
Winner: Beyond Chrysant (Netherlands)
Finalist: Yunnan Yunxiu Flower Co. Ltd. (China)
Young Plants
Winner: Sjaak van Schie (Netherlands)
Finalist: Guangzhou Flower Research Center (China)
Finalist: Yunnan Shining Flora Co., Ltd. (China)
Finished Plants and Trees
Winner: Greenwood Plants (UK)
Finalist: Huverba BV (Netherlands)
Finalist: Kwekerij Dirk Mermans (Belgium)
Sustainability
Winner: Greenwood Plants (UK)
Finalist: Beyond Chrysant (Netherlands)
Finalist: Fitoralia (Spain)
Finalist: Kwekerij Dirk Mermans (Belgium)
MC: Michael Perry
Michael Perry goes by the moniker Mr Plant Geek in the UK. Growing plants, loving plants, and sharing his experiences with plants on television, radio, podcasts, and social media has led to him holding the crown of Influencer of the Year bestowed by the UK’s Garden Media Guild. He began as a product developer for Thompson Morgan for 18-years, after which he switched to pursuing his garden personality career. This belief in plants shows he is comfortable working with industry professionals and is authentic with followers.
Ynzo van Zanten
Ynzo van Zanten is an accomplished entrepreneur, author, and international keynote speaker. He is widely recognized for his views on current economic and societal trends, and how entrepreneurs face the challenge of balancing financial success with social impact. Over the past decades he built extensive experience with meaningful brands such as Tony’s Chocolonely and innocent drinks.
As the former Head of People & Culture and Chief Evangelist of Tony’s Chocolonely, Ynzo played a vital role in promoting the company’s mission of making chocolate 100% slave-free. He firmly believes that even in the midst of crisis, there are abundant opportunities for future-focused entrepreneurs, provided they adopt a collective mindset of innovating from a new starting point.
Renee Snijders
Following her studies in Oriental Languages and Communication in her hometown of Maastricht, the Netherlands, Renee received a scholarship to continue studying Mandarin Chinese and economics in Beijing, China. After a year working in the agricultural department of the Ducth embassy in Beijing, she moved to Kunming to head the Netherlands Business Support Office, which mainly focused on floriculture. At that time, companies such as Anthura, Van den Berg Roses, Geerlofs and Chrysal opened branches in China.
In 2009, she moved to Costa Rica where her future husband, Ed Smit, was already based. Together, they established Jungle Talks – a digital and physical platform that connects the horticultural sector and the outside world.
Ed Smit
Born and raised in Maasdijk, Netherlands, Ed Smit is a self-acclaimed horticulture aficionado. He says he breathes all things horticulture and always wanted to get the story out and connect the industry with society.
After moving to Costa Rica in 2002, he became the Central American distributor for Koppert. He also became active in tourism mainly to learn from a sector that is attractive in the eyes of consumers. His aim with Jungle Talks, which he established with his wife Renee Snijders, is to make horticulture sexy.
Sirekit Mol
Sirekit works for the family business, Beekenkamp Plants Ornamentals, a global player in breeding pot and bedding plants and supplying starting material, forming an integral part of the Beekenkamp Group. Having joined the company in 2009, she has ascended through various roles, currently holding the position of Head of Commercial Operations. Where Sirekit directs all commercial endeavours into the global markets outside Europe. Her responsibilities for Beekenkamp Plants extend to global marketing and retail. With over two decades of experience, Sirekit’s passion for the horticulture industry still grows and blooms every day!
Nine ornamental horticulture growers from around the world have reached the finals for the AIPH IGOTY Awards 2024.
Beyond Chrysant (Netherlands)
Beyond Chrysant started in 2009 as a merger between the nurseries of Wouter and Martijn Duijvesteijn and their uncle, Paul van Kester. Together they built a new chrysanthemum nursery covering more than 6 hectares on Dwarshaak in Hoek van Holland. They grow spray chrysanthemums for the top segment of the market.
Beyond Chrysant supplies sustainable (climate-neutral by 2030), recognisable chrysanthemums with a clear added value and experience for the florist.
Fitoralia, founded in 2013, is the evolution of a family nursery created by the parents of the current owner-partners. From its humble beginnings, the company has evolved to become a benchmark in the production of plants for home vegetable garden enthusiasts.
Specialising in the category of plants destined for alimentary consumption, Fitoralia takes pride in offering an extensive catalogue of varieties in multiple sizes and presentations, including annual and perennial plants, as well as fruit trees for the home orchard. With a deep-rooted commitment to quality and tradition, while not forgetting innovation and sustainability, the company has maintained the passion for horticulture that drove it from its early days as a family nursery.
With steady growth and a vision projected into the future, Fitoralia continues to nurture interest in gardening, providing customers with the best plants to develop their own green spaces.
Greenwood Plants is a landscape supply nursery which specialises in the new build property, commercial, and infrastructure sectors. With over 100 acres of production capacity, it produces around six million plants a year across its six nursery sites in the UK, and employees more than 120 people.
Guangzhou Flower Research Center, founded in 1985, is one of the leading companies in China in terms of young plants production, promotion, and variety innovation of tropical and subtropical new flower varieties
Huverba BV (Netherlands)
Huverba is located in the heart of the Dutch tree nursery sector. They grow a wide range of trees and shrubs on 140 hectares of fertile clay soil, both in open ground and in containers. They supply landscapers, gardeners, landscape architects, contractors, maintenance companies, traders and fellow growers.
At Kwekerij Dirk Mermans, we are dedicated growers of finished plants. Our focus is on excellence in quality, plant science expertise, and innovative cultivation techniques. Sustainability, people, and long-term relationships are also paramount to our business.
Sjaak van Schie B.V. / Jacobus van Schie, Unip. Lda. (Netherlands/Portugal)
As the Hydrangea specialist, our innovative approach allows us to provide customers with high quality young plants, at all growth stages. We grow these cuttings in a modern nursery in Portugal. After careful checks, the cuttings are either transported to the nurseries in the Netherlands, or further cultivated to half- finished plants in Portugal.
Founded in 2010, Yunnan Shinning Flora Co., Ltd. specialises in cut flower young plants production. The company’s production bases are located in Kunming and Yuxi, Yunnan Province, with a total area of 7.9 hectares.
Yunnan Yunxiu Flower Co., Ltd. (China)
Yunnan Yunxiu Flower Co., Ltd. was established in 2009 and currently has two major bases, Yuxi Tonghai and Chuxiong Yao’an, with an industrial production base of 925 acres. Its main products are fresh cut roses, with over 30 varieties.
Seven ornamental horticulture experts from around the globe join the jury for the 2023 edition of the AIPH IGOTY Awards.
Tim Edwards (Chair)
After working on nurseries in the UK and Europe and studying horticulture at Writtle College, Tim Edwards took over the running of the family business in 1986. The business now employs a staff of around 100 and is one of the country’s leading hardy nursery stock nurseries turning over more than £9m. It consists of two production nurseries, several trading operations and a very small domestic landscaping operation. After close to forty years with Boningale Nurseries, Tim has started a new venture in life as a horticultural consultant.
Bernard Oosterom
Growing up in a family of growers, Bernard took over the family business and, together with two other shareholders, expanded it further. At a young age he became involved in various sector organizations such as the flower auction.
Bernard served as President of AIPH for seven years before stepping down in 2022.
At the moment he is a board member of two foundations that are active in promoting the trade in outdoor greenery and restructuring of greenhouse horticulture.
Jeff Olsen
Jeff Olsen is the CEO of Brookdale Treeland Nurseries Ltd, winner of the International Grower of the Year 2023. Brookdale Treeland Nurseries Limited was established in 1977 and is one of Canada’s largest and most respected growers of trees, shrubs, and garden plants. It has four farms in Ontario and one in British Columbia, collectively making up a land base of more than 800 acres.
Hiroshi Sakata
After working for Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd. for 7 years, Mr. Sakata joined T. Sakata & Company (Sakata Seed Corporation) in 1981. He achieved success in the start-up Sakata Seed Europe B.V. (European Sakata Holding S.A.S) in the Netherlands from 1990 to 1994. After returning to Japan he led a number of departments as a general manager, director and managing director. In June 2007 he assumed the position of President of Sakata Seed Corporation. In public life, Mr. Sakata has been president of the Japan Seed Trade Association. Currently he is president of the Japan Home Gardening Association. In 2022 the Japanese government awarded him ‘The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette’ in recognition of his untiring dedication to agricultural and horticultural development.
Elien Pieters
After completing her studies in commercial sciences, Elien joined her family’s business: Gediflora.
Gediflora is a Belgian business with its headquarters in Oostnieuwkerke, West- Flanders. Gediflora is a b-to-b world player in the field of breeding and propagation of chrysanthemums and supplies young plants to growers all over the world.
By 2013, Elien had taken over as owner of the company with a goal of staying the top chrysanthemum producer in the country with an added focus on marketing and better communication with the customer.
Prof Charlie Hall
A native of North Carolina, Dr. Charlie Hall received a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee in 1984, a Master’s Degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Tennessee in 1986, and his Ph.D. from Mississippi State University. He began his academic career at Texas A&M University in 1988, where he spent 13 years on the faculty before joining the faculty at the University of Tennessee in 2002. In August 2007, Dr. Hall returned to Texas A&M University as Professor and Ellison Chair in International Floriculture.
Clement Tulezi
CEO of the Kenya Flower Council Clement Tulezi has an extensive background in marketing, media, and communications that he has used to bolster the association’s growth.
Young International Grower of the Year
In 2022, AIPH collaborated with Jungle Talks to introduce the Young International Grower of the Year category to the established International Grower of the Year (IGOTY) Awards. This category celebrates vibrant individuals, aged 25-40, who will lead the industry into the future. Once again, participants of Jungle Talks’ Pro Manager Mastercourse who submitted an entry for the award have been assessed and three young professionals have reached the final.
Finalists
Colin Fernandes, Kenya
Colin is the Trial Site Coordinator for Marginpar, a role that focuses on introducing new and improved product varieties into the commercial market. He manages a team of 25 people across sites in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Tomasz Dźwigoń,Poland
Tomasz has 14 years of experience in the horticultural industry in both the Netherlands and Poland. In his current position as COO of JMP Flowers, he has overseen a period of positive growth despite the challenges of the past few years.
Zhuoer Fang, China
Zhouer received a Master of Science in International Horticulture from Leibniz University Hannover. Following her education, she joined Hongyue Horticultural and progressed through the company to reach her current position as the Incubation Leader for the company’s key projects and International Business Manager.
YIGOTY Jury
IPM Essen
IPM Essen is the world’s leading horticultural trade show. Based in Essen, Germany, IPM Essen takes place every January and showcases the entire value chain of plants, including production, technology, floristry, garden features, and the point of sale.
GLOBALG.A.P. is a brand of smart farm assurance solutions developed by FoodPLUS GmbH in Cologne, Germany, with cooperation from producers, retailers, and other stakeholders from across the food industry. These solutions include a range of standards for safe, socially and environmentally responsible farming practices. The most widely used GLOBALG.A.P. standard is Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA), applicable for fruit and vegetables, aquaculture, floriculture, livestock, and more. This standard also forms the basis for the GGN label: The consumer label for certified, responsible farming and transparency.
The GLOBALG.A.P. brand began its journey as EUREPGAP in 1997. Two decades later, over 200,000 producers are under GLOBALG.A.P. certification in 134 countries. Nearly 150 team members around the world are dedicated to the mission of spreading responsible farming practices to ensure safe food for future generations.
About the GGN Label
The GGN label is the consumer label from GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH. It stands for certified, responsible farming and transparency.
Found on both packed and loose products, the GGN label exists to offer consumers consistent, relevant assurance and orientation throughout the store. It does so by confirming that the products were farmed in line with certified, responsible farming practices that cover food safety, environmental protection, animal welfare, social responsibility, and supply chain transparency.
Greeningup is the developer of a dynamic, intelligent, and modular living wall system that adapts to environmental demands and situations. They have designed nature-based installations for a plethora of indoor and outdoor projects using living walls and complementary solutions.
Greenhouse Sustainability’s vision is that sustainability should be made measurable and transparent for everyone to enable climate neutrality. They provide footprint calculation tools for greenhouse growers. Greenhouse Sustainability consists of a team of various experts with a shared passion for sustainability.
Organised by the Polish Nurserymen Association and the Greenery Promotion Agency, Green is Life is an international trade fair for plants, horticultural technology, and landscape architecture. The next edition of Green is Life will be held in Warsaw, Poland, in early September 2024.
Myplant & Garden
Myplant & Garden is an AIPH-approved Horticultural Trade Show that takes place annually in Italy. Since its very first edition in 2015, the show has continued to grow, developing and offering unique business opportunities to all those involved in the garden industry. The trade fair has given a new impetus to the Italian horticulture and gardening sectors, helping them gain more recognition on an international level.
Founded in 1990 and first published by Ball Publishing, FloraCulture International (FCI) is the horticulture industry’s leading B2B digital publication with a global readership of over 125,000 readers through our network of partner associations and organisations. It serves producers of cut flowers, flowering and green potted plants, bedding plants, perennials, trees, shrubs, seeds, young plants and bulbs.
Jungle Talks connects actors in horticulture around the globe by way of webinars, podcasts and the Pro Manager Mastercourses aimed at professional, international horticultural managers active in floriculture, vegetable production and medicinal crops.
Guiaverde is a specialist media for the horticultural sector in Spain and Portugal. Professional Web Portal and Printed Directory about Companies, Products and Services from the Horticulture, Gardening and Associated Markets.
GrowerTalks/Green Profit is the combined grower and retailer magazine produced by Ball Horticultural Company in West Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1937 by George J. Ball, GrowerTalks is one of the global horticulture industry’s longest-standing and most-respected publications, serving growers throughout North America with timely production and marketing information. Ball Publishing also produces nine e-newsletters, including the widely read Acres Online by Chris Beytes, which are available for free around the world.
HortWeek has the latest news, analysis, features, data jobs and technical advice for ornamental nurseries, edibles production, garden retail, landscaping, parks, gardens, arboriculture and turf.
More and more specialisation in horticulture was one of the reasons for the creation of Pod Osłonami PL. It is devoted to the cultivation of vegetables and ornamental plants in greenhouses and foil tunnels, as well as issues related to the growing production of berry plants undercover.
Vegetable and floriculture specialities have a lot in common and they often interpenetrate in practice – for example in traditional farms growing in tunnels, where tomatoes or cucumbers are grown in the spring cycle and chrysanthemums in autumn. Also in modern farming, for example, vegetable and decorative novelties are promoted – such as pot tomatoes or mini-peppers with ornamental fruit intended for sale in garden centres. With the changing economic situation in horticulture, it is worth being open to any new products that allow you to exist and stay on the market.
I hope you will be interested in the articles presented on the Pod Osłonami PL website. Over time, they will be expanded with new sections, I will be grateful for your suggestions on the topics presented. Feel free to jointly create the content of the portal.
Michael Perry goes by the moniker 
Ynzo van Zanten is an accomplished entrepreneur, author, and international keynote speaker. He is widely recognized for his views on current economic and societal trends, and how entrepreneurs face the challenge of balancing financial success with social impact. Over the past decades he built extensive experience with meaningful brands such as Tony’s Chocolonely and innocent drinks.
Following her studies in Oriental Languages and Communication in her hometown of Maastricht, the Netherlands, Renee received a scholarship to continue studying Mandarin Chinese and economics in Beijing, China. After a year working in the agricultural department of the Ducth embassy in Beijing, she moved to Kunming to head the Netherlands Business Support Office, which mainly focused on floriculture. At that time, companies such as Anthura, Van den Berg Roses, Geerlofs and Chrysal opened branches in China.
Sirekit works for the family business, Beekenkamp Plants Ornamentals, a global player in breeding pot and bedding plants and supplying starting material, forming an integral part of the Beekenkamp Group. Having joined the company in 2009, she has ascended through various roles, currently holding the position of Head of Commercial Operations. Where Sirekit directs all commercial endeavours into the global markets outside Europe. Her responsibilities for Beekenkamp Plants extend to global marketing and retail. With over two decades of experience, Sirekit’s passion for the horticulture industry still grows and blooms every day!
After working on nurseries in the UK and Europe and studying horticulture at Writtle College, Tim Edwards took over the running of the family business in 1986. The business now employs a staff of around 100 and is one of the country’s leading hardy nursery stock nurseries turning over more than £9m. It consists of two production nurseries, several trading operations and a very small domestic landscaping operation. After close to forty years with Boningale Nurseries, Tim has started a new venture in life as a horticultural consultant.
Growing up in a family of growers, Bernard took over the family business and, together with two other shareholders, expanded it further. At a young age he became involved in various sector organizations such as the flower auction.
Jeff Olsen is the CEO of Brookdale Treeland Nurseries Ltd, winner of the International Grower of the Year 2023. Brookdale Treeland Nurseries Limited was established in 1977 and is one of Canada’s largest and most respected growers of trees, shrubs, and garden plants. It has four farms in Ontario and one in British Columbia, collectively making up a land base of more than 800 acres.
After working for Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd. for 7 years, Mr. Sakata joined T. Sakata & Company (Sakata Seed Corporation) in 1981. He achieved success in the start-up Sakata Seed Europe B.V. (European Sakata Holding S.A.S) in the Netherlands from 1990 to 1994. After returning to Japan he led a number of departments as a general manager, director and managing director. In June 2007 he assumed the position of President of Sakata Seed Corporation.
After completing her studies in commercial sciences, Elien joined her family’s business: Gediflora.
A native of North Carolina, Dr. Charlie Hall received a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee in 1984, a Master’s Degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Tennessee in 1986, and his Ph.D. from Mississippi State University. He began his academic career at Texas A&M University in 1988, where he spent 13 years on the faculty before joining the faculty at the University of Tennessee in 2002. In August 2007, Dr. Hall returned to Texas A&M University as Professor and Ellison Chair in International Floriculture.
CEO of the Kenya Flower Council Clement Tulezi has an extensive background in marketing, media, and communications that he has used to bolster the association’s growth.
Colin is the Trial Site Coordinator for Marginpar, a role that focuses on introducing new and improved product varieties into the commercial market. He manages a team of 25 people across sites in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Tomasz has 14 years of experience in the horticultural industry in both the Netherlands and Poland. In his current position as COO of JMP Flowers, he has overseen a period of positive growth despite the challenges of the past few years.
Zhouer received a Master of Science in International Horticulture from Leibniz University Hannover. Following her education, she joined Hongyue Horticultural and progressed through the company to reach her current position as the Incubation Leader for the company’s key projects and International Business Manager.
