La Gaitana Farms, a Colombian carnation grower, has been awarded the title of International Grower of the Year (IGOTY) 2025 by AIPH.
The coveted ‘Gold Rose’ award was presented to La Gaitana Farms by Daan de Vries, CEO of Headline Sponsor MPS, at the AIPH IGOTY Awards Ceremony 2025 on Tuesday 28 January 2025 at IPM Essen, Germany.
Founded in 2009, the AIPH IGOTY Awards recognise best practice in horticulture by the top ornamental production nurseries from around the globe, celebrating the expertise and energy they give to horticulture.
The IGOTY 2025 category winners are:
Young International Grower of the Year
- Winner: David Marin (Colombia)
- Finalist: Thomas Reeves (Brazil)
- Finalist: Stuart van Staalduinen (Canada)
Cut Flowers and Bulbs
- Winner: La Gaitana Farms (Colombia)
- Finalist: Soex Flora PVT. LTD. (India)
- Finalist: Yunnan Yuntianhua Huajiangpu Technology Co., Ltd (China)
Young Plants
- Winner: Plant Select (Belgium)
- Finalist: Könst Alstroemeria B.V. (Netherlands)
- Finalist: Qianxinan Green Edge Animal and Plant Technology Development Co., Ltd. (China)
Finished Plants and Trees
- Winner: VIVERCID (Spain)
- Finalist: Stolkbrothers (Netherlands)
- Finalist: Taizhou Suzhong Horticulture Co., Ltd (China)
Sustainability
- Winner: La Gaitana Farms (Colombia)
- Finalist: Fitoralia (Spain)
- Finalist: Yunnan Yuntianhua Huajiangpu Technology Co., Ltd (China)
- Finalist: Taizhou Suzhong Horticulture Co., Ltd (China)
In addition to the category winners, AIPH recognised the efforts of three producers with Certificates of Merit. Although these entries did not reach the finals, their commitment to the industry is worthy of acknowledgement.
- Chengdu Lvwo Agriculture Co., Ltd (China)
- Javoy Plantes Pepinieres (France)
- Kaset 32 Farms (Thailand)
Fitoralia, Spain
Founded in 2013, Fitoralia evolved from a family nursery. The company specialises in plants for alimentary use, offering an extensive range of varieties in various sizes and presentations, including annuals, perennials, and fruit trees for home orchards. With a strong commitment to quality, tradition, innovation, and sustainability, the company continues to embody the passion for horticulture that defined its origins as a family nursery.
Huajiangpu, China
Yunnan Yuntianhua Huajiangpu Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the largest cut rose suppliers in China. The company currently produces 36 varieties of cut roses, with an annual output of more than 180 million stems. The company has built a digital management system intelligent greenhouse with advanced water and fertilizer integration facilities.
Könst Alstroemeria B.V., Netherlands
Könst Alstroemeria B.V. is a leading company specialising in the selection, breeding, and propagation of Alstroemeria plants for professional cut-flower production. For over 35 years, they have focused primarily on Alstroemeria, developing an exceptional range of varieties in diverse shapes and colours. While Alstroemeria remains their core expertise, they also have a dedicated breeding program for Zantedeschia (Calla Lilies) to complement their assortment.
La Gaitana Farms, Colombia
La Gaitana Farms was founded in 1984 and is a leading family-owned independent Colombian carnation grower and bouquet manufacturer with 43 hectares of cropping area. The company serves the most demanding customers in the European Union, where quality and customer service come before price.
Plant Select NV, Belgium
Plant Select is a global supplier of both young plants as well as finished plants. Established in 1991, they are specialised in the production of Fargesia (non-invasive Bamboo) and Hydrangea, that they cultivate in their in-vitro lab located in Belgium. Additionally, they grow Grasses and Sarcococca to complement their product range. Innovation is at the heart of Plant Select. Besides operating as a grower, Plant Select is also a breeder, owning 16 licences of Hydrangea, Ilex and Agapanthus.
Qianxinan Green Edge Animal and Plant Technology Development Co., China
Qianxinan Green Edge Animal and Plant Technology Development Co., Ltd. is currently one of the largest producers of Paphiopedilum in China. With greenhouses covering an area of 3 hectares, the company annually produces 700,000 orchids, of which 500,000 are Paphiopedilum. The company has developed more than 10 new hybrid varieties in the past years, demonstrating strong varietal innovation capabilities.
SOEX FLORA PVT. LTD, India
In 1994, Mr. Arif Fazlani launched Soex Flora with a virtue of providing Indian floriculture with organized and modern infrastructure. Soex Flora is the only Indian floriculture company accredited with MPS ABC, MPS GAP and Sedex SMETA 4 pillar certification. With its expertise in cut flowers Soex Flora has launched its new vertical tissue culture lab in 2024 – “Soex Bioplants Pvt. Ltd ” which will be now serving global world with best quality tissue culture plants.
StolkBrothers, Netherlands
StolkBrothers, established in 1925, is a family-owned business dedicated to cultivating high-quality Anthuriums in various pot sizes and unique varieties. With nearly a century of horticultural expertise, the company has evolved from growing vegetables and green plants to becoming a leader in the premium Anthurium market. Committed to environmental stewardship, the company utilizes peat-free substrates, maximizes biological pest control, and adopts innovative solutions like autonomous drones to optimize cultivation processes.
Taizhou Suzhong Horticulture Co., China
Taizhou Suzhong Horticulture Co., Ltd. was established in 2001, specialising in the production of potted anthuriums, bromeliads, and phalaenopsis. The company’s annual output of flowers in 2023 reaches 2 million pots, of which the main varieties of anthuriums accounted for nearly 50% of the market share in East China and 7% of the domestic market share, and it is one of the largest production suppliers of anthuriums in East China.
VIVERCID, Spain
VIVERCID is a Valencian family business that produces and distributes ornamental plants in Spain and Europe. It started 50 years ago growing certified citrus plants for fruit growers and quickly grew into the cultivation of Mediterranean ornamental species. With a clear informative and educational vocation, Vivercid is concerned with transmitting the importance of the green sector for the future and well-being of society.
For the fourth year in a row, AIPH is collaborating with Jungle Talks to present the Young International Grower of the Year category of the established IGOTY Awards.
This category celebrates vibrant individuals, aged 25-40, who will lead the industry into the future. Participants of Jungle Talks’ Pro Manager Mastercourse who submitted an entry for the award have been assessed and three young professionals reached the finals.
Winner: David Marin, Colombia, is a Director at Deliflor Americas S.A.S. He has extensive experience in marketing, having earned qualifications in marketing, commercial management, and business administration at EAFIT University, Colombia.
Finalist: Stuart van Staalduinen, Canada, began his journey with Bayview Flowers in 2009 as a Key Account Manager. In the past 15 years, he has committed to the growth of the company and has recently become Sales Director.
Finalist: Thomas Reeves, Brazil, is the Ornamental Plant Production Director at Naturayo, a role he has held for over 13 years. He is responsible for commercial and strategic development, as well as increasing exports and national sales.
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.
Professor Ki-Byung Lim
Professor Ki-Byung Lim received his Ph.D. in plant breeding from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, worked as a researcher at the Rural Development Administration, and is currently a professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at Kyungpook National University. He worked for various seed companies for 10 years from 1985, and contributed to the Korean Plug Seedling industry based on the order-to-production method by developing and disseminating process nursery technology that brought about innovation in the Korean Plug Production industry. He also served as the head of the flowerbulb section under the ornamental plant division of the International Society for Horticultural Science(ISHS).
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.
