Growth partners: breeding the perfect fit for plants and profits

Ron Hoogeveen and breeder Jan Star discussing the potential of new Sanguisorba cut flowers in the field.

Ron Hoogeveen, owner and director of the newly established royalty agency IP Plants, says there’s no evolution without innovation in ornamental horticulture. Climate change, ongoing societal and political pressure, and the world’s finite natural resources highlight the need for continued progress in ornamental plant breeding, with IP Plants’s pot statice, double-flowered and heavenly blue pot Gentianas being novel plants to look for.

Dutch Ron Hoogeveen (63) from Sassenheim, with more than 35 years of experience in bringing new perennials, grasses and cut flowers to the world market, established plant royalty agency IP Plants in the summer of 2023. The company specialises in plant introductions and marketing, serving the European market and beyond. IP Plants collaborates with breeders worldwide, from the Netherlands to Japan, the USA, and New Zealand.

Ron Hoogeveen.

FCI Magazine: How did you start in the horticulture business?

Ron Hoogeveen: “In 1980, I established my own nursery, specialising in perennials, cut flowers and Dahlias. In 1994, I began working in the intermediary sales of perennials. This job brought me into contact with plant breeders and helped me to establish a worldwide network.”

What can you tell us about the IP Plants’s product portfolio?

“It is pretty versatile. I predominantly focus on perennials, shrubs and cut flowers but also represent a calla breeder working on an exciting line of callas as cut flowers and pot plants.”

Tell us more about the Statice sold under the Limonium Sinzii brand, the result of a crossing between Limonium sinuatum with Limonium perezii. What makes L. Sinzii a perfect garden /patio plant?

“Limonium Sinzii Blueish, Silverish and Lavenderish hail from New Zealand. Ball Colombia grows them as cut flowers. IP Plants has tested several selections as pot plants. The cross between Limonium sinuatum and Limonium perezii has resulted in hardy winter specimens suitable for growing in patio pots, gardens, and landscaped areas. The cultivars are compact, continuous flowering and Botrytis resistant. Plants produce massive amounts of branches and flowers in beautiful colours for up to four to five months. IP Plants has the rights and management, and EU plant breeders’ rights protect the species. Florensis will bring the Limoniums Sinzii in diverse colours to the pot market in 2025.”

IP Plants is also active in pot Gentianas from the Japanese grower group Ashiro. What new pot Gentianas are in the pipeline?

“In an absolute first, Ashiro, in collaboration with IP Plants, will bring something truly spectacular to the market in 2025. Ashiro will then launch its first line of double-flowered pot Gentianas, which are available in three colours: dark blue, light blue, and pink. All cultivars are suited for growing in 10cm / 15cm pots. Ashiro is a household name in Gentiana breeding, boasting many years of experience and groundbreaking work in the field of URC product development.”

The average plant variety market life reduces, so breeders’ returns are under pressure. As a consequence, breeders may choose not to protect their releases. What’s your stand on this?

“This question is not easy to answer. If a novel plant is expected to have a short lifespan of one to three years, then you could consider not applying for a breeder’s right because of the costs. In such a case, a brand name under a trademark could be an alternative. It is a cost-benefit analysis, and that choice is always difficult. Therefore, knowledge of the market and existing cultivars is crucial to making that decision and choice.”

The core of your business is offering breeders the best possible protection for their new varieties and offering growers appealing varieties with which they can differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Community Plant Variety Rights, patents; what is the difference, and what do you think offers the best possible protection?

“The Community Plant Variety Right is undoubtedly an important tool to protect the IP rights of a breeder for, e.g. 25 years. Having a patent can, e.g. only protect the name or brand, and the value of a patent can differ per country. The choice of protection will depend on the market potential and how special the novelty is. This subject is vital when advising breeders.”

Do you feel that novel plants are well protected under Community Plant Variety Rights? What are the loopholes, and what can be improved?

“For the foreseeable future, it is crucial that there is and will remain a great deal of expertise in assessing novelties and granting breeder rights or patents. The CPVO does a good job of planting new varieties and assessing and maintaining various cultivars as comparison material. No system is watertight; if people abuse it, it is a great pity. It will not do the sector any good, and certainly not for the breeder who has invested for many years.”

Ornamental plant breeders are the backbone of your company. Who are they, what ornamental crops do they specialise in, and where do they hail from?

“I only started the company a short while ago, taking pride in representing several leading breeders. Senecio ‘Angel Wings’ originated in New Zealand, and Limonium Sinzii cultivars are in three colours, with new selections coming in the future. Calla breeding program with great pot and cut flower varieties. From Japan Gentianas, the new release will be in 2025 with double-flowering colours and two colours of the single flowering ‘Shine Blue’ and the red coloured ‘Koibeni’.

Dutch-based B.D. Flowers is a passionate breeder of various cut flowers, such as Sanguisorba ‘Red Dream’.

Another Dutch breeder is Marc Verschuren, the creator of a unique and nice bi-colour Cupressus ‘Snowcrest’.

In 2026-2027, new, compact growing pot Agapanthus cultivars and a new range of colours in Limonium breeding will become available.

The 2025–2026 season will also see the arrival of a mini Senecio. This new cultivar was selected from breeding with ‘Angel Wings’, a compact permanent mini Senecio with its characteristic soft touch and silver white leaf. The leaf is more oval. Plants reach a height of 20-30cm.”

What do you look for when deciding which (breeders) breeding programmes to accept?

“I will always take the time to listen and look at a new breeder’s genetics and breeding programme. And discuss what services are requested and needed by the breeder. Then, I will determine if the product fits my worldwide network of growers. Not everything you are offered is new or commercially interesting. We go for the best new cultivars and breeders.”

You work with large and commercial breeding companies and small independent breeders, licenses, and partners. Can you elaborate a bit more on who your customers are?

“My licensed growers are indeed different in size. The new cultivar often determines which and how many growers. In that, the consumer ultimately determines how many growers get a license. However, the growing experience of the grower with a certain product is also significant. If they do well and have a lot of experience with the species in question, they often have a good sales channel for their young plants or flowering pot plants.”

Today, there are many plant royalty management agencies. What is IP Plants’s biggest strength, and how does it differentiate itself from its competitors?

“With my expertise in perennials for over 35 years, I think I can distinguish myself. Also important is my built-up network in the business. The breeders and customers who came with me from my previous job prove that there is confidence in IP Plants and that there is a place for my company in floriculture. IPP will connect plant breeders with the right growers and production companies. We, too, will have to prove and improve ourselves every day and work hard for our customers 24/7.”

Would you say you are a passionate plantsman, having his own garden jam-packed with new plants?

“I am undoubtedly passionate about working with new plants. Following new bred plants often starts with the breeder in the garden. I do not have a test garden where everything is in. The future new plants I represent each have their properties and come into their own best with the breeder. We test new plants at selected growers I visit regularly to follow their growth and development. For foreign breeders, I am looking for selected and cultivar-experienced nurseries to monitor and assess the plants. Of course, I have a lovely garden.”

What is your company’s future mission in light of climate change and decreasing biodiversity?

“As a company and people, we know the climate is changing. And we will make our contribution where necessary. Only the tone in which the discussion is conducted by the climate pushers such as various political and the self-proclaimed so-called saviours of the climate worry me.”

Where would you like to stand in five years?

“We have laid a good foundation for this company in a short time and will continue to expand this with our services and advice to plant breeders. So we will continue on our path and show that we are a reliable and professional company with much expertise in plant breeders’ rights, patents and royalty management.”

On your website, you state, “With more than 35 years of experience and a proven track record of as many as 150 successful mentorships of growers and breeders, I know exactly what’s going on. I guide and advise growers and breeders in successfully marketing new plants.” Looking to the future, what are the key drivers of success in the ornamental plant market?

“We need young, enthusiastic people with a passion for our sector. I met many good breeders and growers when I started in this sector (around 1994) with my former colleague, mentor and plant specialist Luc Klinkhamer. In the meantime, many plant introductions have mainly come from the more minor, sometimes hobby, but super passionate breeders. They have taught me that innovation and breeding are the basis for the future. So keep innovating and breeding; that is so important. And not only the large companies with big budgets but also the more minor but super passionate breeders. They determine what we will see in the coming years.

I also see many advantages arising from collaborations between small breeders and larger companies such as Florensis and Selecta. These smaller breeders really add new varieties because they often fill gaps in the assortment of those larger companies. This is an exciting development for both.”

This article was first published in the November 2024 issue of FloraCulture International.