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Anticipation is building for the third edition of Türkiye’s most influential horticultural and landscaping trade show, the Landscape Fair Istanbul (LIF). More recently, the nation’s ornamental plant growers association, Süsbir and the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) endorsed the trade show, which this year will be held at the Istanbul Fair Centre Türkiye between 13-16 November 2024.
The previous LIF proved to be the premier innovation event within Türkiye’s ornamental horticulture sector, with a strong focus on discovering Mediterranean trees, shrubs and garden/patio plants, as well as industry insights and networking. In speaking with LIF organisers and exhibitors, it was apparent that amid economic turmoil, the country’s ornamental plant market is surprisingly resilient.
LIF’s driving force, Mustafa Gültekin Gökgül, is no stranger to organising trade shows. In 2008, he and his former business partner Hakan Yüksul launched what was back then the first-ever B2B trade exhibition for the country’s fledgling ornamental plant industry.
After many successful editions of the Flower Show Istanbul/Eurasia Plant Fair in the Istanbul Expo Centre in Yesilkoy, British show organiser Tarsus Group bought the entire event in 2017, moving it westwards to the Tüyap Beylikdüzü Exhibition Centre, somewhat distant from Istanbul’s city centre.
Yüksul and Gültekin Gökgül parted ways in 2018, with the latter staying on for one more year as the show’s general manager.
In 2021, Gültekin Gökgül founded his trade show and exhibition company, Athena Fuarcilik, and soon after, he announced the new Landscape Istanbul Fair (LIF).
LIF’s inaugural, budding edition in 2022 brought back togetherness and faith in face-to-face business at a time when the world was still processing the pandemic’s aftershocks.
For many green professionals, the new LIF in the good old Istanbul Expo Centre near the capital’s former intercontinental airport Atatürk (primarily serving as a cargo hub now) and downtown Istanbul feel like coming home.
LIF show organiser Mustafa Gültekin Gökgül.
Last year, more than 100 exhibitors and 3,700 attendees from 42 countries put their trust in the show. The organisers are confident that these numbers will be exceeded, promising an even more dynamic and immersive event this year. LIF has undoubtedly come a long and impressive way.
For a trade show’s success, ‘being from home’ is equally important as ‘feeling at home’. This truth underscores the crucial role locals play. Even the most seasoned event organiser from overseas cannot understand cultural nuances, values, and customs better than an accomplished trade show expert from within the country.
The news of the moment is that LIF has received two high-profile endorsements. The first one is from Türkiye’s most influential ornamental plant growers union, Süsbir; the second one is approval by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH).
Süsbir is the voice of the country’s 1,000 commercial ornamental plant growers, representing a combined turnover of more than US$1.0bn. Gültekin Gökgül is delighted to have received the national and international seal of approval. He says, “LIF is on its way to being embraced by all industry stakeholders. The endorsement of AIPH and Süsbir, together with the support of PMO (the Chamber of Turkish Landscape Architects), İBB (İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality) and World Urban Parks, are so important for the show’s future. I am confident these endorsements will take LIF to even higher levels in the coming years.”
Last year, more than 100 exhibitors and 3,700 attendees from 42 countries put their trust in the LIF show.
Last year, LIF unfolded its petals on a show floor spanning 7,000m2 across two adjoining halls. FCI visited the event between 16 and 18 November 2023. At the time, the world’s 17th largest economy in the world, according to the IMF, continued to grab headlines due to its volatile Lira and unorthodox economic policies that for long kept interest rates down despite the country’s rampant inflation.
Gültekin Gökgül notes, “There are many local and global factors, such as Türkiye’s current economic conditions, regional and global uncertainties, and changes in interregional trade balances.
Therefore, it isn’t easy to describe the current state of ornamental horticulture in Türkiye.
Generally speaking, the business environment is ‘passive aggressive’. At the company level, there’s a slowdown in commercial activities. However, production volumes continue to increase as the search for new markets intensifies while focusing on resource efficiency. On the other hand, there’s ‘cautious optimism’ with companies continuing to explore and work on all possible opportunities amid challenging conditions, maintaining the balance between costs and income, such as production, new investments or marketing.”
At LIF 2023, FCI magazine visited the stands of the following companies: Ediz Botanik, Sera Flora, Turgutlu Botanik Park, Verticalle, Queen Tarim, Maki Plants, and Eren Peyzaj.
Ediz Botanki (left to right): Sinem, Sami and Berka Ediz.
When asked about the current market situation for their range of primarily containerised production of trees, shrubs, garden plants, and houseplants sold to hotels and private gardeners at home (80 per cent), the husband-and-wife owners of Ediz Botanik, Sami Berk and Sinem Ediz, say: “So-so, but overall, not too bad. Stating that the country is on the edge of disinflation would not be completely true because inflation rates continue to be high, affecting demand in speciality business sectors across the country.”
The couple attributes approximately 20 per cent of their business to export sales, with Iraq, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and the Netherlands being major international markets.
Ediz Botanik was established in 2017, so it is relatively new to wholesale plant production and trade, although it was founded on the owners’ 17-year expertise in landscape architecture.
They chose to diversify into growing and selling nursery crops because of the product’s beauty, belief in stable ranking, and desire to explore new territory. The advantages of this vertical business integration include greater efficiencies, reduced supply chain costs, and more control over the production and distribution of nursery crops.
The combination of landscape architecture and nursery stock production has helped improve the performance of large-scale projects such as the award-winning planting scheme for the Jazz Beach resort near Antalya (mostly planted with palm trees, Mediterranean plants and aromatic herbs, cacti, and bamboo), and a score of other garden design projects for mansions lining the Bosphorus.
The company is located in Beykoz, northeast of Istanbul’s city centre on the Anatolian side of the capital. It covers an area of 20,000m2, of which a 1,000m2 poly greenhouse is dedicated to growing (mostly imported) houseplants such as Ficus, Strelitzia, Philodendron, Yucca, Monstera, Alocasia, and succulent plants.
Houseplant customers include interiorscapers, who are currently on a budget. So, the company prefers to sell an assortment that is attractively priced and easy to care for.
Ediz Botanik’s nursery crop portfolio comprises conifers, ornamental Citrus, grasses, Laurus, Agave, Cycas, Photinia, climbing plants, and bamboo. The latter, the owners say, is the company’s cream of the crop, including the four species type Phyllostachys aurea, Phyllostachys aurea nana, Phyllostachys nigra, and Bambusa metake (syn. Pseudosasa japonica).
Nearly half of the nursery crops are imported. Picea pungens, Magnolia sp., Ilex sp., Photinia, Camelia, and Gingko Biloba are imported from Italy. Lagerstroemeria, Loropetalum, Cycas, and bonsai trees come from China, while Skimmia sp. and Pieris sp. originate from the Netherlands. Nursery stock customers prefer evergreen shrubs and colourful species.
The couple says climate change impacts their business as managing the crops through long, hot, and dry summers becomes increasingly challenging. Drip irrigation significantly reduces water use.
The same applies to the shade halls, which are currently a work in progress. Other plans for the future include opening a subsidiary in the Mediterranean part of the country, increasing export sales, and expanding the product portfolio.
The team of Sera Flora with the company founder Muammer Oğüz, in the centre.
Antalya-based ornamental plant nursery Sera Flora has deep roots in horticulture and owns 5.5 hectares of greenhouse and field production in Antalya’s Manavgat district. It has been growing and selling ornamental plants in Türkiye for 31 years and has established markets in Europe and the Middle East.
Sera Flora takes great pride in being one of Türkiye’s leading suppliers of Bougainvillea, Strelitzia nicolai and Strelitzia reginae. The last two species largely sold out during the pandemic.
Its flagship Bougainvillea portfolio includes lollipop standards, balls, and pyramids with plaited or spirally trained stems. Bougainvillea species include the more vigorous spectabilis, often used for breeding activities, and the smaller, less vigorous glabra, which features smaller bracts and is ideal for planting in smaller gardens. The bestselling pot size in Bougainvillea is three litres pots.
Ismail Yiginak and his colleague are in the lavishly decked-out stand at LIF.
Turgutlu Botanik Park sits in the city of Turgutlu, in Manisa province, 25km east of Ìzmir. Here, the company has a 16-ha production location, an annexe of which is a botanical park open to the public. The company specialises in large trees such as eight to ten-metre-tall Platanus orientalis, six-metre-tall Liquidambar orientalis and six-metre-tall Tilia.
With the Turgutlu and additional Bursa, Baliksir, and Antalya production sites combined, the company spans 150 ha, of which 5 ha are under protection. The company attributes 90 per cent of its sales to the domestic market, with municipalities, wholesalers, and hotels being prime customers.
Prominently present at the stand of Turgutlu Botanik Park were niche-type Lagerstroemeria and Salix trees with intricate, ornately plaited stems. The company’s Ismail Yiginak says they import these trees from China and sell them to private customers and municipalities.
The city of Izmir, for example, planted them alongside a 5 km stretch of boulevard. At night, the open structure of plaited stems allows the trees to be lit from underneath, creating a magical atmosphere.
Serkan Kanbur is a landscape architect and owner of Verticalle, a multidisciplinary and AIPH Affiliate Member company selling various products and services.
Serkan Kanbur is a landscape architect and owner of Verticalle, a multidisciplinary and AIPH Affiliate Member company selling various products and services. The company sells plastic garden edging solutions under the Grassplant brand, drought-resistant Qgrass turf grass for parks, lawns, forage, and soil conservation, modular systems for vertical gardening, and large flower archways used for weddings and decoration in city squares.
Qgrass is the brand name for Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex. Chiov, aka Kikuyu grass. Verticalle uses a smaller-leaved and more compact variety of this perennial plant in many projects.
Kanbur says, “QGrass makes a good turfgrass for public places such as parks and traffic zones. It is particularly suited to plant slope areas as it spreads by rhizomes below ground and long runners above ground. So, Qgrass is an extremely good and strong turfgrass to cover large areas.”
Today, Turkiye hosts many turfgrass producers, mainly focusing on the dense and warm-weather-loving Zoysia spp. grass, the bluish-green St. Augustin grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum aka Buffalo grass), a warm season grass for lawns, and Bermuda varieties.
Verticalle’s floral installations gave the expo grounds in Kahramanmaraş some extra décor. Verticalle’s archways are frequently spotted at large-scale horticultural Expos around the world. Last year, despite the devastating Turkey-Syria Earthquake, the AIPH-approved International Horticultural Expo 2023 Kahramanmaraş opened between 14 October 2023 and 14 January 2024.
V-ArtWall is another Verticalle product. It comprises a range of fire-resistant and UV-stabilised faux plant walls with a five-year warranty.
They are suitable for commercial or residential use and can be used indoors and outdoors.
Kanbur says V-ArtWall is ideal for creating instant-impact vertical gardens with a wow factor in areas where live plants cannot thrive. “We use them in municipal or governmental projects as they don’t need sun, water, or maintenance. However, we still produce real vertical gardens under our main brand, Verticalle, but water use continues to be an issue, particularly in countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).”
Queen Tarim’s Ahmet Akan.
Danish Knud Jepsen a/s, which deserves credit for turning Kalanchoe into what is today a flowering potted plant staple, acquired in 2010 a former tomato and pepper nursery sitting on 100ha of land near Izmir. Two years later, the company joined forces with Turkish Agrico, from which emerged Queen Tarim, which today operates as a 50/50 joint venture between Knud Jepsen a/s Denmark and Agrico A.S. Türkiye.
Queen Tarim evolved into a 17.8 ha modern cuttings farm annexe greenhouse complex growing unrooted Kalanchoe cuttings year-round under the Mediterranean sun. It benefits from plenty of daylight and a dedicated, relatively cheap workforce. The customer base for URC comprises growers across Europe, the United States, and beyond. Temperature-controlled trucks serve European customers and air cargo in other parts of the world.
Another discipline within the company is growing Kalanchoe starter plants into finished pots ready for Turkish retailers such as BIM and Migros. The latter is considered one of the world’s most sustainable retailers. In this context, the company has earned MPS-GAP, MPS-SQ and MPS-B certifications and is working towards obtaining the ISO 9001 status.
Finished plants are predominantly grown in 10.5cm pots, shipped to fulfilment centres across the country, and sold for approximately €2.50.
Queen Tarim’s mini Kalanchoes in a 6cm pot selling for approximately €1.50 can also be found on Turkish retail shelves.
Queen Tarim’s portfolio also includes a range of innovative planters that market themselves using seasonal or traditional holiday elements to market them. Kalanchoe is paired with succulents and cacti, which have similar water and soil requirements in these planters.
Queen Tarim is one of Türkiye’s pioneers in the mass marketing of plants and believes this market segment has strong potential.
Ahmet Akan, sales and marketing manager at Queen Tarim, notes that the country has a sizeable number of large and medium-sized supermarket chains, and a significant portion sells flowers and plants.
Akan believes that expanding the company’s retail network, raising the pot plant profile in the market, and educating consumers on plant care is essential to take the flower and plant retailing business to the next level.
It has been ten years since the mother company from Denmark, Queen Flowers, launched its range of candy-coloured cut Kalanchoe flowers with exceptionally good shelf life at the IPM Essen show.
Many innovations need considerable time to market, and it is not easy to assess whether the Turkish retail consumer is ready for them. Kalanchoe cut flowers have a €1 per stem price point, so finding the balance between customer affordability and profitability for Queen Tarim can be challenging.
(Left) Cemre and Fikret Arik.
At Maki Plants’ stand, there are green foliage plants galore. If the late Huub van Diemen (Kwekerij De Amstel) from the Netherlands is widely recognised as the nation’s Ficus King, Maki’s owner and agricultural engineer Fikret Arik may well be bestowed the same title for Türkiye as he grows what is arguably the country’s largest and deepest range of cutting-raised Ficus.
Maki Plants grow mostly Ficus benjamina, available in many cultivars and species, including F. elastica, F. lyrata, F. bengalensis, F. macrocarpa, F. nitida, and F. binnendijkii.
Arik founded his three-ha polyroofed plant nursery in 1990 in the seaside beach resort Alanya in Antalya province. He soon realised that to stand out in a crowded marketplace, he needed to specialise. Therefore, Maki Plants evolved into a one-stop shop for all things Ficus. The plant genus comes in an incredibly wide range of shapes, such as lollipop standards and mini trees, with ornately plaited or spirally trained stems. Plant heights vary between heights of 45, 60, and 90cm.
He sells his plants at home and abroad (Middle East) to interiorscapers, wholesalers, and hotels. So far, Arik has never tried his luck in the epicentre of the Dutch potted plant trade because he is not sure what product type and volume best suit that market. At the same time, he is keen to know what Dutch buyers consider a correct price for his plants and stresses that he is open to collaboration with the Dutch.
Growing pot plants in a tourist hotspot like Alanya is challenging as developers can snap up farmland. Agriculture is the least profitable sector in the tourism heartland of Anlanya compared to other sectors of the economy. “But I love being a grower. I am a trained agricultural engineer. Besides, the land we grow our plants is designated for agricultural use. However, the truth is that much of the agricultural land is being turned into development following the municipality’s decisions over time. And this puts the agricultural land under pressure. For example, the area dedicated to protected vegetable cropping is gradually decreasing in Alanya, particularly when you compare the situation with a few years ago.”
Onur and Canan Eren of Eren Peyzaj.
Sakarya-based Eren Peyzaj – established in 2019 by husband-and-wife team Onur and Canan Eren – has been built on the company’s expertise in conifer growing (Juniperus and Cupressocyparis x leylandii) but today also focuses on succulents and cacti.
Their catalogue features Crassula, Sempervivum, Pachyveria (a hybrid between the Pachyphytum and Echeveria genera of succulents), and Haworthia, among the best-selling plants. Succulents and cacti are grown inside an 8,500m2 poly-roofed greenhouse, while 14,000m2 in the open is mostly used to grow conifers.
Particularly interesting is the company’s range of succulent planters, from wood and ceramics, designed to fit any space or lifestyle.
This article was first published in the September 2024 issue of FloraCulture International.
