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Members of the Hillier Nurseries team in the production fields, the people behind the company’s IGOTY 2026 recognition.
As the applause fades at IPM Essen, the significance of this year’s AIPH International Grower of the Year Awards settles into focus, particularly for Hillier Nurseries, recipient of the Gold Rose for 2026.
Held on Tuesday, 27 January at Messe Essen, this industry award ceremony was brief amid a busy week of meetings and announcements. What lingers are conversations about responsibility, consistency and leadership in today’s ornamental horticulture sector.
Speaking with Hillier in the weeks that followed, the impression is not of a business pausing to celebrate a single moment, but of one taking stock.
This reflection is rooted in perspective. Founded in 1864 and now in its fifth generation, Hillier Nurseries prioritises continuity, responsibility, and long-term relevance over short-term gains.
That outlook helps explain the company’s recognition as AIPH International Grower of the Year 2026. The Gold Rose is viewed not as a defining endpoint, but as part of a much longer story of adaptation, resilience and care.
Over more than 160 years, Hillier has grown from a regional nursery into one of the UK’s leading ornamental plant and tree producers. Today, the business produces more than one million plants and 250,000 trees annually, supplying garden centres, landscapers and amenity projects, while continuing to invest in research-led growing and resilient production systems.
Aerial view of Hillier Nurseries’ tree production fields and surrounding landscape in the UK.
Recognition comes in stages. At the 2026 awards, Hillier was called up repeatedly, securing wins across three categories.
The company won the Finished Plants and Trees category, received the Sustainability Award, and ultimately secured the Gold Rose, presented to the overall AIPH International Grower of the Year.
Adam Dunnett, Production & Amenity Director at Hillier Nurseries, accepts the Gold Rose at the AIPH International Grower of the Year Awards 2026 in Essen.
For Adam Dunnett, Production & Amenity Director at Hillier Nurseries, the evening unfolded in three distinct moments. Across his acceptance speeches, surprise was tempered by perspective.
“This is a massive surprise — and greatly, greatly received,” he said when collecting the Finished Plants and Trees Award, acknowledging the strength of the other finalists. “We’ve got a fantastic sector.”
When the Gold Rose was announced, the tone became more reflective. “What makes the difference is the people,” he said. “Ninety per cent of our success is down to the fantastic people behind us.”
The message that evening was clear: while the trophies may bear the company’s name, the achievement belongs to the team behind it.
As expectations of large-scale nurseries continue to evolve, Hillier sees its role extending beyond the supply of high-quality finished plants and trees. Increasingly, the business positions itself as a long-term partner to customers, supporting the creation of landscapes that are resilient, sustainable and fit for the future.
That perspective has shaped many of Hillier’s priorities in recent years. The company achieved 100 per cent peat-free production ahead of UK legislation, invested in renewable electricity and water efficiency, and embedded independently verified systems, including Planet Mark and ISO frameworks, into everyday operations. The emphasis, Dunnett explains, is on practical, measurable action rather than ambition alone.
“Investing in research, infrastructure and skills is essential,” he said. “Doing things properly often takes longer, but it’s the only way to build something that lasts.”
Peat-free production in practice — Hillier achieved 100 per cent peat-free growing ahead of UK legislation.
Entering the AIPH International Grower of the Year Awards also prompted a period of reflection.
“It wasn’t about looking back at our heritage alone,” Dunnett said. “It was about showing how a long-established nursery can keep adapting, combining tradition with innovation, and growth with responsibility.”
People remain central to this evolution. Hillier invests in apprenticeships, training, leadership development and digital learning, recognising that plant quality depends on the skills and commitment of its workforce.
“From propagation through to delivery, everything we do depends on our people,” Dunnett said. “This recognition is really about them.”
As part of its AIPH International Grower of the Year 2026 entry, Hillier Nurseries provided judges with detailed insight into its evolving production strategy.
This includes sustained investment in plant breeding and innovation, with recent introductions such as Erysimum ‘Colour Vibe’, bred over eight years and shortlisted for RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2023, and Philadelphus ‘Petite Perfume Pink’, the world’s first pink philadelphus, named RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2025 after nearly a decade of development.
Philadelphus × ‘Petite Perfume Pink’, the world’s first pink philadelphus and RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2025 — the result of nearly a decade of focused breeding.
Hillier has also made significant infrastructure investments to improve efficiency, quality and resource use, including the redevelopment of its tree container nursery and the construction of a 1.2-hectare Folie Growing House designed to reduce water use through capillary flooring, rainwater capture and advanced environmental controls.
Building on its early transition to peat-free production, the business has invested in sensor-based monitoring. This enables better understanding of water use, nutrition and growing media performance. In parallel, Hillier is actively trialling climate-resilient tree species to support future landscapes under changing environmental conditions.
Apprenticeships, leadership programmes and the company’s bespoke Reelyze learning platform support career development across nursery, retail and amenity teams, reinforcing the link between plant quality and the expertise of those producing it. Further information is available at www.hillier.co.uk
For Hillier Nurseries, the Gold Rose sits within a much broader narrative, one shaped not by individual seasons, but by steady commitment to growing responsibly at scale.
As the industry moves on from IPM Essen and returns to the practical decisions of the year ahead, Hillier’s Gold Rose recognition offers a quieter reminder: progress in horticulture is rarely dramatic. More often, it is cumulative, built through repeated, sometimes unglamorous choices made consistently over time.
One of the reasons this award carries weight within the industry is the way it is judged. It is the only global competition dedicated solely to recognising excellence among ornamental production growers.
Rather than being assessed by sponsors or organisers, entries are reviewed by an independent international jury comprising past winners, senior growers and sector specialists. This peer-based model allows businesses of very different sizes and structures to be assessed on substance rather than scale alone.
The 2026 jury brought together experience from production, research, sustainability and international markets:
Entries are assessed against criteria covering plant quality, innovation, environmental performance, people management and strategic direction. The emphasis is on how systems function in practice, and whether progress is embedded rather than episodic.
For growers, the AIPH International Grower of the Year recognition offers peer-level validation and international visibility. For the wider industry, it provides grounded examples of how professional horticulture is responding to long-term pressures with consistency, investment and care.
Readers can find in-depth reporting from the Awards ceremony in the February 2026 issue of FloraCulture International, alongside more details about the participants from the AIPH website.
