Midwinter Plant Fair 2024 Review

Royal FloraHoland’s Midwinter Plant Fair, held between 10 and 11 January 2024, featured nearly a hundred plant exhibitors spread across one hall at Royal FloraHolland Aalsmeer. Growers say market volatility hits demand for new orders, while particularly bedding plant growers agree that midwinter is an exercise in waiting. By the time the first balmy temperatures and warmer weather arrive, the darkest days of winter will be long forgotten.

True to tradition, Royal FloraHolland’s Midwinter Plant Fair kickstarts the year of the green industry in Europe with exhibitors and attendees enjoying an extensive range of houseplants, bedding and patio plants, plus the old-fashioned ‘Dutch oliebollen’, aka Dutch Doughnuts and coffee. Day one also included Orchid Plaza, featuring the cream of the Dutch orchid growers and their diverse portfolio.

For many growers, quality face-to-face time, genuine connection, the opportunity to gauge the mood among customers, and less hasty meetings are the most important factors for participating in this event. One exhibitor put it this way, “At this fair, there are no packed aisles and overcrowded stands as seen at Trade Fair Aalsmeer in November. This is a fair where you can meet your customers in a relatively short time without having a feeling of too hasty meetings afterwards.”

The Midwinter Fair’s aim is to help green professionals build long-term business relationships, but it is also about on-the-day sales and order writing.

Its timing is perfect because the event coincides with January’s boom in houseplant sales, while consumers are craving the first faint scent of spring and longing for some colours in their homes and gardens. Buyers enjoyed browsing lush and tall tropical foliage plants, flowering pot plants, plus a wide range of bedding and patio plants offering plenty of inspiration to start the new year.

At the same time, the Midwinter Plant Fair capitalised on the popularity of sustainability, with growers willing to take initiatives to reduce emissions but also feel they are not always rightly awarded for their efforts.

At the height of winter, potted bulbs and patio plants such as Helleborus for indoors and colourful Bromeliads, potted Calla and Kalanchoe for indoors reigned supreme.

Bink Uittenbroek from SV.CO from De Lier showcased beautiful planters for Easter sales, filled with Kalanchoe in an explosion of colours and a new two-toned Kalanchoe IceCream® in cream and brown hues.

John Grootscholten from Gebr. Grootscholten in Kwintsheul occupied pride of place with his Sweet Kisses stand. Sweet Kisses is the brand name for a range of indoor Primroses in different colours and boasting a 30-day shelf life. Sweet Kisses growers include Ammerlaan-Sosef, Berkhout Plants, Gevers Planten, Loos Plants, SC.CO and Gebr. Grootscholten. Each of them grows the plants in pots ranging between 9-14cm. John Grootscholten commented, “This long-flowering primrose is primine-free and, as such, does not cause skin irritation. Sweet Kisses primrose is packed in a recognisable sleeve featuring the Sweet Kisses® brand name. Production of these primroses is mostly targeting retail stores in Germany and France.”

A visit to the stand of Van Schie from Honselersdijk showed how potted lilies and potted chrysanthemums continue to be a favourite among consumers. The company displayed a collection of double-flowered Roselily and several beautifully coloured Asiatics and Orientals.
Among its showstoppers were the potted oriental Souvenir in white and pink, plus four new Anemone Chrysanthemums with spoon-shaped petals.

Van Schie’s account manager, Michel van Kester, says the company grows approximately 2.5 million pot lilies and a million pot chrysanthemums per year. “We supply the UK and French market year-round while selling more seasonally in Germany and Eastern Europe. For Valentine’s Day, plants come with romantic point-of-purchase material, including bags, pots, and labels. Added-value, in essence, is the magical word regarding every flower-giving holiday.”

Mondo Verde from Rijsenhout showcased a wide range of Ficus microcarpa, Pachira and Clusia, while Air So Pure focused its presentation on its ‘A World of Wellbeing’ brand story launched one year ago. Air So Pure brand manager Ronald van Schie said that air-purifying properties of green plants are increasingly emerging in scientific research and campaigns, such as the ‘Plant in the Classroom’ project. “Air So Pure has been making a difference since its inception in 2007 with its collection of green plants with these properties and thus contributes to a healthy living environment at school, at home, in the office and in public spaces. An extra bonus is to announce new additions to the Air So Pure collection at a fair like the Midwinter Plant Fair.”

Flor Amor’s stand was lavishly decked out with Azaleas and Clivias. “It’s a shame”, according to salesman Christoph Stevens, that there are only a handful of Azalea growers left in the Netherlands. Stevens says, “More generally speaking, it is not easy to convince consumers about the beauty of this great product despite all the innovations in Azaleas. The new range consists of many new varieties that do not drop brown bracts. Flowers come in bold colours; once in full bloom, the plant is a sea of blooms. A portion of plants is clipped in different shapes, and for greater consumer recognition, we add colourful labels to each plant, with plenty of information about sustainability, the product itself and care. The QR code provides additional product information. We promote our Clivia collection in the same way.”

On the opening day of the Midwinter Plant Fair, Orchid Plaza was well-attended and offered a surprising and diverse range of Cymbidium, Phalaenopsis, and Dendrobium.

Catering for the higher end of the market is Multiflora Phalaenopsis. Patrick van der Arend showed the latest collection of Pannekoek Orchids from Berkel and Rodenrijs, which is a specialist in the cultivation of this small-flowered and compact Phalaenopsis.

The stand of Stolk Flora featured a collection of large-flowered Phalaenopsis, including several unusual varieties. Sales manager Manon Greeve explained that Phalaenopsis Parfum spreads a heavenly fragrance. “For optimum joy of the sense, weather conditions must be pretty sunny with a temperature of approximately 20°C. This is indicated on the cover with a logo depicting a sun, thermometer, and nose. The Phalaenopsis in the pink sleeve is a novelty from the Symphony collection that stands for premium quality.”

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