Top quality Gladiolus, cut Hydrangea and Kalanchoe on display for Floriade’s tenth Best in (Greenhouse) Show competition

ALMERE, Netherlands: For one week only, hundreds of gladiola, cut Hydrangeas and potted and cut Kalanchoe are on display at Floriade for the Expo’s tenth Best in (Greenhouse) Show competition.  The top three winners of the competition includes gladiola grower’s alliance Gladz of Hillegom,  Queens Flower BV of Velden and KP Holland of Naaldwijk.

Gold for Gladiolus ‘Peche Melba’ submitted by grower’s alliance Gladz.

Aad van der Knaap, chairman of the Floriade judging committee, and Albert Haasnoot, secretary of Floriade’s Flowers and Plants advisory board, joined forces in announcing the winners’ names on Thursday, 25 August. The pair handed out awards in three categories: gladiola, cut Hydrangea and potted Kalanchoe.

Henk Sonnveld, running a 6ha cut hydrangea nursery with his brothers Piet and Steve, scooped up the Floriade Excellence Award for Hydrangea macrophylla Magical ‘Light My Fire’.

Grower’s alliance Gladz – consisting of M&L Heemskerk, Fa. Th. J. Hulsebosch, Fersflowers, H. de Ridder, Fa. H.W. van Saase. Fa. J.A Salman and P.C.J vd Berg – reigned supreme in the category gladiola winning Gold for the large-flowered Gladiolus ‘Peche Melba’, a breed from Noordwijkerhout-based De Ridder Bloemen- en bloembollenkwekerij of Noordwijkerhout.

In the cut Hydrangea category, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Royal King’, submitted by Queens Flower BV of Velden won Best in Show.

In potted Kalanchoe, KP Holland from Naaldwijk scooped up the Best in Show Award for its Kalanchoë blossfeldiana ‘Rosalina Alano Bicolor’.

Wim Kea, chairman of Stimuflori, presented Hydrangea grower Sonneveld with the Floriade Excellence Award 2022 for Hydrangea macrophylla Magical ‘Light My Fire’. This award recognises blooms with the wow factor.

Henk Sonneveld and his brothers Piet and Steve swapped bell peppers for cut Hydrangea in 2000 and currently grow an extensive range of premium cut Hydrangeas, including 27 freshly harvested varieties and a range of more matured Classic Hydrangeas on 6ha of greenhouse space in Bleiswijk.

Henk sees Floriade as a valuable opportunity to liaise with the end consumer. He candidly admits he and his brothers were up against scorching hot weather. But despite the additional challenges caused by mother nature, the company catered for the cream of the cut Hydrangea crop at Floriade. According to Henk Sonneveld, ‘Light My Fire’ is one of the newest siblings with the Magical family, a successful series from Boskoop-based breeder Kolster.

Magical is a line of hassle-free, colour-changing Hydrangeas producing masses of blooms that magically change colour at least three or four times a year. For example, the award-winning ‘Light My Fire’ cultivar starts with blooms in creamy white and is edged with red, gradually changing into green and red hues. Mature blooms feature even a deep burgundy red.

In potted Kalanchoe, KP Holland from Naaldwijk scooped up the Best in Show Award for its Kalanchoë blossfeldiana ‘Rosalina Alano Bicolor’.

Large-flowered Gladiolus ‘Red Balance’  grown by Gladz,  Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Royal King’ submitted by Queens Flower BV from Velden and Kalanchoe Queen ‘More Flowers Lausanne’ from Queen Flowers from Hinnerup, Denmark ended ex-aequo in the Visitor Vote.

The tenth Floriade Awards Ceremony took place in what, until 27 September, is the home of 13 alternating flower and plants shows: the Green House. The awards celebrate the high standards that have been achieved by growers worldwide who, by participating in the Floriade contests, demonstrate their commitment to quality flower and plant growing.

Altogether, Floriade’s Gladiolus, Hydrangea and Kalanchoe contest included 30 entries from the Netherlands and Denmark.

The next Floriade Awards Ceremony was on 1 September, with Lilium, grasses and rose hips, and decorative berries in the limelight.