May 16-31, 2015
Speculations Russian boycott, late frosts in US, expansions, French Mother's Day and Royal visits
Keukenhof attracted 1,175,000 visitors in 2015
In May 2015, the Keukenhof in the Netherlands reached a new record with 1,175,000 visitors in 2015. The visitors enjoyed Keukenhof and awarded it an 8.7.
Chelsea Flower Show recieved a Royal visit
From 19-23 May 2015, the Chelsea Flower Show took place in the UK. At the show pavilions were created by the world’s leading gardeners, garden designers and plant producer. The show received a Royal visit. The Queen was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry.
FloraHolland Annual Report: Profit of 9.6 million
FloraHolland published their annual report. The year of FloraHolland ended on a positive note. The actual profit of FloraHolland was 9.6 million in 2014, which is a large improvement compared to 2013; €-15.6 million. The turnover of FloraHolland was € 4.5 billion in 2014; a slight increase compared to 2013. These numbers are presented in the annual report of FloraHolland.
Van Zaal Transport launched Track and Trace App
Van Zaal Transport, a Dutch transportation company launched a track and trace app. When several clients of Van Zaal Transport asked for an app to see the actual order status on their smartphones, the business decided to offer this service. Since May 2015, the T&T App is available and gives direct insight into the actual status and the expected delivery time.
"Pleasing results for Ontario Flower Growers' new virtual auction system"
Last April, the Ontario Flower Growers (OFG) started to modernize its auction system in Ontario, Canada. They launched a virtual auction system on three clocks and on April 28 2015. In May 2015, they added another clock and they were very pleased with the results. "The majority of our buyers who started doing this are very satisfied with their purchase results," says Shaun Parish in May.
Prins Group builds greenhouse and warehouse for Dutch rose grower
In May, Prins Group showed the first peak of the construction of a greenhouse and warehouse for Meijer Roses from Pijnacker, the Netherlands. It was a special greenhouse project as it was designed in collaboration with Meijer Roses. The whole greenhouse and warehouse were adapted by the requirements and needs of Meijer Roses, in short: a customised project.
Norhern Michigan growers took preventative measures to protect plants
May 2015 was witness to some very cold temperatures. In Northern Michigan, the USA growers took preventative measurements to protect their plants against the frost at the end of May 2015. At that time, Northern Pines Nursery in Lake City was doing everything they could to protect their Christmas trees from the night's frost. With such a unique crop, they could not afford to have a bad season.
Highest point achieved at Arcadia
In May 2015, Arcadia and AAB made a start on the renewing of horticulture in the Westland region, the Netherlands. The 'top' entrepreneur in this region convinced the bank that dismantling of existing glasshouses and replacing these with new ones has a future. Arcadia is, thanks to this new-build project, busy working on the future. At the end of May, a start was made on raising the cams at Arcadia by Mayor van Doorlaan in De Lier. The glasshouse thereby reached its highest point.
French Mother's Day: Unexpected popularity of white and mini florets
On May 31 2015, Mother's Day was celebrated in France. This year, there was an unexpected popularity for the white and mini florets. "Usually, the pink colored orchids are much in demand for Mother's Day," said Sarah Corselis, Sales Manager at Okidland, a orchid grower in the South of France. On May 27, at the Hyeres Flower Market in the South of France where Okidlands sells cut flower orchids, white and mini florets outperformed their pink orchid varieties.
Russian boycott for flowers and plants?
At the end of May, 2015, different media reported a probability for a Russian boycott on Dutch flowers. This is when all the speculations about and the fear for a boycott began. At that time the extra inspections on Dutch flowers was still unknown.
Photo impression of visit Dutch Royal Couple in Canada
At a trade mission, the Dutch Royal Couple paid more attention to the horticulture sector in Canada. On May 28 2015, they visited different horticulture companies in Canada, including Vineland Research and CosMic Plants Inc. Click here to view the photos that were taken during the visit.