Diervilla splendens ‘G2X88544VAR’ (KODIAK® MIXX) and Precious Earth (mosses) have won the Green Retail Awards at the 2023 autumn edition of PLANTARIUM|GROEN-Direkt.
The Green Retail Awards are awarded in three categories: Best Novelty, Best Market Introduction and Visitors’ Favourite – one winner in each category. The Visitors’ Favourite is chosen by the fair’s visitors and announced at the end of the fair.
Best Novelty
Valkplant BV from Hazerswoude-Dorp has proudly seen its Diervilla splendens ‘G2X88544VAR’ (KODIAK® MIXX) come first in the Best Novelty category of the Green Retail Award contests. The jury was unanimous in finding this product the Best Novelty. “This Diervilla is colourful and has a stable shape, making it innovative in the Diervilla range. The plant has a good bushy growth habit and is neatly presented, without burnt foliage. It boasts a beautiful colourful mixture of green variegated leaves with creamy white edges and attractive pinkish red young shoots,” says the jury’s report. Five plants were awarded a silver medal and another thirteen a bronze medal. The plants submitted in the Best Novelty category were evaluated by the independent expert jury of the Koninklijke Vereniging voor Boskoopse Culturen (Royal Boskoop Horticultural Society). Of the total of 39 plants registered for this evaluation, 32 were eventually inspected.
Best Market Introduction
In the Best Market Introduction category, the Green Retail Award has gone to Precious Earth (mosses) of Vof de Leeuw den Engelsen, here too with the jury’s unanimous approval: “This concept is an attractive reintroduction of a range of mosses appealing to two key concerns of the Dutch Intratuin range of garden centres: heat control and water management. As a ground-cover plant, moss is capable of retaining moisture in gardens, and it is also very heat tolerant. Precious Earth is a refreshing product that will certainly be attractive to the younger generation, especially also thanks to its name,” were the jury’s words.
In total, sixteen entries were evaluated in this category. Second came Ilex crenata 'Jenny' submitted by Salm Boskoop. The jury’s opinion: “Ilex crenata ‘Jenny’ is an ideal replacement for box. With its growth habit – more compact than that of other Ilex varieties – and its attractive bright green foliage, this product will definitely appeal to a certain target group.” The third place was for Hellogarden tea herbs of Griffioen Wassenaar. “This concept conforms to the spirit of the current age revolving around health and wellbeing,” said the jury.
The jury for the Best Market Introduction comprises representatives of the international retailers Jardiland, Plantagen and Dobbies Garden Centres. All the jury members are themselves responsible for the purchase of outdoor plants. The winning concept will be included in the range of the Intratuin garden centres.
Beautiful selection of novelties
With its many novelties, PLANTARIUM|GROEN-Direkt proves itself to be the ideal place for launching plants not yet introduced on the market. Besides the aforementioned two categories there is also the Visitors’ Favourite. The fair’s visitors are invited to vote for what they consider the best product via the green balls ballot system. Fourteen products are competing in this category, whose winner will be announced at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday 24 August.
In addition to the presentations of the products submitted for the Green Retail Awards, the fair is bursting at its seams with a wide variety of stands while also coinciding with GROEN-Direkt’s Autumn Fair featuring 5000 sample batches, a concepts plaza and its presale of Christmas trees. Some of the novelties are directly available for purchase here. All this makes this combined fair unique for European garden plant retail buyers.
