Coveted award for Heinje Nurseries

The award is organized by Messe Essen in cooperation with BIZZ Holland. All exhibitors at IPM ESSEN with woody plants and perennials were able to submit plants or planting concepts. In the end, ten applications were nominated from the entries. Here are the three winners:

1st place

Hydrangea paniculata 'Groundbreaker®' is the world's first ground cover hydrangea.  With a maximum height of just 30 cm, it grows compactly and is ideal for horticulture, as a bedding or container plant. Groundbreaker®' has a long flowering period, lasting up to 100 days from July to September. During this time, the flowers show a fascinating color change from white to delicate pale pink to bright pink.

Groundbreaker®' is very robust and resistant to extreme conditions. It tolerates dry periods well as long as it receives sufficient water and can also withstand heavy rain. Its resistance to cold is particularly remarkable: it can withstand temperatures down to minus 30 degrees. At the point of sale, Hydrangea paniculata 'Groundbreaker®' is presented in a strikingly printed pot with a matching label.

To support the presentation, matching banners are used to emphasize the special characteristics of the plant. For the P14 size there are trays of 4, reminding the customer that you need to plant 4 plants per meter for an ideal area planting. This presentation emphasizes the versatility of the plant and helps customers to choose the right planting density for a compact planting.

Place 2

Fragaria x ananassa Duch Queeny is very suitable as a snack fruit alongside other herbs in the kitchen. Queeny is early-flowering, upright-growing and shy.  The plant has pretty pink flowers and is persistent. The delicious fruits are bright red.

If Queeny is placed in a sunny window spot and watered regularly, you can enjoy the delicious strawberries for a long time. When the plant grows larger and is placed outside on the balcony or in the garden, the harvest lasts throughout the summer and into the fall.

Queeny is an attractive plant in the trade, as strawberries can already be seen alongside the beautiful pink flowers. With this unique strawberry plant, the consumer who wants to enjoy home-grown strawberries as a snack is within reach.

3rd place

Hydrangea arborescens 'FlowerWOW'® lives up to its name. With two to three times as many flowers compared to other H. arborescens, the plant is a real eye-catcher. The leaves are deep green and remain healthy throughout the season. The plant also has sturdy, straight, upright branches that do not fall over in wind and rain.

 FlowerWOW® is disease-resistant, easy to care for and grows compactly to a height of 0.90 to 1.20 meters and up to 1.5 meters wide. This makes it very suitable for both small gardens and large plantings. This snowball hydrangea is a real flowering machine with a long flowering period. The flowers slowly turn green and retain this color until autumn.

Special mention

Special mention was made of the Dino Snack® from Mediflora Lehrhuber GmbH, a new plant concept for children. Each dinosaur presents its favorite plant in a colorful, child-friendly cover. The plants are in practical 14 cm pots so that children can integrate the plants into their play and care for them themselves.

The Show Your Colours Award IPM was introduced to encourage trade fair participants to highlight their products with a plus. With added value in the form of a label, a beautiful pot, a clever concept or simply by telling a little more about the plant, a plant can attract extra attention.