The 34th Groot Groen Plus nursery stock trade fair in early October 2024 highlighted impressive growth and global engagement in Zundert, North Brabant, Netherlands. This horticulture event expanded to 280 participants and spanned 1.4 km of walkways, with more exhibition space and diverse regional group collaborations emphasizing innovation. The 2024 GrootGroenPlus trade fair set new benchmarks with its increased participation, international reach, and successful focus on sustainability and innovation. With a positive reception and strengthened global ties, it remains a leading event for the horticulture sector in the Netherlands and beyond.

Enhanced International Presence. The fair hosted participants from seven countries, with 32% of exhibitors supplying products like outdoor plants, cultivation advice, substrates, and technology. The remaining 68% featured a wide array of green goods, from plug plants to aquatic plants. Education also remained a central theme, with a dedicated square for educational displays. Notably, 32% of attendees were international, representing 34 nations, with a strong turnout from Germany, Poland, and Scandinavian countries. The increase in German and Polish visitors matched a rise in exhibitors from these regions, underscoring GrootGroenPlus’s growing international influence.

Visitor Growth and Social Media Reach. Visitor attendance rose by 3.6%, and social media proved instrumental in driving this surge. Pre-fair and live posts attracted many new participants, and online engagement thrived. The busiest day was Wednesday, with 44% of visitors attending and overflow parking lots in use for the first time in a decade. Thursday saw 35% of visitors, while Friday’s quieter pace enabled suppliers to network with colleagues, resulting in additional orders.

Targeted Marketing and Increased Buyer Engagement. The fair’s targeted marketing efforts yielded a broader mix of visitors, including 8% traders and 5% garden centre representatives—a notable increase over 2023. Roughly 20% of attendees were first-timers, and 41% registered via advertisements. Owners made up 57% of visitors, reflecting the fair’s draw for decision-makers.

Positive Atmosphere and High Demand. The fair’s ambience was warm and inviting, leading to productive interactions and transactions. The IKEA-style routes, ensuring no booth was overlooked, were again praised for enhancing the visitor experience. The trade guide, available in Dutch and English, was also top-rated, with almost all copies distributed by the fair’s end.

Awards and Judging Highlights. The GreenGrandPrix evaluated 28 plants, awarding 10 distinctions: four gold, four silver, and two bronze. Winning plants were displayed prominently, enhancing visibility in the central restaurant area. This competition format received enthusiastic feedback from participants, press, and visitors, setting the stage for an expanded event in the coming years.

In addition to the GreenGrandPrix, stand awards recognized top exhibitors:

• Zunderts Groen Imago Prijs: Boomkwekerij Dictus-Hereijgers
• Jac. Lodders Award: Roelands Boomkwekerijen BV
• Jan van Dongen Award: Treeport BCT Partners BV ROOTZ

International tours and press visits. This year, 54 people participated in the internal and external tours, including many international press representatives from countries such as Poland, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Belgium, Latvia, Finland, France, England, Romania, and Hungary, as well as buyers from Poland, Lithuania, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Jordan, and Sweden.

The internal press tour highlighted four innovative exhibitors focused on sustainable and practical horticultural solutions:

Fotoccar, based in Viezenbeek, Belgium, has developed the FotoCCar, a mobile photo studio specifically designed for the horticulture industry. This device allows nurseries, greenhouse operators, and florists to present plants with exact measurements in a simple, accessible format. Mounted on a CC trolley, the FotoCCar is easy to move along narrow paths both indoors and outdoors, making it highly adaptable for various settings. Using a mobile phone, users can capture real-time images of plants that display their current growth and flowering status, complete with accurate height and width dimensions. This tool also enables participation in image auctions without investing in costly technology. Constructed from 100% recyclable aluminium, it’s durable and reusable, compatible with whiteboard markers for easy marking.

Urinebank BV from Doetichem has its origins in the dairy sector but aims to bridge different industries through the innovative use of cow urine as a fertilizer. Using the Hanskamp CowToilet, Urinebank separates urine from manure, preventing ammonia emissions in barns and collecting urine as a viable alternative to synthetic fertilizers. Urinebank BV targets tree nurseries, among other agricultural sectors, as potential beneficiaries of this sustainable fertilization approach. By connecting suppliers and users of cow urine, the company supports a circular economy that reduces reliance on synthetic chemicals, aiming to make both dairy and horticultural sectors more environmentally friendly.

At only 21, Luco Henrikx of Hendrikx Plants in Esbeek, Netherlands, is the youngest participant in the 2024 GrootGroenPlus. His operation started on half a hectare when he was 15 and now spans 10 hectares, cultivating Taxus baccata, Laurus nobilis, Prunus caucasica, and other larger-sized ornamental plants. With a commitment to environmentally friendly practices, Hendrikx recently invested in a RATH V70 portal tractor, designed to control weeds with minimal environmental impact. His focus remains on large-scale production of various plant species grown in open ground, supporting sustainable practices in horticulture.

Italian nursery Vivai Guagno operates two locations in Padua and Ferrara. The Padua nursery is the company’s origin, where they focus on cultivating native plants in smaller containers and nurturing them through each growth phase. Vivai Guagno offers an expanded range of ornamental plants, ready-to-use whips, and young trees, catering to other nurseries and urban reforestation projects. The Ferrara nursery complements the production in Padua, growing plants both as standard trees and in natural forms, producing unique specimens over its 30-hectare container field. Known for its robust production cycle, Vivai Guagno ensures a broad selection of ornamental and forest plants that can support diverse landscaping and ecological projects.

Each exhibitor emphasizes sustainability and practical solutions in the horticulture sector, whether through environmentally friendly machinery, innovative products, or alternative fertilization. These companies are advancing the industry by offering eco-friendly alternatives and practical tools that meet modern horticultural needs while reducing environmental impacts.

The external press tour highlights innovative approaches to sustainable and profitable nursery stock cultivation by various companies, focusing on eco-friendly practices and improved soil health, essential for fostering resilient plant growth and meeting modern consumer expectations.

Located in Essen, Belgium, Boomkwekerij Duchêne adopts an eco-conscious approach to cultivating over 200 varieties of hardy ornamental shrubs. Their philosophy, “healthy soil as the basis for quality products,” underlines the importance of biodiverse and biologically active soils. They minimize chemical intervention, instead fostering soil health with methods such as green manure, non-churning tillage, soil rest periods, and water management. Additionally, they promote beneficial fungi, like mycorrhiza, to enhance soil vitality. Weed control is manual, avoiding herbicides and promoting healthy plant growth. A low-volume spray system further reduces chemical usage.

Liwardi Quick Hedging combines precision agriculture with in-house propagated planting stock, growing plants in open fields for 2-4 years. Their sustainable practices include site-specific fertilization based on soil mapping, GPS-guided machinery for cultivation, and eco-friendly packaging options. From October 2023, Liwardi will deliver plants in biodegradable cardboard boxes, which decompose within ten days, enhancing planting convenience while reducing waste. Containers are recyclable and designed to support healthy plant growth with optimized soil composition.

Elst-Bevers BV, established in 1984, specializes in Prunus and other shrub species, using exclusively container-based cultivation. Now under the leadership of the founder’s daughter, Melanie, and her husband, Maarten, the company emphasizes eco-friendly operations, holding MPS-DAP and GLOBAL-GAP certifications. In 2022, they introduced a proprietary plant variety, Buddleja davidii ‘Magda’s Gold Knight,’ showcasing their commitment to product innovation and sustainability.

As a collaboration between Ron van Opstal B.V. and Jochems-Van Opstal B.V., About Plants Zundert focuses on cultivating a wide range of attractive garden plants over 25 hectares, targeting the commercial market. They innovate constantly, with unique varieties like Leucothoe ‘Curly Red,’ a plant prized for its seasonal colour change and unique leaf texture. The nurseries prioritize plant health and aesthetic appeal through meticulous propagation and cutting techniques.

These nurseries exemplify a modern approach to horticulture, balancing ecological considerations with operational efficiency. Their practices include organic soil management, manual weed control, recyclable packaging, and GPS-guided cultivation, ensuring a minimal ecological footprint while delivering high-quality products for both domestic and international markets. Several deals have already been closed as a result of these tours, which were so positively received that they will be continued in 2025.

Looking ahead. The digital trade fair continues until November via Varb, where participants showcase their current assortment through the trade fair’s app and website. Comprehensive participant profiles will remain available, and more images and videos will be shared through the website and social media platforms. This allows visitors to continue experiencing the fair’s atmosphere even after its conclusion.

Registration for the 35th edition, scheduled for 1 – 3 October 2025, at the BCT, is already open.