Think of a houseplant and they have it. Plant World’s assortment is huge. From unique begonias to tropical palms and Peperomias. Everything to add colour to your home. Because a plant in your home, that’s real happiness. Sales manager Maik Duindam takes us through the story of the nursery.
From three to one strong nursery
Anyone who has been in the industry for a while will undoubtedly remember Van der Arend Tropical Plantcenter, JoGrow and Smit Kwekerijen. Three strong nurseries, each with their unique growing varieties. In 2022, they decided to join forces and continue under the name Plant World. Today, Plant World has 23 hectares of greenhouses and collaborates with nurseries from Asia, Africa and Central America. And all with one mission in mind: to grow unique and inspiring plants with passion and craftsmanship.
“From one strong company, we present a wide range of houseplants,” begins Maik. “In doing so, in addition to a reliable base, we find it important to keep surprising our customers with new varieties an excellent quality. Because plants are good for our well-being, and bring pleasure to a home. As a nursery, that is our biggest driving force: germinating residential happiness with our unique and quality plants.”
Unique plant varieties from around the world
Plant World’s unique range takes shape in 85 grower-owned plant varieties. “We have our own Product Innovation (PI) department where we develop new plant varieties, experiment with crosses and new product lines. This is how our own protected varieties are created. We also work closely with growers abroad, especially in Costa Rica, Thailand and South Africa. Is there a novelty there? Then we are the first to know about it.”
Besides innovation, quality is also one of Plant World’s main pillars. “Quality starts with the starting material. Whether that comes from Africa, Costa Rica, the lab or a cutting supplier. The incoming plants or cuttings must be of top quality. For this, we have specific agreements with our suppliers in terms of height, thickness, quality of seeds or cuttings … Do the plants not meet our requirements? Then they do not come in here. If the plants come from abroad, we have them packed in wooden crates. On the contrary, we keep more space for the plant so there is less chance of damage. We would rather pay higher transport costs than grow plants that lose quality en route.
Quality starts with the starting material
Maik Duinham, Sales Manager
In our nurseries themselves, we treat our plants with the utmost care. We let them grow naturally. Without rushing. This is possible because we keep a lot of data on the sales and growing times of our plants. We know approximately when which plant sells and how long it takes before it is ready for sale. We anticipate this and give the plant time to grow into a strong rooted specimen. All this happens under the watchful eyes of our growers. No cameras, but real human work. Each grower has their own product group in which they specialise.”
Popular plants
Time for a look at Plant World’s assortment. “Our range is so extensive that customers can actually order anything to fill their entire indoor plant department with a nice selection. We have about 150 different species of tropical plants and there are more than 4,000 items in our range. Our pot sizes range from 5.5 to 30 centimetres. We also put together interesting plant mixes and develop different collections like the Eden Collection and concepts like Adorable Little Plants.”
With such a wide range, singling out a few plants is difficult. But Maik makes an attempt. “The Brighamia, for example, is one of our gems. It is a kind of palm on a small trunk. And unique in its kind, as this is one of our 85 protected species. Another such example is the Begonia Ferox, also known as ‘Troll’. The spines on its leaves are reminiscent of a troll’s club, but despite its crazy appearance, it is a popular plant. In general, colourful plants with leaf designs are in high demand at the moment. People love colourful plants. Our Begonias and Alocasia are a good example of that.”
Long-term cooperation
“Anything you give attention to grows,” says Maik adamantly. And he’s not just talking about the plants. Plant World also treats its collaborations with customers, suppliers and growers with utmost care. Only requirement? Their partners must, like themselves, think about the longer term. Looking beyond today and already planting the seeds for tomorrow. They share this vision with Floréac, among others.
“We work closely with Floréac. Together, we dive into the depths of the strategic field. What do their customers need? Why do some plants sell better than others? Where are the opportunities? Thanks to Floréac, our range continues to grow and we respond even better to the wishes of the end customer. Floréac also pursues an ambitious sustainability policy. As a grower, they involve us closely in this. Together, we look at how we can green Plant World even more.”
Green efforts
“Because we are already making a lot of sustainable efforts. For instance, we grow according to the NatuGrow system, which stands for natural cultivation. For years, we have hardly used any chemical pesticides and instead opt for preventive biological crop protection, such as predatory mites and parasitic wasps. And also to inhibit the growth of certain plants, we are now fully experimenting with the soil material to reduce the use of inhibitors. A soil with clay, for example, allows a plant to absorb less moisture, keeping it more compact. Another example of natural growing is not giving our plants extra energy on a dark day. Little sunlight, means the plant is at rest. And we simply allow that too. This natural growing not only has its advantages in terms of sustainability, but also ensures that our plants can withstand a beating. They last longer and stay beautiful for longer.”
It doesn’t stop at natural growing, Plant World also makes efforts in other areas. “Already two of our sites are completely peat-free, for the other sites we are at about 65 per cent. We also try to use as little natural gas as possible. For instance, we already heat our greenhouses in Kwintsheul completely on geothermal heat. This makes our cultivation there completely C02 neutral. More and more of our locations are being fitted with solar panels and everywhere we collect rainwater and reuse water and fertilisers. In terms of packaging, we are trying to reduce single-use trays and focus more on multi-use trays, which the customer can return after use.”
Here’s to a bright future
With pride, Maik looks ahead to the future of the sector. “Floriculture is pre-eminently an innovative sector. We are sometimes hit hard, for example by the energy crisis, price pressure, environmental requirements … But we never let our heads down. We all pull together and move forward. Come up with new solutions. This is how we produce a great product with as few resources as possible. A product that makes people happy and adds value to society. Because say it yourself: coming home to a cosy house with beautiful plants is great happiness, isn’t it?”
Facts & Figures
- Where? Westland and Groningen (NL)
- What? (Sub)tropical indoor plants. A total of 22 million plants per year.
- In service? 220 employees, including 185 FTEs
- Certificates? MPS-A, MPS-GAP, MPS-Productproof, MPS-SQ, GRASP
- Sales market? 650 customers in Europe, mainly garden centres, DIY stores and florists. No discount.