As the 26th edition of trade fair GrootGroenPlus approaches, more parts of the program are announced. This edition will take place from 5 – 7 October. This year’s theme, ‘My Favourite Plant!’ offers a lot of room for in-depth knowledge about plants, assortment, and sharing knowledge. This year, the trade fair will – as usual – start on Wednesday morning with an opening program. After that, the trade fair will be open until 21:00. Dutch and Belgian associations for gardeners and garden contractors worked together on creating a special program for this evening, between 20:00 and 22:00, which includes presentations by Hans Kaljee (municipality of Amsterdam) and Ronald Houtman (KVBC). But that is not the only thing that makes this edition of the international trade fair special.
Everything is starting to fall into place
The first set-up has been created. Once again, this consists of three routes, which are approximately the same length. Participants from Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and Poland account for 21 per cent of the registrations.? The number of international participants has increased, compared to previous years. Among the participants are a couple of regional groups, such as Treeport Zundert, BSV Venlo, Groenbeurs Haaren, and TCO Opheusden. This last group will also get some special attention during the internal press tour. Approximately 22 per cent of the participants is supplier, and 78 per cent is green. 6 per cent is completely new. Since the entrance and tracks have changed, the green furnishing will completely change. Here, it is important that the trade floor, the participants, and the plants are all involved.
Sharing knowledge
Sharing knowledge is an important aspect this year. One of the ways to do this is by using a bookstand. This bookstand will offer room for books that have inspired growers, which they find essential for their area of expertise, and which might have even been written by them. One of the focal points is that books contain a lot of knowledge, which deserves to be presented enthusiastically, with positive results for the application of a(n) (broader) assortment. An education square is also added to the trade floor map. Here, different green educational programs will present themselves to the industry.
Novelties
Of course, 2016 will also have a novelty inspection by the KVBC. Different plants have been registered for the regular novelty inspection. These are for example the Gaulthier procumbens Gaulthier Pearl? (‘SpecGP11’PBR’), the Microbiota decussata ‘Lucas’ PBR, and the Vaccinium vitis-idaea Fireballs (‘Lirome’ PBR.) It is possible to register novelties until 1 September, via the registration form on the website of GrootGroenPlus. The novelty presentation itself will – as usual – take place near the entrance.
Thursday
On Thursday afternoon, there will be an interesting dialogue about Xylella. This will be organised by the KNPV (Koninklijke Nederlandse Plantenziektekundige Vereniging) between 15:00 and 17:00, which will celebrate its 125th anniversary, along with Anthos, LLTB, and NVWA. The dialogue will be led by Leon Faassen, chairman of the LLTB. As we announced earlier, Jolanda Maas will give a presentation on Thursday evening, at 18:15, right after the trade fair closes. This presentation is for visitors and participants and is about: Green Healthy Hospitals.
Trade fair special
This year, another trade fair special will be issued, with items such as: Is the assortment diminishing? How was public green handled earlier? What are the alternatives to standard trees in the city and on the countryside? Prior to the trade fair special, articles will be published about tree growers and their book. The first article will be published in July.
APP
Of course, there will also be a GrootGroenPlus app this year, which is called GGP2016. You can find the entire program here, but also more about the participants and their favourite plants! This app, which is in English, can be downloaded as of the end of July in the stores. More content will be added as the trade fair is approaching. Updates will be performed automatically after the first download.
