Exclusive interviews with some of the most exciting brands in horticulture 🎤

Get the lowdown on what to look out for in 2023!

Welcome back to my live coverage from the most exciting horticultural event of the year, which is in Germany, it’s called the IPM Essen. I’ve got privileged access to be able to share all of my new findings with you. Brace yourself for new plants, new gardening, accessories, and all sorts of horticultural jazz!

At the press conference, it was on to the interviews. First up, floral designer Manfred Hoffmann. He introduced a very jolly bouquet, and remarked that it is the new trend, called “Road Trip”.

It was very interesting how he explained trends, because previously I thought trends were just what we dropped up when we wanted to sell a certain product! However, Manfred explained that trends are usually known five years in advance. Society actually leads it, by expressing a longing and a need for a certain thing. With the “road trip” concept, society was looking for comfort, and this trend is all about evoking memories, through the language of flowers. It was a very interesting interview!

Schneider Perennials were next. A company from the north of Germany, this company has a focus on plants with a purpose. In broader terms, plants that can resist climate change, and have a range of environmentally friendly attributes.

A plant that I know quite well was featured next, it’s one called Runaway Bride. This is a hydrangea that has been very popular over recent years in the UK. I’ve been seen on TV with it many a time!

It’s a multi flowering hydrangea, a garland hydrangea, if you like, with flowers all along the stem. There’s a new variety called “French Bolero”, which can be grown either blue or pink, depending on the soil.

This hydrangea is a game changer, and is from the same Japanese breeder that changed the world of Petunias, with the advent of mega trailer Surfinia!

I didn’t realise, until chatting to representative Robert today, that it actually doesn’t need any pruning. Only to regenerate every few years! At last, a hydrangea without the pruning confusion! The consumer will love that.

Wundergarten was next, with a product that I really hope gets translated for English speaking regions. It is a range of products made by biomass, and basically comprises a soil improver, a soil juice (I’m not sure how they described it, but it certainly wasn’t like that!), a charcoal mixture, and a range of charcoal, coated seeds.

Charcoal is an amazing tonic for plants, and it’s very important for putting carbon back into the soil. This is a company to watch!

And finally, it was the turn of Czech republic company, Urbalive. I’ve had my eye on them for a few years now, they have a really good iPhone design, and are making big movements in horticulture.

Some of their products are made from plastic, and they were very honest about this. In a life-cycle assessment, the carbon footprint of the plastic products they create was actually favourable. To add a natural look, material, such as coffee, grounds, are added into the plastic. This makes the products look modern rustic.

They are well known for their wormeries, and bokashi bins, and now have released some micro greens containers, and a really unique container in which you can regrow vegetables.

They explained that there would usually be a shame in re-growing vegetables, in the same way that people wouldn’t go to secondhand stores. However, in recent times, this has completely changed. I think they’ve got a really good product here, and I can’t wait to see it launched!

After the conference, I got to have a sneaky first look around the show halls. It was an honour to be allowed in on this day, but I was very aware I needed to keep myself away from any dangerous forklifts!

Join me all week, either here, or across social media, where I will be sharing my findings!