Fikona’s mission is clear: to strive for perfection. Anyone who visits the website of this company in Lier will see it immediately: just below the logo is the slogan ‘Perfection in green plants’. As the manager Nancy Peers says, ‘They are not empty words’. Her husband Koen Peeters agrees: ‘Quality, durability and sustainability are at the heart of our policy. The ‘Belgian Quality’ label on our products guarantees that.’ Fikona also complies with all the requirements of wholesale and retail. ‘Whether it be Florimark, Fair Flowers Fair Plants, MPS Social Qualified or MPS GAP, we fulfil the latest requirements for the production and sale of pot plants,’ adds Nancy.

Even more so than elsewhere, in the horticultural sector it is important for business and industry and research to join forces in view of the very wide range of products and the complexity. “Even with the latest, fastest breeding techniques, the work is never done. But that’s precisely what makes it fascinating.”  

In the summer of 2018, the two Flemish azalea specialists, ID’Flor and De Bruyne – Flandresse, joined forces. Henceforth they will be active together under the name of FlorAmor. ‘With this synergy, we can offer a response to the consolidations around us and make more efficient investments to be ready for all kinds of new demands coming our way,’ says sales manager Christoph Stevens. FlorAmor will continue to market the existing brands, Hortinno Home & Garden and Flandresse Indoor & Outdoor.

Florigrow is a modern nursery with a wide range of bedding plants and herbs. The business grew out of a partnership between the Peters and Vangenck families, both of which have deep roots in horticulture. The collaboration between the families started ten years ago and was cemented in 2014 with the opening of an advanced new greenhouse complex. Florigrow is firmly based on quality and sustainability.

Gediflora is a global player in the breeding and production of chrysanthemums. ‘Our guarantee of uniformity is a great strength’, emphasises Manager Elien Pieters. ‘Our main activity is the production of young plants. However, we want to stay in touch with the market and promote chrysanthemums ourselves. That is why we commercialise our broad range of products with unique varieties and families under the brand name Belgian Mums®, whereby ‘mum’ refers to the abbreviation of chrysanthemum.’

Geert and Katrien De Winter-Wouters are real specialists in fruit tree cultivation. The couple runs the business with no extra personnel, and their main focus is on the authenticity of the range. In order to match their range more perfectly to the demands of their international clients, Geert and Katrien aim to adapt their products at Geka-Plant better to the specific demands of the various export markets.

The Genker Plantencentrum offers a wide choice of about 4400 varieties of high-quality garden plants, and it is easy for customers to find their way in the clearly organised range while also making their shopping trip an agreeable experience. It comes as no surprise that the Genker Plantencentrum has for the third year in succession been voted the best Belgian plant centre by the Belgian Association of Garden Centres.

Laurica Plants is a nursery specialising in bay plants that only grows and sells topiary bay plants in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Thanks to the choice of always starting from cuttings, Laurica Plants offers very high-quality and uniform products. In addition to bay plants, the nursery’s range also includes more hardy alternatives.

50 ha open ground in Wetteren, the centre of the Flemish arboriculture sector. That’s the terrain on which Marc De Raeve improves and grows trees. Customers from around Europe buy direct from the company and are guaranteed a personal service from this thoroughly family business.

40 years ago, Mentens Tree Nursery began with an extremely modest 2 ha of agricultural land. With a great deal of care and hard work, the parents of the current manager Mariëlle Mentens expanded the family firm to create the 85-ha international tree nursery that it is today. Mariëlle and her husband Bart have now taken over the day-to-day running of the business. Their key focus has been to invest in quality. Apart from the introduction of new types of plants, their decision to grow plants further apart has been key to their current success.