AIPH Secretary General, Tim Briercliffe, commented “There is no higher accolade for a nursery than to win the prize of International Grower of the Year.  I want to encourage every country, whether they are an AIPH member or not, to select the best of their best growers of flowers, ornamental plants or trees, to enter the competition.” 

Entrants will be assessed against detailed criteria by an international jury of industry experts.  One of the judges, Gery Heungens from Belgium, commented “We will carefully scrutinise all entrants to ensure the Gold, Silver and Bronze rose winners are worthy of the title.  Past winners have shown the high standard we are looking for and truly demonstrate the outstanding businesses that exist within our industry.  We are looking for strong economic performance, high levels of innovation, an effective marketing strategy, high environmental standards and exemplary human resource management amongst other things.” 

Winners will be announced at a Gala Awards Dinner in Qingdao, China in September 2014 and finalists will be flown to the event for what will be an occasion they will never forget.

Commenting on their success the 2013 winner of the Gold Rose, Bill Stensson from Sheridan Nurseries in Canada, said “We were thrilled to have been awarded the Gold Rose in the International Grower of the Year competition.  Global recognition like this really makes our business stand out from the crowd.  It undoubtedly has helped us drive growth and the staff think it is wonderful too.  I would strongly encourage grower associations to enter candidates for the competition.” 

For more information on entering the competition contact the AIPH Secretary General, Tim Briercliffe, on [email protected] or phone +44 118 930 8956.