We were impressed by the new HTA National Plant Show at Stoneleigh Park this week. It got a large proportion of the UK’s major growers together under one roof. There seemed a few prominent companies missing, but perhaps they were waiting to see how the first year worked out.

One of the best features was the new plant competition. It was great to see more than 50 entries covering all types of garden plants. A few creases need to be ironed out (why were some Nemesia varieties classed as annuals whilst others were classed as perennials? Surely it would be better to have a “patio and bedding” class instead) but overall our impression was positive. We’ll be looking to support this further in coming years.

This year, five PFE-managed varieties were in the competition. It is a reflection of the quality of output from our breeders that four of these plants were given awards:

• Nemesia Framboise (bred by Martine Tellwright) – GOLD
• Leucanthemum Real Galaxy (Richard Read and Keith Lintott) – SILVER
• Geum Totally Tangerine (Tim Crowther) – BRONZE
• Nemesia Mirabelle (Martine Tellwright) – BRONZE

For details on any of these plants, please contact us.

Graham will be at the Week 24 Flower Trials next week. You’d be silly not to be there! His itinerary looks something like this:

• Tuesday: Hendrik ido Ambacht
• Wednesday: Westland
• Wednesday afternoon: Hillegom
• Thursday morning: Honselersdijk
• Thursday afternoon: Aalsmeer
• Friday morning: Düsseldorf area
• Friday afternoon: Gensingen

If you would like to meet up with Graham, then contact us directly. His diary is very full, but there are a few gaps available for meeting growers and breeders.

The Flower Trials are one of the most most important events in the horticultural world now. Several varieties managed by PFE will be on display there, so be sure to take your camera and notebook!

You may have heard about social networking on the internet – you may even be a social networker yourself already. We take a dim view of jargon at PFE headquarters, but we do recognise the usefulness of a system that helps one to meet and exchange information and ideas with other like-minded people around the world. That is why we use LinkedIn which is really social networking for grown-ups, a genuine professional resource. You can see Graham’s profile here.

In particular, Graham is the owner of a “group” on LinkedIn for Plant Breeders and Agents. This group is open to any LinkedIn user who works with new plant introductions, both agricultural and horticultural. This includes plant breeders and biotechnologists, breeders’ agents (like us!), lawyers, growers of new plants, marketers and those working in support industries such as IT and specialist recruitment.

The Group now has over 300 members and has recently announced its first meeting, which will be held at IPM 2011 – thanks to generous support from the IPM organisers, Messe Essen. This will be a great opportunity for people working in our industry to meet and network, share ideas, meet old friends and make new ones.

If you are interested in joining our Group, you can find out more here.

Plants For Europe has reached agreement with ProVaR (Protected Varieties Limited) so that ProVaR may offer selected varieties from the PFE portfolio to growers in the UK and Ireland.

Plants For Europe is very pleased to have joined ProVaR. Graham Spencer, company director, said: “PFE has joined ProVaR so that selected non-exclusive varieties from the PFE portfolio can be licensed by growers through the ProVaR organisation. It allows us to reach many smaller and medium sized growers effectively and will give greater access to these varieties – which will certainly increase royalty revenue for the breeders.”

From 2010-11, growers will be able to obtain licenses for ten varieties from PFE through ProVaR, including varieties of Cytisus, Lysimachia, Phlox, Phygelius, Prunella and Pulmonaria. These are all first class plants that are deserving of a wider audience.

Charles Carr of ProVaR said: “It is exciting to see the ProVaR portfolio growing each year and we are pleased to welcome another well known member of the new plant community into the organisation.”

Please note that only selected varieties will be offered through ProVaR. All other varieties will be licensed exclusively by PFE in the UK and Ireland.

Congratulations to Paul Roman and the rest of the organization team at the revamped Southern Growers Exhibition held today at Roundstone Nursery. By my reckoning, it was a great success, with many more exhibitors and vastly increased numbers of visitors. For me, in recent years, this events only merited attendance because it was local – this time, there were some really useful contacts to be made and renewed, which is the mark of a truly useful event.

The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) is set to announce that, from January 2010, the Gazette and most other publications will be available in electronic format only and will be free of charge. This will be a boon to those of us who have found purchasing a subscription to the paper format of the Gazette to be difficult, as obtaining EU publications is limited to only two resellers in the UK who are not always as helpful as they might be (I’ve been awaiting an email response from TSO for, oh, about six months now).

The Gazette is the official record of all applications and grants of Community PVR. Only the Gazette acts as the official record – the online database at the CPVO website carries disclaimers to state that it would not be admissable as evidence and should not be regarded, therefore, as entirely accurate.

The only publication that will continue to be available in paper format will be the annual report. This, and most other publications, have been available in electronic format for some time. Check the EU Bookshop and enter "Community Plant Variety Office" as search term.

From January, the Gazette will be available from www.cpvo.europa.eu as PDF format documents.