After being out of the horticulture industry for four years, new Floranova chairman Jeff Colegrave talks about some of the things he hopes to accomplish.

Q.What did you miss most while you were you out of the horticulture industry?

A. I had been out of the industry for almost four years prior to the acquisition of Floranova in June of this year. During this time I had the opportunity to pursue several personal and nonhorticultural business projects. Coming back to the industry reminds me what an enjoyable environment it is in which to work.

Q. Why did you decide to acquire an established company like Floranova rather than starting a new one?

A. Floranova was too good an opportunity to miss. For the past 15 years Floranova has been managed very successfully by Mike Summers and a strong mix of younger and more experienced senior managers. When I went to Waller FlowerSeed it did not have such a strong team or solid foundations and both of those took time to develop.

Why attempt to start a breeding company from scratch when it already exists on your doorstep? Floranova is a well-established and profitable company that has a strong breeding and production platform to which I can bring my North American experience and commitment to invest in its future.

Q. What are some of the similarities/differences between the old Waller FlowerSeed and Floranova?

A. The only real similarity is scale: Both were/are relatively small companies with all the flexibility that brings. However, the product lines are very different. Waller focused on a small range of specialist items. Floranova has a much broader product base -- the result of bringing together Floranova's original niche breeding and the entire range of material from Clause and Harris Moran.

Waller did all its breeding in California, but Floranova has its breeding in three locations: the United Kingdom (ideal for temperate crops), Costa Rica (where heat-loving crops such as vinca are bred) and California, where the company is cooperating on some crops with Oglevee breeders. This access to a wide range of climatic conditions is a huge advantage and one to which Waller never had access.

The other main difference is that Waller was very much a North American company, which happened to sell into Europe. Although Floranova and the companies it acquired always sold in North America, the appointments of Bill Wilson as U.S. commercial and technical director, and Mike Huggett as U.S. technical manager, during the past three years have made a big difference. We will continue to develop our presence in the North American market.

Q. Waller had the image of a small breeding company that made a name for itself by working with crops (i.e., vinca, phlox, viola) in which not a lot of breeding was being done. Floranova has a much broader product line, but as of yet is still relatively unknown to many U.S. growers. Will you be looking to do more to get the Floranova name out?

A. Floranova has an outstanding range of crops in which it is already (or is fast becoming) a market leader (geranium, salvia and hybrid vinca). This market position has been achieved as a result of the excellence of the product backed by first-class service. There is no doubt, however, that Floranova can achieve much more as growers' awareness increases. The company is already working with distributors and key growers to trial new products, and grower reactions are extremely positive.

However, I recognize that the Floranova name is relatively unknown to North American growers. Floranova has never spent money on advertising, and only returned to the California pack trials and trade show circuit two years ago.

Q. Do you see Floranova getting involved in more promotion of its varieties to retailers and consumers?

A. Floranova has been developing genetics for groundbreaking retail programs such as F1 vinca and triploid tagetes for Michell's Gardening for Dummies program. The company works closely with brokers to develop genetics that ensure that growers, retailers and consumers achieve success and can rely on the brand to deliver in the future.

Communication at the retail level is vital to pull product through the conventional distribution channels. Floranova has been very active in Europe in building relationships with key multiples and promoting the benefits of the Floranova product range. As the company strengthens its presence in the North American market it will develop closer links with major retailers. Developing close retail relationships also ensures that the breeding objectives of the company keep in touch with the needs of the market. There are no plans to promote direct to consumers.

Q. In the United States, Floranova is associated more with seed than vegetatively produced crops. Are there any plans to increase the company's breeding and/or production efforts on the vegetative side?

A. Over the past five years at Floranova there has been an increasing focus on vegetative breeding as a complementary activity to the company's core seed business. The results of this investment are beginning to be commercially available, though there are no plans to enter vegetative production. The company's expertise is in plant breeding.

Q. Floranova has had a working relationship with Oglevee Ltd. in developing vegetatively produced plants. Will this relationship continue?

A. Floranova has a number of products licensed to Oglevee for production and marketing in the United States, including Doublet begonia and Cameo impatiens. Oglevee will launch a number of other Floranova-bred introductions over the next couple of years.

As well as the shared pack trials in Lompoc, Calif., Floranova is cooperating on a certain number of crops with the Oglevee breeders here. Another recent development in the collaboration is that Floranova is representing the Oglevee genetics in Europe and Japan.

Q. How would you compare the production and marketing mentality of the American grower vs. the British grower?

A. Growers are similar on both sides of the Atlantic in the search for ever greater production efficiency. This is being spurred especially by the increasing importance in both countries of the big box or shed retailers. However, due to the sheer scale of the U.S. market, American growers are far more likely to have the resources to invest in new production technology, which probably makes them much more efficient on a unit cost basis.

On the marketing side, North America has many more large retailers with marketing programs that growers are closely involved in. This has probably meant that American growers have become more sophisticated in their marketing efforts. Again, scale is important here, and many British growers simply don't have the resources necessary to implement sophisticated marketing programs.

Q. How would you compare the gardening mentality of the American consumer vs. the British consumer?

A. The perception is that the North American consumer wants a readymade garden and instant solutions. By contrast, British consumers are perceived as keen gardeners with good botanic knowledge and are more discerning in their plant purchases.

In reality there is little difference between the bulk of consumers on either side of the Atlantic (especially younger gardeners). They share a love of good-quality, low-maintenance product providing instant color that will continue to look good over a long period.

The choice of plant colors can also be very different. The higher light levels generally found in North America mean that bedding plants need to be bright to resist bleaching and to stand out. In Britain where summer conditions are often cooler, pastel shades, whites and soft pinks are more popular.

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© 2005 Branch-Smith Publishing