The present situation of the Polish ornamental nursery stock industry can be briefly described as “promising but not quite predictable”. As in other countries, the extraordinary boom in the green industry triggered by the pandemic and lockdowns has weakened, but it also created new customers. Nevertheless, it’s time for more balanced operations and for overcoming challenges connected with the economy and the war in the neighbourhood.

A bit of recent history - with impact on the present situation

After the introduction of the market economy in Poland in 1989, nursery stock production has become one of the fastest growing industries in Polish agriculture. The industry was characterised by a considerable number of smaller scale family businesses. Most of the then existing nurseries were established in the 1970s or 1980s, i.e. during the communist era in Poland (1945-1989). But a few companies had longer traditions, dating back to the period before World War II.

Another boost came with Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004, which provided an additional expansion of the industry thanks to the EU funds, easier trading within it and the increasing wealth of domestic customers. With the “wind of changes” the Polish Nurserymen Association (Związek Szkółkarzy Polskich - ZSzP) was founded by a group of growers in 1991, which has had the significant influence on the development and the state of the industry. The ZSzP founded an international exhibition, became the member of the European Nurserystock Association (ENA), and since 2018 has been representing Poland in the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH).

Current status According to the latest edition of International Statistics Flowers and Plants (2023) published by the AIPH, the area of Polish nursery stock production reached 7174 hectares in 2022, with a production value of €324 million. These figures, however, are based on estimates, research and analysis (by Dawid Olewnicki of Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW), not on hard statistics, which are unavailable.

Andrzej Kujawa, the present chairman of the ZSzP admits that nursery stock production remains a strong pillar of Polish horticulture. At the same time, he says that the industry is at a turning point. One of the reasons is the loss of the Russian market, which - according to estimates - generated about 20% of the ornamental nursery stock export (in case of some nurseries, it even constituted the bulk of their income).

For many years, Russia had been an important customer for some Polish growers of ornamental stock due to the climate, production profile and quality as well as proximity of the market, not to mention easy communication between the Slavic parties involved in the trade relations. The majority of Poland lies in climatic zone 6 (some minor parts - in colder zone 5b and warmer zone 7). Most of the nursery stock produced here is, therefore, hardy enough for Eastern and Northern Europe, where Polish plants are also exported to.

The chairman of the ZSzP adds that, observing the activity of his colleagues who have been diversifying or even completely changing their export destinations, he is rather optimistic. “Their strategies may differ but it’s the effect that counts,” emphasizes Kujawa, and he declares that the proper profiling of one’s customer is the key to success. It is worth noting that the Eastern export direction was indeed a characteristic feature of the Polish nursery sector, but Poland developed foreign sales to many other destinations, including non-European ones. Around 2010, Polish nursery stock was shipped to about 40 countries, with Germany being one of the main customers. Until now, this number has only increased.

Times are changing

Poland remains an important player as a conifer producer. Although the share of deciduous shrubs and trees as well as perennials has been regularly growing and nowadays prevails, conifers are still popular in the country. Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ holds the leading position on the long list of taxa - as an easy, evergreen conifer, suitable for hedges. However, the scale of its production has been declining, primarily due to the loss of the Russian market.

Thuja ‘Smaragd’ has been the flagship product of Poland’s largest ornamental nursery Sutkowscy that owns 300 hectares of land, of which over 160 ha is used for cultivation. Large specimens of Thuja and other conifers grown in the open field feature the typical commodity of this company, which offers deciduous shrubs and trees too. The nursery exports approximately 80% of its stock - all over Europe. Till the ban on exports to Russia, 80% of the total turnover (both from foreign and domestic sales) was generated by ‘Smaragd’. At present Michał Sutkowski, the company’s owner, stresses that “times are changing”, and he reports a growing demand for other nursery stock from his assortment, also in containers (minimum 3-litre pots), such as Carpinus, Fagus, Hydrangea, Euonymus etc. “In such unpredictable times we have been experiencing since 2020, one has to be as flexible as possible,” says Sutkowski and explains that one of his targets now is the steady development of the standard tree production.

Let’s emphasize that ordinary Thujas sold in considerable quantities are not the hallmark of the Polish nursery industry. In case of conifers, more competitive advantage is provided by grafted stock, such as that shown at GrootGroenPlus 2023. There, nursery A&M Kałuzińscy Polskie Korzenie presented grafted conifers (and magnolias) in containers, while the Multiflora company - grafted liners for further production, with pines being its specialty. There are more companies to offer grafts of wide assortment of species and varieties. Production of perennials has been on the rise. The unprecedented popularity of ornamental grasses in Poland makes them increasingly common not only in gardens, but also in urban green spaces. The offer has been enriched with the cultivars of Polish breeds, eg. awarded Miscanthus sinensis ‘Boucle’ or Festuca ‘Miedzianobrody’ (Sunrise). Many more will be introduced in the future. However, the most successful and internationally recognised Polish breeding program is related to the Clematis. At present, Szczepan Marczyński continues great long traditions of Polish breeding of this genus (eg. Clematis Blue Angel = ‘Błękitny Anioł’ or ‘Warszawska Nike’ by S. Franczak) and will come up with more novelties to be added to the list of his own 72 cultivars.

Challenges

The boom in the green industry generated by the pandemic affected in the development of nursery stock production - in terms of surface, number of commodities and revenue. Growers were able to raise prices of their products. The outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022 was another game-changer for the industry. The costs of production rose significantly, as did inflation. The average annual inflation rate in Poland in 2023 was 11.4%. Thus, the economic situation of the average customer in Poland worsened and his or her purchasing power decreased. In view of that, growers are currently reluctant to increase prices of nursery stock on the domestic market, though the economic calculation would suggest doing so.

Above all, labour costs and labour shortage have become the greatest burden for nurserymen. The populist government that was in power in Poland between 2015 and 2023 regularly increased the statutory minimum salary. In industries such as nursery stock production, which requires a lot of manual work, that difficulty was exacerbated by the exit of military-age Ukrainian men after February 2022, who before that would often work at Polish horticultural farms.

As a consequence, the development of the scale of production in Poland, noted in the last couple of years, has stopped. Some other challenges the nurserymen mention are:

- the unpredictable climate conditions, with dangerous extremes;

- new pests and diseases “imported” with the stock from abroad or moving northwards as the result of global warming;

- decreasing number of efficient plant protection chemicals that are available on the EU market;

- restrictions, such as the ban on the use of peat in production or on export markets.

This season

Regarding the present year, Polish nurserymen who sell to garden centre owners consider the beginning of the season good or very good, enhanced by warm weather in February and the overall tendency to get orders earlier. In terms of investors’ demand, the observed slowdown in the real estate market and limited new individual investments in Poland do not seem to have halted the strong interest in plants here. “The COVID years have helped get a fair-sized new group of customers in the habit of taking care of the garden or particular about the greenery around them,” explains Jakub Kurowski, co-owner of the 3-generation Kurowscy nursery. He hopes that the continuation of the 2024 season will be as good as its start in the early Spring.

Michał Sutkowski agrees, and argues that the Polish ornamental nursery stock industry is doing well in comparison to many other industries. He predicts that there is no reason for the current season to be worse than the previous one.

On behalf of trade fair GrootGroenPlus: Chantal van Kuyck, trade fair manager

“The nursery stock industry in Poland is presented with multiple opportunities and threats, as is the case in the Netherlands. After the pandemic, we see an increase in the number of Polish participants and visitors. At the trade fair, existing relationships are strengthened, and new contacts are created.”