Our partners

Jens Schachtschneider, Oldenburg

One of the customers whom AllPlant has the longest relationship with, is perennial grower Schachtschneider. Located in the North of Germany, close to Oldenburg. Founder and owner is Jens Schachtschneider and his sons.

‘In our nursery we grow around 2.000 varieties. We sell those to garden centers and landscape and garden architects mainly in North Germany. In other German regions, Austria and Switzerland we work together with 7 other growers in partnership Stauden Ring.’

Luc Klinkhamer

The cooperation between AllPlant and Luc Klinkhamer goes way back than 1997. “Simon and I know each other for more than 30 years and we still get in touch regularly, even though I’ve been retired for 13 years already.”

Luc Klinkhamer was a CNB representative and introduced a lot of new varieties of breeders worldwide. “I was always looking for new varieties, just like Simon. This is how we met. It is important to do business with people you get along with well and we always could look each other right in the eyes.

The man from Hillegom was often travelling to look for and test out new products. “I visited growers, breeders and botanic gardens in Europe, Asia, New Zealand and United States. The first new Heuchera ‘Chocolate Ruffles’ (from Terra Nova Nurseries) came to Europe through me. Even now I still receive plants from all over the world to test and when I think it fits with AllPlant, it goes to Simon. I have great appreciation for what Simon and Thon have accomplished. It is with pride that I look at the company that stands today and the quality that AllPlant delivers.”

Marco van Noort

As a breeder I like my plants to perform at all times in people’s homes or gardens Echinacea Delicious Candy is a strong plant with many flowers and a beautiful noticeable pink color. The plant blooms from July until October and can be used in the garden, or in containers for patio or balcony. Like all our plants Echinacea Delicious Candy is not sensible for diseases and keeps showing a healthy performance. Echinacea Delicious Nougat is her twin sister having a white green flower, the orange flowering plant is still in the test phase.

For many years we are breeding in Echinacea and Geranium for different colors and plant habits. Beside breeding I am a beekeeper for over 30 years and use my own bees for pollination. From pollination to plant takes about 5 to 7 years with us, as we only like to bring good varieties with an extra adding value to the market. Echinacea are not only attractive by the beautiful colors, but also because of the fantastic scent. I smell fresh mowed grass lawn. This season testing with new varieties showing promising colours and big, full flowers. Two of those with big single flowers and cerise and salmon colour will be exclusively in the AllPlant catalogue next year.

Jan Spruyt, Buggenhout, België

Echinacea ‘JS Engeltje’ PBR (little angel) really is most outstanding for me, seeing the hanging flower petals. Call me contra dictionary, but I find that beautiful. It is a long living, graceful plant with healthy shiny foliage, where the flowershape makes the difference. She looks like a little angel, that is why I named her Engeltje. The first flowers show in June and remain flowering for 5 months. In the garden the plant combines with grasses beautifully year after year. The color range in the flower attracts the bees and makes this plant very special.

We grow over 2600 different perennials. In the meantime, my oldest son has taken over the company. Officially I am retired, but if I may not do the selection work, things are not coming right anymore. So, I wil continue to create new elegant varieties, every year I have about 5000 seedlings to choose from. That ‘Engeltje’ would be a winner was obvious for me. Now that the plant is cleaned up for production I am happy that it will be presented in the AllPlant catalogue.

Hans Hansen, Zeeland MI, USA

I love heucheras. They are great companion plants for hostas and ferns in the shaded garden. The Heuchera Black Pearl is unique because of its combination of good vigor, attractive colorful black leaves with scalloped, ruffled edges, spectacular container presence and ease of production. If you’re going to choose just one Heuchera for your lineup, this is the one! It is a great plant for combining with contrasting foliage in mixed container plantings. This selection also has good sun tolerance. ‘Black Pearl’ keeps its intense black color even in full sun and brings unique color to the garden and containers. In midsummer (June to August) white flowers with pink calyxes appear.

We are a breeding company and young plant producer in Western Michigan. I try to get new and unique germplasm to work with, to distinguish our genetics as being one-of-a-kind with good garden value and traits that benefit gardeners. With Gootjes-AllPlant we share the same passion and excitement about new plants and quality and innovation. With the same values and vision it is a great company to work with.

Elizabeth and Alasdair MacGregor, Kirkcudbright, Scotland

The unique thing about our Geranium ‘Dark Eyes’ is the fact that the mother plant is a dark leaved species with blue flowers. The pollen parent is bright magenta-red. As far as we know, this is the first hybrid of these two species to be made available. The combination of dark foliage with very bright flowers makes it an outstanding Geranium.

The development of new and interesting forms is important for growers seeking innovation and for the very keen gardening public who are always looking for additions to their gardening palette. As part of a deliberate search for a really good dark-leaved Geranium we developed this variety. The hybrid has taken many years with repeated attempts at the hybridization, until at last just one viable seed germinated to produce the ‘Dark Eyes’.

This is one of many new plants we have introduced over the years. Ours is a small family business, specializing in herbaceous perennials. Over the years we have had many awards for outstanding displays at R.H.S Flower Shows. We have found we like the same sort of plants as Simon does. Gootjes-AllPlant will go to extraordinary lengths to successfully bring some of our difficult plants to production. That is why we enjoy working together.

Peter van Rijssen, IJsselstein, Nederland

We represent about 100 breeders from all over the world and support them with royalty management, licensing and labelling management for the introduction of new varieties. To support our breeders and in our search for new varieties we travel all over the globe. Our extensive network helps us to introduce the new varieties in the best possible way and to show the unique selling point of every new introduction.

During my visit in South Africa I met two breeders, Andy de Wet and Quintan Bean. They have an extensive breeding program in Agapanthus and make about 10000 crossings per year. Their first successful introduction was Agapanthus Twister, succeeded by Agapanthus Fireworks won the third price at Chelsea Flower Show in 2019. In 2020 Agapanthus Poppin Purple will be introduced at Chelsea Flower Show as well. It is the first evergreen reblooming Agapanthus with metallic purple flowers. The variety is compact, ideal as patio plant. The consumer will have great value from this variety. That is the reason why we innovate, we like the consumer to enjoy strong garden plants which need minimum maintenance.

Hartwig Bull, Gönnebek, Duitsland/Germany

The family business of Hartwig and Ulrike Bull flourishes in the north of Germany. One of the varieties Gartenbau Bull breeds is Rudbeckia and they introduce this on the market as Rudbeckia “Sunbeckia”. A good test of the new varieties is guaranteed by producing the plants from its own breeding on Bull’s own production facilities.

“These plants with many big yellow flowers are very nice, long lasting and easy to grow. They will last at least from August to October and take both heat and rain very well. It fits perfectly with the Indian summer and is a real eye-catcher in the garden. Especially because it blooms in late summer, when other summer flowers have already faded. They still have plenty of nectar ready for bees and bumblebees.”

“It took us about 10 years to develop this series of ‘Sunbeckia’ and breeding still continues. To be competitive we continuously need new ideas. We always feel the pressure to make something unique, so we are already testing new colors and varieties of the Rudbeckia together with Gootjes-AllPlant. We really enjoy working together. They deliver quality, have a good network and new, modern facilities. We know each other for many years and are looking forward to growing together in both Europe and North-America.”

Bart Noordhuis & Elisabeth Bisschop, Boijl, The Netherlands

Flowerpower. This has definitely been given to the brand-new Delphinium Delgenius™ series. Delgenius fills up big pots with just one plant from which nicely branched, strong stems shoot upwards with big flowers, that bloom from early summer.

The Delphinium Delgenius™ series have been developed by Bart Noordhuis and Elisabeth Bisschop, owners of Exceptio BV. “These plants are the result of many years of breeding. We have looked at what was in the market and what the weak points of the current breeds of Delphiniums were. With that in mind we started working. These plants distinguish themselves by their compact and rapid growth. Young, rooted plugs that are planted in spring will flower within 8 to 10 weeks. The Delgenius will immediately grow many side-branches, which will provide a true flower festival. The plant is strongly rooted and is not susceptible for branches breaking by strong winds. The plant is winter hard and fairly disease resistant.

Exceptio has a wide knowledge of breeding. “Everything we breed is thoroughly tested at our own nursery and laboratory. Before a product is introduced into the market, all protocols have already been worked out. As breeders we look for reliable partners who bring our products to the attention. Gootjes-AllPlant has gained an important position in the market. Simon's company is very progressive which suits our vision well.”

Represented in Europe by Paul Gooderham (VK), Barberton Ohio, USA

Geranium Rozanne® is the world’s bestselling, most loved hardy geranium. This plant is famous for the exceptionally long blooming period. She produces a continual stream of large violet-blue flowers from May right through to November. She is also very easy to grow. Unlike many Geraniums, ‘Rozanne’ has great heat tolerance, too.

It was developed 20 years ago by Donald and Rozanne Waterer from the UK and is now represented by Must Have Perennials®. Paul Gooderham says: “Its quality has been recognized around the world. Rozanne earned prestigious recognition as the Royal Horticultural Society’s Plant of the Century and the Perennial Plant Association’s Plant of the Year, among many other awards. In our labs we hold elite stock of the original plants, which breeders still use today.”

“Innovation is important to Must Have Perennials. We are devoted to seeking out new, different perennial plants which offer real benefit and perfect garden performance to the end consumer. That is one of the reasons we like working with Gootjes-Allplant bv. We were lucky to grow with Simon, since he first started. He has a very innovative company and produces good quality products. His trial garden offers us an opportunity to grow our plants and see if they stand the test of time.”

Chuck Pavlich, Canby Oregon, USA

“Geum TEMPO™ Rose is our best Geum breeding to date. It marks a new beginning for this genus. It was only introduced last year and already has received excellent reviews and is very popular.”

Chuck Pavlich, Director of New Product Development at Terra Nova Nurseries in Oregon has high expectations for the demand of this variety. “Its best feature is a long bloom period. It blooms early in March, for a few months and re-blooms in Summer, until even as late in the year as October. This easy-to-grow plant has excellent foliage. It produces a plethora of dark, rose-pink slightly ruffled flowers on short, dark stems with large clusters of up to as much as 15 flowers. The color is unique and like no other Geum.’’

“The development of the Geum TEMPO™ Rose went like all our plants. We started from scratch with species that flowered early and late during the season. We always refrain from genetic modification of plants or use of chemicals. We want our plants to be as simply grown as possible.

Terra Nova started 28 years ago in a backyard and has developed to one of the leading companies in plant breeding. Constant innovation has been key to our success. It’s how we try to stay ahead of the competition.

Our philosophy is that everyone should see value in our product: from the grower, to the retailer and finally the home gardener.’’