ISU to use its international contacts for a stronger political representation

Delegates make decisions at the 2014 ISU Congress in Switzerland

The need for closer collaboration on the political level was confirmed by the delegates of the International Hardy Plant Union (ISU) and the ISU members attending the Delegate Meeting on 11 August 2014 in Horgen/Switzerland. There is a considerable discrepancy in the knowledge among perennial plant growers from the various ISU member countries about the legislative initiatives of the EU. For this reason, the delegates want to use the networking capabilities of the ISU – with members from 18 countries in the EU and overseas – to increase the exchange of information and also become involved, as they were in the Plant Health Package. Furthermore, the delegates voted in new articles of association, which will, among others, facilitate negotiations with external parties. One ongoing theme is a standard nomenclature of perennials. The ISU continues to strive for an internationally recognized list.

The Delegate Meeting was imbedded in the ISU Congress on 10-15 August in Switzerland. This conference takes place every two years with an extensive program of committee meetings and tour excursions. This time, around 80 participants from 12 countries visited, among others, the Zurich University of Applied Science in Wädenswil, perennial nurseries lautrejardin in Rörswil and Frikarti in Grüningen, as well as the Daepp tree nursery in Münsingen.

The ISU botanical excursion in 2015 will take us to the Monte Baldo region of South Tyrol. The Summerdays, an abridged version of the congress, will be held in 2016 in England, while the next International Perennial Plant Conference takes place in Grünberg/Gießen. The Winterdays is a series of presentations and talks on topics related to perennial culture and perennial plants in natural landscapes, and it will again unite our large community of perennial plant enthusiasts from 13-15 February. For registration and inquiries go to info@isu-perennials.org starting now.

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New experiences and open discussions are main points of the international ISU-Congresses. Foto: ISU