The Floral Marketing Research Fund, in collaboration with the American Floral Endowment, released findings from a recent study of funeral directors. The downloadable free report includes thoughts and preferences on sympathy flowers, charity donations vs. flowers, consumers’ reactions toward sympathy flowers, the relationship between floral retailers and funeral directors and more, according to a news release.

Herman Hamer, chief executive officer at Florensis, based in The Netherlands, was elected by the membership as Fleuroselect’s 19th president.

Fleuroselect is an international organization for the ornamental plant industry that includes the testing, protecting and promoting of new flower varieties.

Membership includes breeders, producers and distributors of ornamental varieties.

Fleuroselect is run by the members and a board of elected members is supported by various specialized committees.

Hamer has been a board member for 12 years.

The International Association of Horticultural Producers will hold its spring meeting March 18-19 in Paris, France, according to a news release. The AIPH is a coordinating body representing horticultural producers’ organizations from all over the world. It was set up in Switzerland in 1948 to stimulate international marketing of flowers, plants and landscaping services and currently includes 26 growers’ organizations from more than 19 countries.

Gerberas are beautiful, trendy flowers that have some unique common problems. They are highly sensitive to bacteria because of the hairy nature of their stems, which causes short vase life, hanging blooms and crooked stems. So Chrysal International decided to develop a flower food specifically for Gerberas to help combat these problems.

“Botanical Bliss 2015,” the American Institute of Floral Designers Southern Chapter Conference, takes place April 10-12 in Homewood, AL, and will feature a three-hour, hands-on workshop led by Jay Schwanke, chief executive officer at uBloom.com. Schwanke will discuss his designs; tips and techniques used, and will also share his experiences of traveling the world.

A series of ten gatherings across the United States, dubbed the “American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour,” will place seasonal, local and sustainable American grown flowers at the center of the table where locally grown food and beverages are served by a farm-to-table chef, according to a press release. Each gathering will be held at an American flower farm that encourages guests to experience the art and science of flower farming and makes a personal connection between flowers and agriculture.