It wasn’t a cannabis competition. It wasn’t a weed expo. It was a traditional, old-school horticulture trade fair. Think geraniums, tomatoes, ornamental breeding programs, and irrigation systems. And still, a cannabis plant came out on top.
At this year’s edition of IPM Essen, the world’s leading horticulture trade show held annually in Germany, a strain of cannabis not only made it into the official plant showcase for the first time ever: it won the Publikumspreis, the public award voted on by visiting professionals.
The winner: BCN Critical XXL Autoflower, developed by Spanish-based seed company Seedstockers.
The Crowd Favorite, Among People Who Don’t Usually Vote for Cannabis
According to organizers, the cannabis entry received a clear majority of the votes from attendees. These were people who typically work in floriculture, agriculture, landscaping, and greenhouse tech. Not the usual suspects when it comes to cannabis awards.
This wasn’t a cannabis-themed event squeezed into a corner of a garden fair. IPM is an industry staple. It’s where producers of lavender hybrids, seedless peppers, bonsai pine trees, and new tomato crosses go to show off the results of years of research and selective breeding. That a weed strain outperformed 41 other plants from 27 companies is, at minimum, surprising. At best, it’s a signal.
From Prohibited to Preferred
Cannabis had never been part of the official IPM novelty showcase before. Just getting accepted was already a shift. But being voted as the most interesting new plant by hundreds of industry insiders? That’s something else.
BCN Critical XXL is an autoflowering strain, bred for simplicity and accessibility. It doesn’t require light-cycle control, making it easy to grow on balconies or in small urban spaces. Seedstockers didn’t just present it as a seed. They offered it as …
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Author: High Times / High Times
