Plantum was founded on 1 April 2001. The association is the result of a merger of the branch organisations CIOPORA Nederland, NVP, NVZP and the propagation business unit of the VGB. With the exception of VGB, the other organisations ceased to exist after Plantum was created.
 
CIOPORA
CIOPORA Nederland was founded in 1963 by the Dutch members of CIOPORA International, which was set up in 1961. The members of CIOPORA were breeders of ornamental varieties produced using vegetative propagation techniques. The members were active in the breeding of flower bulbs, house plants, cut flowers, perennials, fruit and arboricultural crops.
 
NVP
The Association of Plant Producers had a fifty-year history. It represented the interests of companies active in raising seedlings, both for vegetable plants and floricultural crops. The young plants were supplied to production growers in the Netherlands and abroad.
 
NVZP
The Dutch Association for Seeds and Plant Material represented the interests of companies that were active in breeding seeds for agricultural crops, vegetables and flowers. The NVZP also represented the trade and licensed cultivation of seed crops. The association was founded in 1992 following a merger between the NTZ (Nederlandse Vereniging voor het Tuinzaadbedrijfsleven) and the NZP (Nederlandse Vereniging van Kwekers van en Handelaren in Zaaizaad en Plantgoed).
 
Plant reproduction material Unit VGB
The members of the plant reproduction material unit of The Association of Wholesale Trade in Horticultural Products (VGB) joined the branch organisation Plantum NL in 2001. These companies are active in propagating and raising plant reproduction material of floricultural crops. The companies supply plant reproduction material for cut flowers and pot plants to growers all over the world.