Apr 26, 2016

Breeding for Landscape Performance By Jasmina Dolce

It’s that time of year, and I love it! Homeowners and businesses and anyone with a landscape bed is getting busy beautifying their outdoor spaces.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen gorgeous tulips, daffodils and other bulbs blooming in all the front yards in my neighborhood.

And now, especially with the gorgeous weather we’ve been having so far this spring, I see my neighbors return from trips to the garden center, digging in the dirt and planting their favorite bedding plants in the ground. I see professional landscape crews totally transforming gardens large and small.

It’s one of my favorite times of the year. Who doesn’t want a beautiful landscape surrounding their home?

And the breeders have been paying attention to this growing category. As I returned from the California Spring Trials last week, I went through my notes and all the catalogs I collected at each stop. It seems like almost every single exhibitor had some kind of focus on landscape performers.

Consumers want plants that will survive the entire season, won’t lose their color and will tolerate various weather conditions. And it is important for growers and retailers to offer plants that promise these qualities.

So what new introductions can you add to your lineup to satisfy these consumers? Here is a handful of some of the landscape performers we were introduced to at this year’s California Spring Trials:

Petunia Big Deal series (Westhoff)

The new Big Deal series is like a Crazytunia with landscape performance. This durable new collection is bred to flower earlier, grow taller and spread wider. Five colors are currently available; Pinkadilly Circus is pictured.

Verbena ‘EnduraScape Pink Bicolor’ (Ball FloraPlant)

This new bicolor selection brings a novelty to the series with a bright pink flower and white edges. The series stays in flower and keeps its color through the heat, and it’s even hardy to the low teens.

Marigold ‘Chica Flame’ (Hem Genetics)

Flame is the newest introduction in the Chica series of dwarf marigolds. It boasts fully double, large flowers and provides color all season long. The series is early and delivers superior uniformity under various conditions.

Salvia ‘Grandstand Red Lipstick Pink’ (Green Fuse Botanicals)

This new bicolor addition to the Grandstand series is early to bloom and will continuously develop new flower spikes throughout the season. It displays a mass of color on compact plants. Garden height is 15 to 20 inches.

New Guinea impatiens SunStanding series (Dümmen Orange)

A soft launch last year, SunStanding is now a full series available in 14 colors (Orange Aurora is pictured). The series is bred for full sun tolerance and adds a burst of liveliness with a tropical feel.

Petunia ‘Success! Pink Chiffon’ (Benary)

Pink Chiffon is one of three new colors in the popular Success! line of petunias. The series is easy to grow and is fast on the bench. It provides a nice mounded shape in the landscape, and its color doesn’t fade.

Pentas Honeycluster series (Syngenta Flowers)

The new Honeycluster series is intermediate in size and fills larger pots quickly. Its continuous flowering makes a big impact at retail, and gardeners will love its pollinator appeal. Four colors and a mix are available; Deep Rose is pictured.

Salvia ‘Magic Wand’ (Danziger)

This new salvia hybrid is naturally full with a compact habit and presents beautiful dark blue flowers on long spikes. It blooms constantly from spring throughout fall.

What are your best-selling landscape varieties? Are you planning on adding any new landscape performers to your production next season? Shoot me an email, and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

— Jasmina