Day 5 at the Trials — Fourteen Exhibitors at GroLink
Day 5 was action packed as we made our way to Oxnard to visit with 14 companies at GroLink: Ameriseed, Anthura, Athena Brazil, Fall Creek, Flamingo Holland, Florist Holland, Gediflora, Hort Couture, PlantHaven, Prudac, Royal van Zanten, Schoneveld Breeding, Suntory and Vivero International. What a seriously colorful stop!
One strong focus overall that I noticed was consumer messaging. Many of the exhibitors did a great job telling the story from start to finish — breeding of the plant to selling the plant and everything in between. Keeping the consumer happy and interested is just as important to them as keeping the grower happy.
One excellent idea of cross marketing was Gediflora’s new introduction of a beer, Belgian Mum No. 1, which is made with chrysanthemum extract. This idea has been selling well in Europe, and they are looking to introduce it to the U.S. market. The idea is to merchandise and sell Belgian Mum No. 1 along with mum plants at retail.
Another neat idea was by PlantHaven where they introduced their WaterSaver program. Gardeners are becoming more mindful of water use, and PlantHaven has come up with specific varieties that have low water requirements. They will be introducing a website along with the program as well.
Florist Holland also has some great ideas for POP signage. They are now providing retailers with downloadable posters and banners that list the many benefits and characteristics of Garvinea gerbera. Many gardeners may not know these plants are highly resistant to deer and that it can take a hard frost. So these posters will help.
Aside from great branding and merchandising, the plant quality was outstanding. Here are some of our favorite varieties from the GroLink stop.
Gerbera ‘Garvinea Sweet Memories’ (Florist Holland)
One of Florist’s newest additions to the Garvinea collection, Sweet Surprise is a stunning pink gerbera. It is self cleaning and produces a ton of flowers on one plant.
Alstroemeria ‘Rock n Roll’ (Flamingo Holland)
While ‘Rock n Roll’ is not a new variety, Flamingo Holland has made significant improvements to the plant, like bringing down the habit. We love the rich red bloom above the variegated foliage. It’s a standout.
Vinca Mega Bloom series (Ameriseed)
Ameriseed is a breeding company out of Thailand. They had a great display of their vinca collection. The Mega Bloom series boasts enormous flowers on nice, compact plants. No PGRs are required.
Pot mum ‘Corcovado’ (Royal van Zanten)
Royal van Zanten is working on bringing more interesting pot mums to the market rather than traditional types. They are introducing types with interesting shapes and unique colors. We loved ‘Cocovado’ with the large center and narrow petals.
Ranunculus Sprinkles series (Schoneveld Breeding)
The Sprinkles series has a compact structure and requires little growth regulation. It is available in seven colors; Orange is an experimental variety.
Basil ‘Bambino Purple’ (Hort Couture)
Hort Couture has introduced a new line of edible varieties, Culinary Couture, which is made up of 30 new varieties. One of our favorites is basil ‘Bambino Purple’. It looks great in containers and has an incredible fragrance.
Petunia ‘Surfinia Heartbeat’ (Suntory Flowers)
Heartbeat is a new color in the Surfinia series. It boasts a very unique coloration, white blooms with soft pink heart shapes. We think this could be a huge seller for Mother’s Day.
Dianthus ‘Pinball Wizard’ (PlantHaven)
Part of the Whetman Pinks collection, this new dianthus took eight years of breeding work and presents highly scented double flowers. It is covered in masses of fancy pink and white blooms above silvery blue foliage.
While we also visited the Ball stop yesterday, I’m going to save that report for tomorrow! I hope you’ve been enjoying the highlights. For more, check out our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Video Library 
