Jul 7, 2011
Athens Select Program Ends After 2011 SeasonSource: Athens Select

The Athens Select Marketing Association has decided to suspend the Athens Select program after the 2011 growing season.

Athens Select, started many years ago by John Rader, Kerstin Ouellet and Dr. Allan Armitage, was one of the most unique endeavors of its kind. A bold experiment between an academic institution and the floriculture industry, Athens Select included some of the finest grower propagators and introduced some of the most popular plants over the years. The Athens Select group decided that after 2011, they would phase out the program.

Several currently licensed propagators will continue to carry Athens Select varieties in the future, including the popular pennisetum varieties ‘Prince’, ‘Princess’, ‘Princess Caroline’ and ‘Princess Molly’, but not under the Athens Select brand. Many of the Athens Select varieties that were included in the Southern Living Plant Collection will continue to be propagated and marketed to retail under the brand name Southern Living Plant Collection.

As Dr. Armitage stated with a smile, “We had a ball. Dr. Armitage’s retirement, as well as the time required to successfully manage a program like this, led to the difficult decision to terminate the program.

For more information, contact Kerstin Ouellet at kerstin@penandpetal.com.

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