Apr 17, 2015

Day Six Recap: 2015 California Spring Trials By Jasmina Dolce

We have finally reached the end of our Spring Trials tour down the California coast. It’s been a long and busy six days, but we got to see so many cool plants along the way. It’s also been exciting learning about all the new packaging and merchandising concepts the breeders are working on. They are really looking to make waves at the consumer level and inspire potential gardeners in all demographics.

Our final day began in Santa Paula, where Green Fuse Botanicals displayed its new annuals, perennials and experimentals in the works. Aside from the new varieties, the company is very excited about offering growers mixed perennial combinations. They are programmable mixes that growers can just order by the recipe.

Our Spring Trials journey ended at the GroLink facility where Ameriseed, Athena Brazil, Flamingo Holland, Florist Holland, Gediflora, Hort Couture, Plant Haven, Royal van Zanten, Schoneveld Breeding, Skagit Gardens and Vivero International displayed new genetics.

Now that the trials are over, the real fun begins. Be on the lookout for more in-depth coverage in GPN magazine, in upcoming newsletters and online at www.californiaspringtrials.com. We will continue to update our photo gallery in the coming weeks, but be patient… it could take a while, I managed to take close to 3,000 photos this week!

In the meantime, here is my final snapshot of highlights from the road.

Salvia Grandstand series (Green Fuse Botanicals)

Grandstand is a new series of mid-height salvia. It is ideal for larger containers, 6-inch and up. The three colors in the current series play very well together, and there are a couple unique bicolors on the way.

Bottle Rocket perennial mix (Green Fuse Botanicals)

Green Fuse’s new line of perennial mixes is available to growers in multi-unit liners that take about five to six weeks to root with a 10-week crop time. The mix that probably got the most attention was ‘Bottle Rocket’ (pictured).

Gerbera ‘Garvinea Alexandra’ (Florist Holland)

A new novel variety, Alexandra has spider-like petals with the sam strong habit and generous flowering as the classic Garvinea gerbera. For those wanting to capitalize on Pantone’s color of the year, Marsala, this could be a wonderful choice.

Asclepias ‘Monarch Promise’ (Hort Couture)

The bright orange-red flowers on ‘Monarch Promise’ attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. The foliage is also very attractive, starting with a cream edge that ages with tinges of red. This plant can definitely be used in containers as a blooming thriller.

Freesia ‘Abbey Road’ (Flamingo Holland)

Known for their breeding work with freesia, Flamingo Holland had a gorgeous display of their collection. There are three lines that growers can choose from: Main Street is the largest and most vigorous, Lovely is medium size and good for gallons, and Nano is the most compact and fastest to grow series. The one that caught my eye the most was ‘Abbey Road’, which is part of the Main Street collection.

Dianthus ‘Stargazer’ (Plant Haven)

A new addition to Plant Haven’s Star collection, ‘Stargazer is a perfect match to their two top sellers: Neon Star and Fire Star. It is bred for stronger fragrance and is Zone 5 hardy.

— Jasmina