Chris: Zoiks. Ellen, I think I just used up our allotment of words for today’s email, and all I did was list our two stops for the day in the "In This Edition" box.
Ellen: Yeah, on the surface it looked like today would be a breeze: just two stops, Fides and Ball. And they’re five minutes apart.
Chris: But Pack Trial historians will know that Ball FloraPlant, Selecta and Kieft used to be their own stops. And Darwin wasn’t part of trials and Burpee Home Gardens and Ball Ingenuity didn’t exist. So in reality, that one stop is the equivalent of at least five, which explains why we were there from 11 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. A massive trial, with loads of quality introductions, including some pretty cool breakthroughs.
Ellen: We had so much to cover, I’m surprised you even let us take time for lunch.
Chris: Well, I didn’t need you or Jen passing out during our video shoot. But we survived, got the story, got a ton of video … and had some excellent Greek chicken in lemon sauce, too!
Ellen: Enough of the food reminiscences, Beytes. Get to the day’s business!
Chris: Gotcha. Okay, stop one, Fides Oro. They’re located around the corner from Ball in Santa Paula, just inland from the Pacific, and the big change at this trial is the addition of Oro Farms, which Agribio, Fides’ parent company, purchased last year. Because of that, we saw lots of the Oro selection scattered in amongst the Fides offerings. But still, a few introductions stood out, and the first is a new garden mum series called Mystic. Shown last year as an experimental, Mystic enters the market with 27 colors broken into five timing categories, cleverly named for times of the day: Daybreak (extra early), Sunbeam (early), Meridian (mid), Eventide (late) and Afterglow (extra late). The mums are quite obviously going after the Belgian mum market, with large flowers, a ball-shaped habit and flexible stems. They seem to have a good color range, too.
They have a fine set of dahlias in their Dahlinova line, and this year they added four. The single-flower, more compact Dahlinovas got pinkish Georgia, while the Hypnoticas got Tequila Sunrise, Red Velvet and the tri-colored Tropical Breeze—quite a beauty. Oh, and one more dahlia from Hem Genetics joins their line-up: Starsister Double Crimson Picotee. Why genetics from Hem? To make their dahlia offerings complete, they said.
Chris: A couple more Fides Oro notes: In the past, they’ve offered some of the Suntory line; now they’re carrying the full line of genetics. Also, in the Oro acquisition, they gained former Oro partner Dr. Royal Heins, who has come aboard Fides as a technical specialist. In addition, they recently hired Dr. Roger Styer, well-known crop consultant, as a technical sales rep. So now, if you want some advice on your Fides or Oro crops, you can log on to
www.fides-oro.com and “Ask the Doctor” your cultural questions and get expert advice, complimentary and confidentially. These guys know their stuff!
For a video tour of these new Fides varieties, click
HERE.
Ellen: Flamingo Holland also had a presence at Fides Oro. Originally just a cut flower breeder, the Dutch company got into the breeding and production of pot plants—namely callas, lilies, freesias and gerberas—about four years ago. Some highlights of their display include two new freesias, Tootsie and Gompey (Beytes’ pick for oddest variety name), Starlight Express oriental lily, and the rose lily Belonica, a pollenless double lily.
Chris: Okay, time to report on what has become the biggest display of the California Spring Trials, the Ball companies, all housed at PanAmerican Seed’s Santa Paula breeding facility. Here we found a big display of every Ball division and brand, as listed above. It’s a stop that requires a half day to see properly, and it's well worth the time. The theme at Ball was “The Art of Plants,” and they used original and inspired art pieces throughout the trial to help illustrate the traits and benefits of their genetics. Plus, it just looked cool! As for covering this massive trial here in what's supposed to be an easy-read email, Ellen and I have decided to give a bullet-point list of two or three key introductions from each of the divisions. We also shot more thorough video of each company that we’ll be posting in the coming weeks, along with an overview video showing a key variety from each company. Check out that video HERE.
(PanAmerican Seed)
- Cool Wave pansies—The first true spreading pansies series good enough to carry the Wave name. Four colors and a mix, suited for 4-in. and 6-in. pots and baskets. The color range covers four of the top five-selling pansy colors. Seed will be priced like Wave petunia seed.
- Serenita angelonia —A 2/3-sized “little sister” of Serena angelonia. Four colors and a mix.
- Spring Matrix pansy—A matrix pansy bred for the rigors of spring production. Seventeen colors and five mixes.
- Six new PAS-bred veggies designed for patio containers.
(Ball FloraPlant)
- Patchwork Cosmic Orange (and Burgundy)—Stunning tri-color-patterned impatiens.
- Lobelia Hot Springs—Bred for cool, pot-tight growing, but heat-tolerant garden performance.
- Coleus Vino (dark burgundy) and Honey Crisp (apple-green foliage with dark red undersides).
(Selecta)
- EverLast dianthus—Interspecific hardy perennial dianthus that overwinters for three-season color; Five colors.
- MiniFamous calibrachoa—Orange is rich and deep; Double series gets Deep Yellow, Magenta and a striking and unusual antique-shaded Double Rose Chai
- Trixi 2.0 mixes—Great new color combinations, including Crazy for Crayons.
(Ball Ingenuity)
- Begonia Mania—Several new begonias, including
boliviensis Bon Bon Cherry, Million Bells Honeymoon, Million Bells Elegance, Rieger begonia Fire Balls and tuberous begonia series Bliss.
- Synergy multi-species, multi-form liners—Synergy combines seed and vegetative varieties in one rooted liner. This is a real breakthrough that should take ready made mixed combos to a new level. They're narrowing down 290 potential recipes to the best-performing 10 or so.
(Burpee Home Gardens)
- Bumper Crop grafted tomato—Grafted tomatoes featuring six heirloom varieties on vigorous, disease-resistant rootstock. (Yes, done by the same folks, Plug Connection, who do Mighty 'Mato.)
- Sparks Will Fly begonia—
Boliviensis begonia with dark foliage and bright orange flowers.
- Blue A Fuse petunia—Great name for a “chaotic” blue-flowered petunia.
(Kieft Pro-Seeds)
- Cheyenne Spirit echinacea—An experimental echinacea mix with seven rich colors that’s a first-year-blooming perennial.
(Darwin Perennials)
- Sombrero echinacea—Gets a new Lemon Yellow.
- Double Scoop echinacea—Gets a new Cranberry (below).
- Carnival series heuchera—Suitable as a mixed combo component or a traditional perennial; Seven colors.
(Ball Innovations)
- Soil Wrap—This biodegradable pot gets an upgrade with root windows for improved growing.
Ellen: Whew! And that was just a portion of everything we saw at Ball.
Chris: Probably just a tithe of what’s new. But out of that laundry list of highlights, what was YOUR favorite?
Ellen: Mine? I’d have to say it was the container idea area created by Dutch designer Pieter Landman. He used natural materials—tree branches, stones, bark, fiber, feathers and such—along with various Ball varieties to make container plantings that would appeal to a person’s sense of beauty, smell and touch. They’re designed to inspire growers and garden centers to “step it up” and get consumers connected to the awesome products we carry. And you?
Chris: I could have said the same—in fact, we’re going to do a series with him in
Green Profit—but I’d have to say I like the creative names we found throughout the Ball trials. Like “Blue A Fuse” and “Crazy For Crayons.” I’m a sucker for clever names. But when it comes to genetics, I want to see if I can hang up a Cool Wave basket in my Chicagoland garden in the fall, enjoy it until it freezes, and have it come back the next spring.
Ellen: Well, Chris, I think it’s time to wrap up this edition. We need to get a good night’s rest and get on the road for the four-hour drive to Plug Connection after taking in the seven exhibitors at GroLink. I’m tired already …
Chris: And Plug Connection is a big stop, too, with Benary and Suntory and who knows who else. But hey, we’re not complaining, folks. After all, we look at flowers for a living!
Remember, you can see all our Spring Trials videos at www.youtube.com/growertalks and check out our photo slideshow at www.facebook.com/springtrials. And feel free to email either of us a cbeytes@ballpublishing.com or ewells@ballpublishing.com. Send me your compliments; complaints can go to Ellen.
Ellen: What?!?!
Chris: Heehee! Just kidding, Boston. Who could possibly complain? See y’all tomorrow!
Chris and Ellen
Chris Beytes
Editor & Publisher
GrowerTalks and Green Profit
Ellen Wells
Editor-at-Large
Green Profit
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