9/30/2014
New and Ready for Retail
Ellen C. Wells
You ask for new varieties each year. Don’t worry—those breeding companies are fulfilling your requests and offering plenty of new and different varieties for you to choose from each year. In fact, just this year roughly 1,000 new and improved varieties were introduced at the California Spring Trials. That doesn’t include the new stuff from breeding and distribution companies not exhibiting at Trials.
So we have all these new varieties as you wished—great! Now what? Well, now is the time for you, the retailer, to learn more about not just how they grow in the commercial greenhouse (see
GrowerTalks), but also how some of these new plants will perform for your customer.
Armed with this info, you can develop informational signage, prepare staff to answer questions, and merchandise these newbies for maximum impact and higher sales.
Surfinia Sumo Petunias from Suntory
Surfinia Sumo creates mounds of color that span up to 35 to 55 in. wide and 18 to 20 in. tall. Sumo varieties were bred for high flower count while retaining a large flower size and the heat and rain tolerance Surfinias are known for.
Pair Sumos with very vigorous varieties such as ipomoea when using in combinations plantings. Otherwise plant Sumos on their own in containers, baskets and beds where they can dominate the planting and grow to their fullest.
Nonstop Begonia from Benary
Get ready for consumer demand for the bountiful Nonstop begonias as Benary begins pull-through marketing in 2015. The Nonstops will be featured in a two-page spread in Country Gardens Magazine this spring and summer!
Consumers have trusted the Nonstop name for 30 years and have come to rely on these begonias to beautify their porches, urns, baskets and containers. A great alternative for shady spots around the home, Nonstop begonias come in a range of flower colors with both green and chocolate foliage.
Foxlight Digitalis from Darwin Perennials
This fascinating digitalis hybrid species gives home gardeners a bursting spire of color intensity and outward-facing flowers. Foxlight was selected for its retail-friendly height, as well as its early and continuous blooming through the summer months.
Be sure to tell your customers that Foxlight exhibits resistance to deer, and is also an inviting garden plant for hummingbirds and other pollinators. This variety is generally pest- and disease-free, too—a plus for gardeners and a true selling point for retailers.
Artful Caladiums from Proven Winners
Artful caladiums cause quite a stir as thriller components in combination containers. While appropriate for both sun or shade conditions, retailers and home gardeners should avoid using these caladiums in full sun conditions in areas with intense sunlight such as the Rockies and the Southwestern U.S.
With such simple planting and growing, these caladiums are an easy choice for new gardeners. For the not-so-new gardener, these are a great replacement plant for shade conditions for areas struggling with impatiens downy mildew. And for you retailers, Artful caladiums have a great shelf life in larger containers and mixed plantings.
Trifolium 4 Luck from Green Fuse
Trifolium 4 Luck is an excellent component plant for containers given its great amount of diversity in colors. This clover grows low and spreads, and with maturity begins to cascade over the edge of containers and baskets. Its garden height is 4 in. with a spread of 10 to 14 in.
Use Trifolium 4 Luck to create unique and beautiful spring and summer containers showcasing bright-colored leaves of red, burgundy, white and chartreuse that are durable in wet or dry regions. 4 Luck can also be used for fall and winter mixed planters containing pansies, violas, antirrhinum and other cold-tolerant plants. For spring potted plant sales, Trifolium 4 Luck is an obvious choice as an impulse item for St. Patrick’s Day sales.
Jurassic Rex Begonias from Ball Ingenuity
Jurassic Rex Begonias have been bred to be easy for the grower, but also continue to perform throughout the summer for the gardener. A very important cultural item to note for the home gardener (and retailer, too), is to keep these Jurassics in full shade as the leaves will burn under high light conditions. Their bold colors and unique leaf patterns are fun elements to play with in combination plantings and garden bed designs. These vigorous plants will fill out quickly for the grower but will continue with excellent performance for the home gardener, as well.
Carex varieties from Emerald Coast Growers
Carex may be one of the most versatile plants to work with in the garden and in the garden center. Pair the many different types of Carex with a host of different plants to create high impact and even greater appeal.
A few ideas from Pamela Straub, Emerald Coast Growers’ in-house designer extraordinaire:
• Carex Toffee Twist with Achillea Summer Pastels and Echinacea Gemini Pink
• Carex Ice Ballet, Hypericum Brigadoon and Sedum Lemon Ball Echinacea (pictured)
• Carex Blue Zinger and Panicum Ruby Ribbons
• Belamcanda chinensis, Iris domestica, Carex Toffee Twist and Coreopsis Ruby Frost
• Miscanthus gracillimus, Carex, Rudbeckia and Coreopsis
• Carex, Pennisetum setaceum and Gaillardia Fanfare GP