Bright ideas

Photos: Kelli Rodda and Kate Spirgen

Although there’s been talk about a softening market, many CAST attendees remained upbeat and expected to have another solid year of plants sales. Breeders didn’t hold back — they debuted a wealth of new plants, series, colors and programs. Almost every stop offered a combo program or at least several ideas and recipes, taking the guesswork out of the process for the grower and providing a premium product for the grower and the retailer. Breeders also showcased tons of imaginative ideas for retail merchandising that should inspire consumers and encourage them to spend that hard-earned cash.

CREATIVITY

Syngenta’s team tried (and succeeded) at growing coleus as trees for a premium product at retail. They used the new Coleus Talavera series and provided all the tips needed to grow your own trees. (pictured next page: Chocolate Velveteen)

Growing Talavera coleus as a tree:

Ball Ingenuity introduced its Tabletensia hydrangea, a low-growing macrophylla that is ideal for bowls. With a height of 8-10 inches and a spread of 12-14 inches, market them as centerpieces for indoor or outdoor celebrations. Transplant into an 8- or 9-inch bowl or pan.

Benary’s Begonia Stonehedge series makes a statement with its impressive size. “They’re like a monument in the garden,” says Jen Calhoun, marketing specialist, North America.

These interspecific F1 begonias will grow up to 48 inches tall in the landscape. Think: Begonia hedge.

Stonehedge is very early flowering — even earlier than BIG or Whoppers, Calhoun explains. With extraordinary branching, it has eye-catching, bronze leaves with a round plant habit. The series has been trailed across the country including Michigan, South Carolina and California and does well in both sun and shade.

Calhoun suggests retailers plant some in the landscape, “so people come in and say, ‘What is that?!’”

Stonehedge comes in Light Pink Bronze Leaf and Rose Bronze Leaf. The series is available to growers now and available to retailers in 2024.

COMBOS

Sakata Seed America will maintain a dedicated focus on combinations and mixes, a product that benefits the grower, retailer and consumer, says Alicia Suits, the company’s senior marketing manager, vegetables and ornamentals. This premium program offers multiple recipes for each season. And with that premium line comes a premium retail price, says Brad Smith, retail category manager. There’s some flexibility in the program for growers since container size depends on their retail market and other factors, he says.

Spring combos include Cottage Beauty (gomphrena Ping Pong Purple, Sunpatiens Compact Lilac Improved, lantana Sundance Pink, coleus Strawberry Drop) and Sundress (angelonia Angelissa White and lantana Sundance White); a summer combo example is Cherry Mist (zinnia Profusion Cherry Bicolor and gyphsophila Gypsy Deep Rose); and a fall combo showcased at CAST included Orange Popper (angelonia Angelissa Purple, petunia Supercal Premium Sunset Orange, lantana Sundance Red and coleus Party Time Lime).

Dümmen Orange debuted a new series, Garden Party, which are multi-genus mixes that are rooted separately then planted together. These mixes offer combinations of annuals, perennials and potted plants that provide color and texture.

Each year at CAST, Danziger highlights a multitude of its DuraBella combinations and offers visitors the chance to vote on their favorites. These two- and three-plant combos require less water and have increased longevity in the garden center and for the end consumer. Even though they require fewer inputs, they finish in the same amount of time as a traditional six- or nine-liner planting, saving growers time and money.

FunFusions from Ball FloraPlant are tested recipes that allow growers to order components separately as liners or cuttings and plant them following Ball’s detailed “plantograms” that are housed on the FunFusions website. Selecta One offers Dynamix recipes that are also ordered as separate components.

COLOR

The Senetti pericallis series from Suntory Flowers has been dazzling the market for 25 years with its cool colors for the cool season. Senetti can withstand temperatures as low as 35⁰ F, making them ideal for the early spring sales window. New colors include Red Halo (pictured) and Lavender Dawn. One of its previous colors got a reboot with Blue Bicolor Improved. Delilah Onofrey, marketing director, says any grower who’s ever tried Blue Bicolor in the past “will appreciate this improved one.”  

added two colors to its Crazytunia petunia line: Gingersnap and Cosmic Violet. This series, now in its tenth year, was selected for early flowering and upright to mounding habits.

The intensely bright colors of Ball FloraPlant’s PassionFruit lantana are the perfect representation of summer. This trailing variety is ideal for hanging baskets. Crop time for 10- or 12-inch baskets with three to six plants per pot is approximately 10-12 weeks.