Season-extending opportunities

“When considering season-extending plants to add to your product offering, it’s important to look at varieties that not only survive the challenges of high summer heat and humidity, but also feature shorter production times in the greenhouse for faster turnover.”

That advice to growers comes from Mark Seguin, global marketing manager at Sakata Seed America, Morgan Hill, Calif., which offers growers season-extending Sunpatiens – a hybrid “heat-loving” impatiens developed to deliver continuous color from spring through the first frosts. Whether used in baskets, window boxes, patio pots or in the landscape, these plants combine massive flower power with tough, low-maintenance plants that flourish almost anywhere.

The SunPatiens family consists of three unique series, each with a distinct growth habit. Three-season performance is the hallmark trait for each series, says Seguin. “They actually thrive under the stressful conditions that bring ordinary annuals to their knees. While most other annuals bloom out, fall open, become leggy and tired-looking, SunPatiens maintain a full, dense habit and continue to produce an endless supply of flowers with minimal care. Their unstoppable performance is a key reason why so many professional landscapers have embraced them as their top choice for summer color. And growers appreciate the ability to turn out a quick crop, often within six to seven weeks from sticking the un-rooted cuttings.”

Another season-extending introduction by Sakata is Pinball gomphrena, a semimounding habit that fills in quickly with color, and also makes a fitting addition to combination planters and baskets.

“With origins tracing back to Central America, ‘Pinball’ gomphrena is able to endure the hottest of summer temperatures while producing loads of vibrant, 1-inch globe shaped blooms favored by butterflies,” says Seguin. For an impactful combination, Seguin suggests combining the ‘Pinball’ gomphrena with ‘Magic Carpet’ mecardonia. “Magic Carpet features a trailing habit that produces an abundance of bright yellow flowers that contrast nicely with the purple blooms of Pinball,” says Seguin. “Both love the heat and require little-to-no maintenance for the end user.”

At PanAmerican Seed, Technical Product Rep Tom Contrisciano is bullish on “plant couples” for late-season sales. For example, PanAmerican’s Mum Pals concept (much like its Pansy Pals program), features items that can be easily produced along with a mum crop and sold at the same time to offer more variety and less price competition at retail. “There are a lot of Mum Pals options,” says Constrisciano, naming ornamental peppers, Dianthus, Gaillardia, Rudbeckia, and ornamental grasses as some of the options.

Constrisciano is seeing an increase in production/retail demand for ‘Cool Wave’ trailing pansies, osteospermum, dwarf snapdragons, dwarf and mid-height dianthus, and early flowering perennials. He says cool-season lettuces and edibles also make great companions to ornamentals. “Lettuce is also a quick bench-turn for growers,” he says, “with retail-ready plants four to seven weeks.”

“When it comes to summer annuals, you can’t beat ‘Surdiva’ scaevolas,” says Delilah Onofrey, director, Flower Power Marketing. Bred in Australia, these plants from Suntory flowers can take the heat and offer continuous color through summer’s harshest conditions.” Unlike native scaevolas, the Surdivas were bred to be compact with shorter internodes and they remain neat and easy to maintain. “These award-winning scaevolas have performed in all of the nation’s leading field trials – University of Georgia, Penn State University, Kansas State University and Dallas Arboretum,” says Onofrey. “Colors include Blue, Light Blue, a new White, and Variegated Blue. Surdiva is the first scaevola with a variegated leaf pattern.”

Heat-loving tropical plants, such as ‘Sun Parasol’ mandevillas, are solid choices for summer sales, producing dozens of luxurious looking blooms until the cold of fall rolls in. Other Suntory season-extending offerings recommended by Onofrey include:

‘Garden Crimson,’ madevilla is naturally compact with low breaks and a spreading habit, Garden Crimson is the first bedding plant mandevilla and are also well-suited for 4-inch pots and baskets. These natural climbers are heat-tolerant and produce large flowers. Red Emperor brings this series to five colors.

‘Pretty’ dipladenias provide dense growth and high flower count. The vines have glossy foliage and smaller leaves and are more cold-tolerant than typical dipladenias. Newer colors include Pretty Deep Red and Pretty Deep Pink.

At Ernst Benary of America, Marketing Specialist Jen Calhoun says, “Of course everyone wants to make money when greenhouses are normally dead. But just because a variety can handle the heat doesn’t mean it will translate into increased sales.“ Calhoun suggests plants with abundant summer blooms; something with “high impact, consumer appeal, easy production, and proven heat tolerance.“ She recommends these from Benary:

‘Big’ begonia series for flower power and its ability to thrive in full sun to full shade in every area of the country. The Big Rose Bronze Leaf, sold under the Proven Winners‘ ‘Surefire Rose‘ brand name. Jim Klett from Colorado State University selected ‘Surefire Rose‘ (the Proven Winners‘ brand name for the Big rose bronze leaf begonia) as the “Best Begonia” in CSU’s 2013 trials saying, “This is an excellent choice for the landscape due to the large, showy flowers that are also self-cleaning. Rose-colored flowers are abundant and combine with good plant uniformity for a great overall appearance. It does well in both sun and shade.”

The ’Santa Cruze Sunset‘ begonia boliviensis has huge flowers and tolerates extreme heat. Self-branching and seed quality (85%+ germ.) in easy-to-sow pellets ensures success in every stage of production.

‘Denver Daisy’s‘ high-impact color and summer-long flower power, helped the rudbeckia hirta to win the American Garden Award, and other university awards. For some Rudbeckia hirta, the high temperatures during summer production, especially night temps, and longer day lengths can cause stem elongation, making it difficult to control their height. Benary’s PGR recommendations for rack shipping are said to simplify production and shipping while maintaining the quick crop time (12 to 14 weeks in the summer) and huge flower size.
 

Season-extending varieties from Syngenta Flowers includes the following:

Landscape ‘Bandana’ lantana is a new trailing series that has been bred for increased flower size and improved branching. It thrives in hot and humid climates and features four vibrant colors that give a fresh look during hot summer months. Landscape Bandana spreads up to 36 inches and is perfect for filling landscapes and large, mixed containers.

A new addition to the Kwik Kombos series is ‘Blue Lightning’ vegetative mix, trialed extensively throughout North America and proven to flourish even during hot summer heat. Combining Landscape Bandana Gold lantana and Bombay Dark Blue scaevola, Blue Lightning mix features a plant-and-go process that eliminates transplanting errors and takes the guess work out of combinations.

‘Cora’ vinca series, the only series with patented resistance to aerial Phytophthora, giving it strong vigor and long-lasting color in heat and humidity. Its wide array of colors feature large, overlapping petals, making it a premium product that has outstanding retail appeal. With 90 percent germination, Cora provides efficient plug production and a strong foundation to a uniform, healthy finished crop.

‘Big Kiss Red‘ and ‘Big Kiss Yellow‘ Gazanias, like other Big Kiss varieties, thrive in the heat and are great for extending late-season summer sales. This series features full, super-sized flowers that make striking displays at the point of sale.

‘Sriracha’ cuphea is a heat-loving series with three vibrant colors – Pink, Rose and Violet. These provide eye-catching displays and last from spring through the heat of summer. Perfectly suited for 5-inch or larger premium pots, Sriracha features a well-branched, compact habit that is improved over older seed types in the market.

‘Pinto’ Premium White to Rose geranium was selected as the 2012 All-America Selections Bedding Plant Award winner and Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner for outstanding greenhouse and garden performance. Bred as a well-branched, vigorous plant, Pinto Premium easily adapts to high-density production and fills beds and containers with masses of color, even in warm temperatures.
 

Options galore

There are countless options for spurring sales in otherwise slow seasons. Limited only by creativity and ingenuity, it is important for growers to find the right season-extending plants for retailer customers and consumers.

Moving forward, take into consideration under-utilized space, production time, any niches that have yet to be exploited, and efficiency. Try new combinations of cold- or heat-tolerant plants for spring and fall that haven’t been done before. Those combinations can set you apart from other growers. Try cool season edible combos for spring and fall.

Simply put, be calculative and creative. That’s always a winning combination.

Karlyn Green is a horticulturist and freelance writer based in Lakewood, Ohio.

For more:
www.benary.com
www.panamseed.com
www.sakata.com
www.suntory.com
www.syngentaflowers.com