Jul 10, 2018

Hardy Introductions By Jasmina Dolce

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to visit the Gardens at Ball in West Chicago, Illinois, for Darwin Perennials Day. I’m lucky enough to have this beautiful garden practically in my backyard, so I’m able to attend this must-see event each year. And over the years, the event and the products available continue to grow.

It’s really great to see the breadth of options now available in the perennial category and meet with all the various suppliers bringing those products to the market.

During lunch, Anna Ball shared some thoughts on the perennials market and the industry as a whole. Perennials continue to trend upward, but we’ve got to start focusing on young gardeners. She shared an interesting, and somewhat worrisome, finding — children simply do not even know what the term “horticulture” means. We need to change that!

Aside from reaching younger gardeners, we talked about breeding breakthroughs, crop timing, and various ways to boost profits in perennials. Breeding companies are hard at work developing new varieties that are easy to produce and manage on the grower level and provide season-long performance for consumers.

If you were able to attend the California Spring Trials this year, you know there is no shortage of perennial varieties available to the market. We’re seeing expansions in colors as well as plant versatility. No matter the need, there’s a perennial suitable to fit the application.

Here are a few of our favorite introductions that made their official debut at the 2018 California Spring Trials. To see even more, be on the lookout for the July issue of GPN.

Coreopsis ‘Golden Stardust’
Darwin Perennials

Hardy to Zones 5a to 9b, ‘Golden Stardust’ is easy to grow and exhibits excellent heat and mildew tolerance. It is self branching and produces an abundance of star-shaped flowers through the season.

Aquilegia Kirigami
Syngenta Flowers

This new columbine series requires minimum vernalization and can be programmed like an annual for spring sales. Flowering is uniform across the series, and the vibrant, upward-facing blooms offer great impact at retail.

Leucanthemum ‘Sweet Daisy Birdy’
Dümmen Orange

The Sweet Daisy series is an improvement on the classic garden daisy. Plants are robust and feature dense flowering as early as June. New to the series is ‘Sweet Daisy Birdy’, which boasts umbrella-shaped blooms on a tall, structured plant.

Dianthus ‘Constant Cadence Milk Cherry’
Green Fuse Botanicals

Offering color-changing genetics, this new dianthus opens white and gradually transitions to a true red. The double flowers are highly fragrant and have excellent garden performance. Hardy to Zone 4, it is easy to finish any time of year.

Gaura ‘Silver Fountain’
PlantHaven

A North American prairie native, this gaura is completely sterile and hardy to Zone 5. It features stable variegated foliage that starts a lemon yellow and goes to crisp green. Its pure white, nectar-rich blooms are great pollinator magnets.

Nepeta ‘Cat’s Pajamas’
Walters Gardens

This nepeta is more compact and flowers two to three weeks earlier than ‘Cat’s Meow’. Hardy to Zones 3 through 8, it is an excellent perennial for pollinators. Plants maintain their nice mound and won’t fall apart in the center.

Lavender ‘Blue Spear’
Kieft Seed

This first-year flowering perennial boasts strong visual impact with very upright flower spikes that are longer than comparable seed lavender. ‘Blue Spear’ performs best in warmer temperatures with longer days.

Are you growing perennial varieties? Which ones are your top sellers? Do you plan to add any of the above or other new introductions to your production for next season? Shoot me an email and let me know; I’d love to hear from you.

— Jasmina