Apr 15, 2005
Ball Centennial CollectionSource: Ball Horticulture

Ball Seed celebrates a century of expertise with the Ball Centennial Collection, a group of exclusive plants from the industry’s leading breeding and production companies. With the goal of providing a glance into history while emphasizing the innovation that will take the industry into the next century, the Ball Centennial Collection features new twists on old favorites as well as up-and-coming plants that are gaining popularity with growers, retailers and consumers. The following is a list of materials in the collection:

Kong coleus (Sakata Seed Corporation): Introduced at the 2004 California Pack Trials, Kong has five bold color combinations.
‘Dulce Rosa’ euphorbia (Paul Ecke Ranch): This all-new hybrid is fast-flowering with an upright bract habit that’s good for spring potted plants and fall landscapes in the Sunbelt.
BullsEye geranium (Goldsmith Seeds): BullsEye is fully zoned and has dark foliage edged in light green. This unique, stable center zoning has four flower colors.
Luna hibiscus (PanAmerican Seed Co.): Luna has large, showy flowers on compact perennial plants.
‘Potpourri White’ lavender (Kieft Seeds Holland): The first white L. angustifolia variety from seed. It is more winter hardy and cold tolerant, with good tolerance to foliar diseases compared to other lavenders.
‘Cotton Candy’ mandevilla (Lake Area Nursery): The pink blooms are “cotton candy pink” and contrast with the glossy dark-green foliage.
‘Sunrise Serenade’ morning glory (K. Sahin, Zaden BV): Big double flowers with wavy-edged, 2 1/2- to 3-in. blooms show off a rich, cherry red color with contrasting white base.
Serenity osteospermum (Ball FloraPlant): Good cool-season performer with bright colors and good flower forms on early-flowering, naturally compact plants. There are seven colors, including two novelty spoon types.
‘Whiskers Orange’ pansy (Ernst Benary Samenzucht GmbH): Each one of these mid-size, deep orange blooms features a unique “cat face” pattern.
‘Taffy’ poinsettia (Paul Ecke Ranch): A unique marbled eight-week variety with upright bract habit.
Amethyst scaevola (Cohen Propagation Nursery): Shorter internodes mean Amethyst has a controlled habit. The plants also have a dark blue flower color with little to no eye.
Ballad F1 sunflower (PanAmerican Seed Co.): This no-pollen sunflower is mildew tolerant and has shiny green-leaves with bright golden-yellow flowers that surround a deep bronze center.
‘Bush Champion’ F1 tomato (Seminis Garden): This extra-early, compact plant works well for large containers or small space gardens.
Titan F1 vinca (PanAmerican Seed Co.): This vinca series has a nice coloring and foliage. It has increased disease and stress tolerance, extra-early flowering and “super-sized” blooms.