Jun 26, 2012

Spring Trials Showstoppers

With hundreds of new variety introductions on display each year at the California Spring Trials, it can be hard to tell them apart and choose which ones would be best suited for your business. That’s why Team GPN treks along the coast and takes a tour of each stop, snapping thousands of photos along the way. I’ve managed to create a library of pretty much every single new variety debuted at Spring Trials each year.In the July issue of GPN, I compiled some of our favorites that stood out from the rest. If you weren’t able to attend the Spring Trials or if you just need a quick recap, be on the lookout for the July issue in your mailbox. But lucky for you, I’ve got a sneak peek below. Here are some of the new varieties that stopped us in our tracks and received plenty of buzz during Spring Trials week.PericallisDanziger debuted a brand new pericallis series at this year’s trials. Spring Touch has a nice compact to medium habit and is suitable for pots, large containers and gardens. It is available in eight colors, including ‘Spring Touch Bicolor Purple’.CalibrachoaKona is a new compact subseries of Dümmen’s successful Aloha calibrachoa line. They require less PGRs, and all the colors grow extremely uniformly. Aloha Kona colors are bright and vivid, especially the sassy ‘Aloha Kona Mandarin’. It will definitely make an eye-catching hanging basket.Petunia‘Blanket Rose Star’ is the first bicolored variety in Green Fuse Botanicals’ Blanket series. This trailing petunia, along with the other Blankets, can help reduce input costs as one plant can finish within 14 to 16 weeks in a 10-inch pot.SalviaAt Plug Connection, we were introduced to ‘Saucy Red’, a new salvia with brilliant red flower spikes on a bushy plant. This salvia is self cleaning with year-round flowering in mild climates.ColeusPart of the PanAmerican Seed’s Fantastic Foliage collection, ‘Chocolate Covered Cherry’ is a great performer in sun and high humidity. This later-flowering and dwarf-sized coleus is adaptable to premium pack sales and small-space gardens.PlectranthusAthena Brazil continues to focus on unique tropical varieties. Plectranthus ‘Brazilian Purple’ is an aggressive new introduction with light-purple flowers that contrast well with its dark foliage.VerbenaAnother novelty color has been added to Syngenta’s Lanai series of premium verbena. ‘Lanai Vintage Rose’ has a unique color combination of creamy white flowers speckled with patches of rose in the center.Impatiens‘SunPatiens Compact Electric Orange’ is a new selection in Sakata’s successful SunPatiens line. This dense, well-branched plant can grow 24 to 36 inches tall and wide. Ideal for baskets, window boxes and large containers, this new variety offers large, vibrant blooms while compact.What do you think of these new varieties? Were you at Spring Trials? If so, let me know which varieties impressed you most. Shoot me an e-mail at jdolce@greatamericanpublish.com. I’d love to hear from you.–Jasmina