July 2020 California Spring Trials, Variety Info

All Eyes on 2021 By Jasmina Dolce

Last month, we reviewed many of the trends and overall themes uncovered during our virtual CAST tours. In this second installment, we are sharing overall standouts making their debut for the 2021 season. Keep an eye on these as you make your upcoming production plans.

ANNUALS

Osteospermum ‘Tradewinds Sunset’
Syngenta Flowers

Sunset is a new addition to the Tradewinds series of osteospermum. It matches the series with tough performance and early color. Its bright and bold flowers are ideal for early shoulder impulse sales. Tradewinds varieties flower without vernalization, ensuring consistent success.

Petunia ‘Hippy Chick Violet’
Danziger

This unique petunia is the perfect addition to premium baskets and combinations. It features a striking passionflower appearance with an inside speckle on vivid violet blooms that are rimmed in white. It is a vigorous variety with a semi-trailing habit.

Vinca Quasar
Green Fuse Botanicals

Bred for unique, stable colors, the new Quasar series was a top performer at the 2020 Costa Farms trial garden. Five colors are available; Deep Space Blue is pictured. The series boasts large flowers, uniformity and excellent disease resistance.

Dahlia ‘MegaBoom Berry Blast’
Dümmen Orange

This is the first launch to a new series of dahlias. MegaBoom is characterized by its huge flowers, similar to XXL dahlias, but on shorter peduncles where the flowers are held just above the foliage. Berry Blast boasts a unique explosion of color with magenta and white blooms.

Gerbera Glorious
HilverdaFlorist

The patio gerbera Glorious series is a brand new collection with stunning double flowers up to 6 inches. Four colors are currently available. These show-stopping
flowers will stand out on a terrace or patio.

Begonia ‘BK Bonny’
Beekenkamp

A new addition to the BK Collection, Bonny features a stunning red color and double blooms. It is a great alternative to some of the traditional Ilona types but with a round shape. ‘BK Bonny’ is a compact variety with a fast crop time, and it boasts excellent garden and indoor performance.

Catharanthus ‘Soiree Kawaii Blueberry Kiss’
Suntory Flowers

The revolutionary line of Soiree Kawaii vinca is expanding with the addition of Blueberry Kiss, which brings a new color to landscapes and combination plantings with denim blue flowers and dark purple eyes. Soiree Kawaii is already known for its adorable miniature flowers and incredible heat tolerance, and this new color matches the series.

Antirrhinum Statement
American Takii

This new series of dwarf snapdragons features large flowers on a compact plant,
as well as improved basal branching for better presentation at retail. Five colors are currently available: Pink, Rose, Scarlet, White and Yellow.

Calibrachoa ‘Superbells Coral Sun’
Proven Winners

Coral Sun is the latest addition to the Superbells lineup. It has large flowers with a striking tropical bicolor presentation. It is early to bloom and easy to mix with other sun-loving plants in combinations.

Petunia ‘Main Stage Glacier Sky’
Selecta One

Glacier Sky is the first sky-type petunia to be added to the Main Stage series, known for its large blooms and vigorous, trailing habit. In appearance, the flowers are similar to the popular ‘Headliner Night Sky’ but with a white rim to form a picotee look. These will look outstanding in large baskets and containers, and have a nice fragrance too.

Celosia Brainiac
Benary

Brainiac is a reselection of the previous Amigo series, which was taken off the market. Four colors and a mix are available. It is early flowering and will do great in promotional bowls. It can also be used in packs of different sizes. Brainiac is a very durable plant and can take low water conditions.

Impatiens Sol Luna
Danziger

This new hybrid impatiens series is bred to take both sun and shade equally well. Consumers can plant anywhere for a ball of bright color. Plants are compact and stay tight and controlled. Four colors are currently available; Tropical Punch is pictured.

Vinca Virutosa
Sakata

This new series includes eight colors with excellent seed availability; Punch is
pictured. Plants exhibit extra vigor and strong overlapping petals with a round flower shape. Virtuosa performs well in the garden, even under extreme conditions. It is deer and rabbit resistant.

Petunia ‘Shock Wave Purple Tie Dye’
PanAmerican Seed

This new spreading petunia features a playful and unpredictable pattern, with
blooms displaying any variation of purple-blue to white. It will definitely be a hit at retail. It has already received incredible social media impressions and was even named by consumers.

Cyclamen Leopardo
Schoneveld Breeding

Six years ago, Schoneveld Breeding began breeding cyclamen under hot
conditions. The end result is the new Leopardo series, which features large flowers, strong central stems and uniform growth. This heat-tolerant collection offers six colors; Dark Violet is pictured.

Begonia Prism
Westhoff

Prism is a brand new tuberous series from seed with 14 colors. It is bred as a major upgrade to current market leaders. Plants are 10 to 15% more vigorous and quicker to finish. Prism begonias are selected for flowers that are held above the foliage, improving their display and helping to prevent Botrytis.

New Guinea Impatiens Roller Coaster
Dümmen Orange

The unique Roller Coaster varieties not only boast a large flower with a double layer of petals, but each petal features a ruffled margin, creating a three-dimensional effect in the garden. ‘Roller Coaster Hot Pink’ was launched last year, and now a full series is available in six colors.

Dahlia ‘Electro Pink’
Plant Haven

The new dahlia ‘Electro Pink’ is the perfect addition to pollinator gardens and is
the first dark-leafed cactus-flowered dahlia on the market. Its dramatic color contrast between pink flowers and nearly black foliage creates a pop for instant retail appeal.

Bracteantha ‘Granvia Gold’
Suntory Flowers

Offered in 2020 on a trial basis, ‘Granvia Gold’ is a supersized strawflower perfect for large patio pots and in beds. It is a vigorous plant with large golden blooms and outstanding summer performance, even in the South. Minimum recommended pot size is gallon.

Bidens ‘Taka Tuka Yellow Red Star’
Benary+

Yellow Red Star is an exciting new bicolor addition to the Taka Tuka series. It is great in baskets and combinations and exhibits an outstanding habit. The pattern on this new bidens is very stable and distinct, and keeps its color even in hotter temperatures.

Geranium ‘Rosalie Antique Salmon’
Syngenta Flowers

This new, truly unique zonal geranium will pop off the bench with its double,
rosebud-like, soft pink blooms. Rosalie is comparable to Americana in vigor. Its controlled habit works well across a range of small- to medium-sized containers.

Osteospermum Gelato
Westhoff

Osteospermum is a totally new genus for Westhoff. Gelato offers floriferous plants with a compact and controlled habit. These cold-tolerant plants are perfect for early-season color. Six colors are currently available, with over a dozen more being trialed.

PERENNIALS

Lavender BeeZee
Hishtil Nurseries

Exclusive to Hishtil, the new BeeZee series of Lavandula angustifolia offers five colors that are uniform in height, habit and flowering time. The series is perfect for 4- and 6 1/2-inch pot production, packs and mail order sales. Available colors are White, Dark Blue, Light Blue, Pink and Power Blue.

Armeria ‘Dreameria Dream Clouds’
Darwin Perennials

A new color added to the Dreameria series, Dream Clouds boasts large flowers, sturdy stems and a well-branched habit. It will flower all through the summer and is ideal for early shoulder sales. Dreameria is hardy to Zone 5.

Lupine Lupini
Hem Genetics

Lupini is a first-year-flowering, dwarf lupine series that works well in borders or patio containers. Flower spikes reach a height of 12 inches, and plants spread to 8 inches. Lupini has a short crop time and does not require vernalization to induce flowering. It is hardy to Zones 6 through 8.

Rose ‘Ringo All-Star’
Proven Winners

Hardy to Zones 4 through 8, ‘Ringo All Star’ is the second in the Ringo series
of roses. It features unique multicolored single blooms in hues of orange and pink that transition to lavender. Consumers will appreciate its cheerful appearance and high disease resistance.

Crapemyrtle ‘Black Diamond Radiant Red’
J. Berry Nursery

Radiant Red is the latest debut in this drought- and heat-tolerant series. It is naturally vigorous with large, black foliage and profuse red flowers. This resilient gem is ideal for growing as a flowering hedge, a show-stopping focal point or in container gardens.

Helleborus ‘North Star Ruby Heart’
Terra Nova Nurseries

North Star hellebores are bred for reliable tissue culture production planning. Plant in spring for flowering the following winter. Ruby Heart is eye catching with its large, ruby-dotted white blooms. It makes a nice winter time cut flower. North Star varieties are hardy to Zones 5 through 9.

Hibiscus ‘Summerific Spinderella’
Proven Winners

This new hibiscus will make a bold statement in any setting with its pink and white pinwheel pattern that contrasts dramatically against dark foliage. Summerific blooms midsummer to early fall, and is hardy to Zones 4 through 9.

Delphinium Delgenius
Pacific Plug & Liner

The brand new Delgenius series is bred to make delphinium production easy! No more small plants, Delgenius fills large pots with only one liner and produces a multi-branching habit in a short amount of time. There is no need to use PGRs because they are genetically compact. Three colors are currently available; Shelby is pictured.

Echinacea Artisan
Kieft Seed

Artisan is a revolutionary series that features totally new breeding. It is the first F1 hybrid echinacea from seed and offers consistency of plant structure for a uniform, highly branched plant. It is available in a new amplified seed form, resulting in faster and more uniform germination.

Coreopsis ‘Solanna Sunset Burst’
Danziger

Danziger is adding four new colors to its Solanna line, including Sunset Burst, which boasts a striking bicolor effect. Bloom color changes depending on temperature. Solanna varieties are firs-tyear flowering; no vernalization is needed. This pollinator-friendly selection is hardy to Zone 5 and flowers from spring to fall.

Phlox Woodlander
Dümmen Orange

This new interspecific evergreen groundcover phlox features extended flower power. Blooms are larger than traditional subulata types for added retail appeal. Woodlander phlox is adaptable to both sun and partial shade for better consumer success.

Rudbeckia ‘Dakota Gold’
Green Fuse Botanicals

Developed over nine years of breeding, ‘Dakota Gold’ is another breeding first for Green Fuse. It is not only daylength neutral, but it is also a true perennial with Zone 5 hardiness. Produced by unrooted cuttings, crop time is quick and completely consistent.