Culture Report: Meet Top Wave spreading pansy
We’re halfway through a milestone year for the Wave brand of petunias and pansies. PanAmerican Seed is celebrating 30 years of Wave in the industry, and included in the festivities is the launch of a brand-new spreading pansy series called Top Wave — a big-sister update to the existing Cool Wave pansy lineup.
With summer in full-swing, greenhouses are turning their benches and production activities to pansies and other cool-weather friends to meet the seasonal high demand of fall décor. Seed and plugs are available now for Top Wave pansy, which is a unique chance to keep this yearlong Wave party going by offering customers something new and different.
IT’S FALL, Y’ALL
Pansies are a staple in southern fall landscapes. They take flower color and garden décor from Halloween through Thanksgiving, and often into Christmas and the New Year. Northern markets benefit from the cooler weather too, though in a much shorter window (think apple picking or pumpkin-patch season).
In the South, October and November are the big sales months for gardeners to get pansies in the landscape. So, let’s meet Top Wave pansy! It differs from Cool Wave with 25% larger blooms, and it has a highly attractive mounded shape at the store that beats the competition for shopper appeal. It will be your new top choice for premium pots, baskets, mixed containers and landscapes.
Top Wave in the garden creates a colorful, low maintenance carpet that is faster to fill than standard pansies. The impact is high with all the flower colors resting on top of each plant.
Below are a few production guidelines to get the best plants to market.
SEED GERMINATION
Sow one seed per cell in a 288-plug size. Top Wave pansy seeds germinate at 64° F to 77° F and take two to three days. Covering the seed and lighting are optional for germination. Maintain media pH at 5.5 to 5.8 and an EC of 0.75 mmhos/cm during plug production. Keep moisture high at level 4 until radicle emergence.
During stage 2, lower the moisture levels slightly to a level 3 to 4. Provide temperatures of 64° F to 70° F. For light, aim for 2,500 f.c. (26,900 lux). Apply fertilizer less than 100 ppm N, less than 0.7 EC. Maintain the same temperatures, moisture and light levels during stage 3. Fertilizer should be applied at 100 to 175 ppm N (0.7 to 1.2 EC). A daminozide spray at 1,500 to 2,500 ppm can be applied to control growth.
In stage 4, decrease your moisture to a level 2 to 4 and decrease temperature slightly to 60° F to 65° F. Increase light to 5,000 f.c. (53,800 lux). Another daminozide spray at the same rate can be applied in stage 4 for growth control as well.
PRODUCTION TRICKS
The plug crop time for Top Wave pansy is four to five weeks. Our recommendation is to wait to transplant plugs until week 37, or later in the South. If you do transplant plugs in the South during week 37 or 38, it is best to shade the crop for the first two weeks. The shade needs to be removed within two weeks to minimize any plant stretching.
In the heat of autumn production, a paclobutrazol drench of 0.1 to 0.125 ppm can be used once foliage is covering soil.
Fertilize with 175-225 ppm N. It is best to use a nitrate-based fertilizer with low phosphorus to reduce stretch. Maintain a media pH of 5.5 to 5.8 and EC at 0.7 to 1.0 mS/cm (1:2 extraction). A higher pH (greater than 6.2) can induce Boron deficiency and encourages fungal black root rot caused by Thielaviopsis sp.
CONTROL THE TEMPERATURE
Summer production for fall pansy sales does come with its challenges, mainly the temperature control to keep the plants from stretching or flowers from shrinking. The ideal day temperatures are 62° F to 70° F, and night temperatures should be 55° F to 60° F. If possible, grow in a cool house.
If growing in a house with pad and fan cooling, place the crops as close as possible to the cooling pads — basically placing your pansies in the coolest area of the greenhouse. When watering, make sure the hose runs cool before hydrating the plants.
Overall, the finish timing is six to eight weeks, so while you’re reading this magazine issue, there is still time to order plugs now for fall sales.
ENRICHING SALES
Top Wave pansy launched at California Spring Trials with eight colors for its initial debut. These are unique colors not currently found in the Cool Wave series, such as Marina, Pink Shades and Purple White. Those are true standouts, in my opinion! The solid ‘Top Wave Orange’ variety is the first trailing orange pansy. Don’t sleep on this one; it will be a great color for the fall season.
Plant your Top Wave Pansies in Halloween planters for easy fall decorating. I recommend adding them to fall mixed combos for fun grab-and-go porch pots. My favorite combo that I’ve paired ‘Top Wave Orange’ with is with the ‘Easy Wave Navy Velour’ petunia — what an eye-catching mix for Halloween.
In addition, if you choose to join the 30th anniversary celebration of Wave and grow new Top Wave pansies, the brand has also developed special marketing materials, print-on-demand signage and social media engagement resources at the PanAmerican Seed website.
Since 1995, the Wave brand has demonstrated its continuous improvement in high-impact color classes, and the launch of Top Wave pansy is no exception. Grab those shoulder season sales with an easy-to-sell brand. The Wave is growing.
All photos courtesy of PanAmerican Seed.
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