Seed Companies Try Out East Texas Conditions

More than 150 professionals and plant enthusiasts visited the annual horticultural bedding plant trials and field day on June 26 in Overton, Texas. Founded 14 years ago by Dr. Brent Pemberton of Texas AgriLife Research, the original trials compared 100 varieties. This year, the trials featured more than 500 plant varieties including vinca, ornamental peppers, trailing petunias, verbenas, begonias, portulaca, zinnias, geraniums and ageratum.

The trials are largely sponsored by seed companies wishing to test their new varieties under the East Texas conditions. “This trial is important to us because when it performs well here, and it performs well in Dallas, then we have the confidence to go to the customers down here and say, ‘This will work for you,'” said Don Snow of Goldsmith Seeds.

According to a press release, many of the seed companies prefer this trial because of the quality and realistic conditions of plant care and it actually tests under East Texas conditions for many new varieties.

Volunteers from the Texas Master Gardeners donated hundreds of hours of labor by planting and tending plots. Their efforts made the trials possible.

For more details about the trials, contact Dr. Brent Pemberton at b-pemberton@tamu.edu.