Two More Days of Trials
Days 3 and 4 of California Spring Trials are in the books. The “weather gods” have been smiling down on us, and I hope you’ve been having as much fun viewing our videos from each stop on our Facebook page as we have had creating them.
We started Day 3 at American Takii in Salinas, where there was a strong focus on pollinators and some incredible displays of succulents from HMA Plants (with the help of Succulent Gardens in Castroville, California).
Up next was Sakata, who’s celebrating 40 years in North America. In honor of the anniversary many of the new variety introductions were in the ruby-colored family.
We then finished the day at Floricultura with Westhoff, PAC, Beekenkamp, Flamingo Holland, Gediflora and Plug Connection.
Day 4 began at Dümmen Orange, who had four retail concepts to show attendees. Savor the Flavor emphasized herbs for grilling, pizza and tea, Grab & Gro set up five easy steps for people to create containers, and see more on Kinder Garden and Effortless Autumn below.
We then saw new breeding from Cohen Propagation, Hishtil and Jaldety before finishing up the day visiting the companies exhibiting at Windmill Nursery.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, check out GPN’s new variety coverage and look forward to extended reports in upcoming print issues and online.
Cheers,
Creative uses for pallets are all the rage today, and American Takii used them for its Asian vegetables. The display had everything from mustards to red lettuce and got people stopping to take photos of the repurposed planters.
HMA Plants made a huge impact with its volcano display in the middle of the greenhouse to showcase some of its more than 100 varieties of succulents. At the top, you’ll see the company’s new ‘Firesticks’ euphorbia.
This year there were a couple do-it-yourself ideas at Sakata. This floating garden can be crafted from polystyrene disks and matting for a planter that sits on top of pools, ponds or any water feature and provides a strong pop of color.
Gediflora had five new variety introductions this year as well as new POP that focuses simply on the color of the mums to make them easier to read at retail. The company also had everyone try chocolate with a filling made of chrysanthemum extract … yum.
Dümmen Orange had four new retail concepts at its California Spring Trials stop. Effortless Autumn is aimed at extending the season. The target consumers are those who want to decorate with flowers more so than get their hands dirty.
Kinder Garden is a retail concept initially brainstormed by the European team that is now making its way to the U.S. Signage, containers and bags encourage families to head to the garden center before a weekend project of planting.
J Berry Nursery has launched Deckorations, aimed at making flowering shrubs more of an impulse buy in garden centers (similar to what we’ve seen with annuals). The high-end containers create a grab-and-go item at a higher price point.
Miniature Gardening (Terra Nova Nurseries)
The team at Terra Nova says they keep getting asked what plants could be used in fairy gardens, so they planted some up featuring heucherella, coleus and a number of other plants with stunning foliage.
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