Goldsmith’s Cora Vinca Wins Gold at 2008 Olympics
After an extensive trial with varieties from all over the world, Cora vinca – bred by Goldsmith – thrived in the extreme tropical heat and high humidity from repeated summer seasons in Beijing. Cora outlasted the competition, proving to be the best variety to be showcased for the highly telecasted Olympic event, according to a Goldsmith press release.
‘Cora Deep Lavender’ and ‘Cora White’ created a blanket of color displayed in large beds near the Water Cube where U.S. Olympian Michael Phelps made history, winning eight Gold medals.
Over the course of three years, Beijing Flowers & Trees Corporation, the company responsible for the landscape during the Olympic Games, organized huge flower trials that included dozens of flower varieties from all over the world. During the month of August, it is extremely hot and humid in Beijing, and it was a challenge to find flower varieties that would stand up to the tropical environment.
Every summer since 2005, the area called Olympic Park was planted with hundreds of different test varieties. Each year the park was in a different location in Beijing to identify which varieties would flourish and perform the best. After the top varieties were chosen, the trial was repeated in 2007 before making final decisions for Cora, Sparkler and many other Goldsmith Seeds varieties. Of all the flowers used in Beijing for the Olympics, more than 4 million were produced from Goldsmith Seeds.
Cora is available in eight colors, including new Pink and Punch, and a mixture. Cora’s resistance to aerial Phytophthora, as well as its uniform habit with long-lasting large flowers that thrive in full sun exposure, set this variety apart from the rest.
For more information, visit www.goldsmithseeds.com.
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