California Spring Trials — The Final Days
California Spring Trials 2019 has ended, but we have so many more retail ideas and variety introductions to share with you. We last left off on Day 4 of the trials with some highlights from PanAmerican Seed in Santa Paula. With eight divisions under one roof, we pick up again today with more from the Ball Horticultural Co.
We then started our fifth and final day at Grolink, with numerous companies exhibiting. We saw a lot of sunflowers along the coast this week, and Evanthia’s Sunsation in three colors — Yellow, Flame and Lemon — was another impressive one. Florist Holland showcased its new gerberas along with POP ideas for gifting the flowers for the holidays.
Our final stop of the trip was at Green Fuse Botanicals in Santa Paula, where both Green Fuse and Westhoff were exhibiting. Take a look at a huge new echeveria series, Coral Reef, as well as new additions to the Rex begonia line from Green Fuse in this video. They’re perfect for cool-weather and holiday programs.
We’ve loved having you follow along with us, and we’re going to have a lot more coverage in upcoming issues of Lawn & Garden Retailer and GPN magazines as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
Fancy Combos
Westhoff
Westhoff’s new FanciFillers program includes eight bold, on-trend plants meant to step up your game when it comes to mixed containers. The didelta ‘Silver Strand’ seen up front has a succulent look but extremely soft texture, and makes for an incredible height component that really stands out.
Wax Bulbs
Ball Ingenuity
These amaryllis wax bulbs make for the perfect gift item in your garden centers. They don’t need water to grow and flower four to six weeks. Customers can choose to take the bulb out of the packaging and place it on any surface or else the bulb will continue to grow out of an opening in the top of the plastic.
An Anniversary
Suntory Flowers
Surfinia petunias celebrate their 30th anniversary this year, and any occasion can help reinvigorate customers. Suntory Flowers had celebratory signs, a look back on its history, a cake, a new release of ‘Surfinia Purple Starshine’, an homage to its two best sellers — Heavenly Blue and Deep Red — and more.
Potted Plants
PanAmerican Seed
PanAmerican Seed has beefed up its “Gateway to Gardening” plants, which are meant to attract new plant users and younger generations. This assortment of smaller breeding is great for gifts and both indoor and outdoor décor. Celosia, gerbera, ornamental peppers, campanula and lavender are just some of the offerings.
Size It Up
Green Fuse Botanicals
Green Fuse launched its new leucanthemum ‘Betsy’ this year with truly massive flowers. Shown here is ‘Betsy’ alongside a bloom from Green Fuse’s smallest leucanthemum to showcase the size range, providing a great idea to group like plants together so shoppers can see what they’re really getting.
Use of Color
Royal Van Zanten
To display its Colorita series of alstroemeria, Royal Van Zanten used blue, greens and yellows on the background and in the live scene. The two new colors — ‘Colorita Katiana’ with red blooms and variegated foliage and ‘Colorita Mulan’ with a bold purple color — garnered a lot of attention.
The Park Theme
Selecta One
I love a good theme that is carried throughout a garden center, so Selecta One’s idea caught my eye. They took the park theme and ran with it. Dahlias surrounded the fountain in the park, Uno and Neo calibrachoas can be seen in the background on swings and Trixi combinations were featured on a moving merry-go-round.
Stay Indoors
Ball Ingenuity
We saw a huge focus on indoor blooms from Ball Ingenuity, whether indoor Hydrangea macrophylla or these lesser known Betulia bowls. Shown is begonia ‘Betulia Candy Pink’, which thrives in the shade of the indoors. Bright Pink, Light Pink and Red are three additional colors in the series.
Videos
