The end of the month - April 30 - sees the European pack trials get underway in the Netherlands and Germany, while here in the UK S&G is repeating its Summer Festival in June. Held annually, these inspirational ornamental trials provide growers with a great opportunity to assess the latest innovations and future trends with many of the world’s leading ornamental breeding companies.
In the Netherlands the pack trial sites are clustered into two groups. Several breeding companies hold trials within easy striking distance of Amsterdam, while a two-hour drive north sees a second cluster of trials around Enkhuizen, a town with its own airport and flights to Stansted.
South of Amsterdam
A short distance south of Schiphol airport, UK breeder Floranova is holding extensive trials at Jong Plant International, Sotaweg 8, at Roelofarendsveen. Highlights include Babybella, their most recent Nicotiana innovation. With impressive disease tolerance and outstanding garden performance, Babybella is an excellent landscaping choice. Large, deep red flowers give maximum impact.
Bounty is a fragrant addition to Floranova’s F1 Wallflower range. A prolific early flowering variety with good plant vigour, it is promoted as an excellent companion to pansy and viola for early spring sales.
A short drive away, the largescale PanAmerican Seed and Ball FloraPlant’s pack trials are at Aalsmeerderweg 943, Rijsenhout.
Petunia Shock Wave is the latest addition to the wildly successful Ride the Wave family adding a whole new dimension in seed Petunias. The full plants are blanketed with masses of small, high-impact flowers. Low maintenance, these self-cleaning plants apparently stay flower-filled all season and claim to be the earliest and have the tightest flowering window of any spreading petunia on the market.
Another breeding breakthrough is PanAmerican’s new Myosotis, Mon Amie Blue, which needs no vernalisation. Effectively growers can market the crops three to six months earlier. With dainty blue blooms, Mon Amie Blue has a ‘country garden’ feel and is a new addition to PanAmerican Seed’s ‘Pansy Pals’ collection.
The Fantastic Foliage series has a rich new colourful addition - Alternanthera ‘Royal Tapestry’. Trailing foliage on deep burgundy stems, it varies from red, copper, purple to burgundy depending on the season and garden environment. Adding texture and colour to mixed containers, or rich coverage for garden or landscape use, these full, mounded plants are also suited to trail over baskets or containers.
A breeding company renowned for its violas and perennials, Sahin’s trials are a short drive south at Oostkanaalweg 3d, Alphen aan den Rijn. This year sees the launch of new colours in the exceptional Floral Power viola series. Two to three weeks earlier than other series, these violas produce a mass of flowers over a long period. Don’t miss the recent addition Floral Power Orange Red Wing, which is a Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner. Other highlights include White Rose Wing. Additions to Sahin’s instant perennials include a new Penstemon heterifolium, and a new hardy Diascia from seed.
Takii Europe’s trials are nearby at Hoofdweg 19, De Kwakel. Highlights include the new trialing Petunia Opera Supreme. Low and spreading, Opera displays good day length neutrality. Look out for Opera Pink Morn, the first bicolour in seed raised trailing petunia, it is an AAS Winner 2007.
Takii’s hybrid ‘Aurora’ Delphinium are noted for their vigour, dense flower spikes on strong stems, excellent uniformity and quality. New additions this year include white and light purple.
The popular Gem viola Sapphire series, which includes the famous Antique colours, sees a new addition - Sapphire Blue with blotch, it has small flowers and a compact growing habit.
North Holland
Bodger Seeds is one of several companies holding trials later this month in the North of Holland. The Bodger pack trials are at Aalsmeerderdijk 438, 1436 BL Aalsmeerderbrug.
Goldsmith Seeds is showcasing ten news series at its trials at Cornelis Kuinweg 28a, Andijk, including a new Verbena series, Tuscany. A new naturally compact series, plants are well branched and bushy. As growers have come to expect, across the series all colors have similar germination, timing and habit.
Primula Orion is a new Goldsmith series of mid-season Primula acaulis. Available in nine individual colours, or as a striking and colourful mix, this series is characterised by high seed quality, compactness and tight flowering window.
A short drive away is the Hem Genetics pack trial, in the village of Hem, while Kieft Seeds Holland’s trial is close by at Elbaweg 35, at Venhuizen. Highlights of this trial include the hybrid Isotoma hybrida Tristar. All three colours - deep blue, pink and white - are equally early and with similar uniformity produce crisp and healthy foliage.
Kieft’s unique new compact annual Monarda hybrida - Bergamo has intense rose-purple flowers and provides a long-lasting colour display in the garden. Considerably earlier flowering than other Monardas, it apparently has strong mildew- and heat tolerance.
Other highlights include two new Frizzle Sizzle violas. With 100 percent ruffled flower-shape, burgundy and blue swirl are suitable for pots as well as flower beds. Displaying hybrid earliness and uniformity, these eye catching violas are compact with well branched habit.
UK
S&G Flowers will be holding a Summer Festival at its head office in Halsall, Lancashire from June 18-24. New introductions for 2008 include the uniquely coloured Ageratum Artist Alto Delft. With a strong habit it apparently retains a bushy appearance. Non-seed setting, it produces an abundance of flowers and is both self-cleaning and has improved shelf life.
A new introduction to S&G’s Osteospermum Jamboana series is Lemon Spoon. With a naturally compact habit it has excellent flowering performance throughout the summer.
Germany
Last and not least, this year’s Ernest Benary trials are being held from April 27 to May 4 at the company’s headquarters at Hann Münden, in Germany.
Described as the queen of the garden, Benary’s newest addition to its Salvia program, Fairy Queen, has dense sapphire blue flower spikes and a small white spot on each creating the illusion of fairy dust. Like its partner varieties Victoria Blue, Silver, Reference and Evolution, Fairy Queen is apparently an excellent garden performer. Fairy Queen is a Fleuroselect gold medal winner.
Fragrant and free flowering, Benary’s new Lavender Vicenza is native to the Mediterranean region and is heat and drought tolerant. Flowering the first year from seed without vernalisation, Vicenza is a summer long performer.
Benary’s highly acclaimed ‘Nonstop Mocca begonia series has a new addition, Mocca Pink Shades. An attractive contrast to its dark chocolate foliage, like other colours in the series it has 10cm fully double flowers and compliments the existing colours within the series.
No comments yet