New Varieties Abound 



DAVID GIURLEO 



An abundance of new vegetative plant material 

 for the upcoming season was introduced this 

 spring at the California Pack Trials. Some of 

 the exceptional varieties seen during our tour are high- 

 lighted below. 



Cascadia petunias, distributed by the Paul Ecke 

 Ranch as part of the Flower Fields Collection, include 

 some colors not available in other trailing vegetative 

 petunia series. Red and yellow-with-eye are two 

 standouts along with the white, which was recently 

 picked as the top performer this summer at the petu- 

 nia bedding trials at the University of Maine. 



Vegetative double petunias are available this season 

 in the Flower Fields program as well. The Doubloon 

 series feature variegated flower colors and are available 

 in blue, pink, and red. Those in the Marco Polo series 

 have more traditional flower colors and are also avail- 

 able as pink and blue. Both series are a week to ten 

 days later to flower than traditional "supertunia" or 

 "wave" petunias. 



The Duet series of vegetative portulaca is a com- 

 panion series to the popular Yubi family. Available 

 colors include rose and yellow; the Duets have a bi- 

 color flower pattern that is quite striking. Growers 

 who have had success with Yubis should do well with 

 Duets. 



The Proven Winner family adds several items, in- 

 cluding two new cobbity daisies, a purple-vein 

 surfinia, a blue-and-white nemesia, and a burgundy 

 color to the popular Temari verbena series. The suc- 

 cessful Million Bells calibracoa family adds a trailing 

 white variety for 1999 as well. The Compact inno- 

 cence and Blue Bird nemesia both feature mini-snap- 

 dragon-type flowers and look like excellent combina- 

 tion plants in hangers and window boxes. 



Goldsmith Seeds has introduced a new series of 

 vegetative verbena called Freefalls. Available in four 

 colors, the Freefalls family has delicate, fernlike foliage 

 and makes an excellent groundcover or accent plant in 

 a combination basket. Flower performance and bloom 



period look excellent in the series. Colors include bur- 

 gundy, deep purple, light lavender, and purple. Also, 

 three new Royal Dahlietta varieties have also been 

 added to the miniature dahlia line. 



Ball Floraplant introduced three additions to the 

 Celebration New Guinea impatiens series. Lavender 

 Glow, Electric Rose, and Sangria all offer very large 

 blooms along with vigorous growth habit for hanging 

 baskets and containers. Floraplant also introduced 

 Fantasia geraniums, a companion series to the existing 

 Designer geranium family. Fantasias feature a medium- 

 vigorous growth habit, have a dark green foliage, and 

 are available in six colors. 



Oglevee has added several colors to its Global ivy 

 geranium family. Salmon Pilar, an extremely vigorous 

 upright grower for use as a topiary plant has also been 

 introduced. 



Fischer Geraniums introduced many new zonal and 

 ivy geraniums at the pack trials. Featured ivies in- 

 cluded Taj Mahal, burgundy with a good branching 

 habit, and Mandarin, a bright scarlet-orange. Lambada 

 has also been improved for 1998 with a better habit. 



New zonals from Fischer include companions for 

 the popular Tango geranium. Dark red, violet, and 

 salmon are all new colors in the series, and feature the 

 excellent basal branching and compact growth habit 

 that have made the original Tango so popular in 

 North America and Europe. Other notable introduc- 

 tions included Bravo Lt. Pink, a striking intermediate 

 pink. Fischer will be introducing at least six new zonal 

 and ivy varieties for the year 2000; a trial assortment 

 is available for shipment in 1999 for growers who 

 want a preview. 



And these are just some highlights. Your customers 

 won't lack for choice. 



Growers interested in a obtaining a free set of photo- 

 graphs of new seed and vegetative varieties from this 

 year's California Pack Trials can call David Giurleo at 

 ($o8) 3P3-4S34, or email him at dgiurleo@hallseed.com. 



DECEMBER 1998 JANUARY 1999 



