10 New Fall Ornamental Crop Prospects for 2019
June 22, 2018 With a limited timeframe to sell plants, any crop that pushes sales further into the fall season is a welcome addition to any product line-up. The Greenhouse Grower team spotted several promising new fall crop varieties at California Spring Trials 2018 that should give growers plenty of options and new ideas for late shoulder season sales.
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SuperCal Premium Hybrid Petunia Series (Sakata Seed America)
Sakata Seed America is introducing the next generation of SuperCal to retail in 2019. Look out for the new SuperCal Premium series in five new colors (Bordeaux, Cinnamon, French Vanilla, Sunray Pink, and Caramel Yellow) and two new mixes (Bonfire and Autumn). This unique hybrid-cross of petunia and calibrachoa has larger flowers than SuperCal and offers a unique color palette. Along with great heat and rain tolerance, SuperCal Premium maintains a great flowering display and has strong garden performance.
Helianthus ‘SunBuzz’ (PanAmerican Seed)
Clear, yellow-filled flowers make ‘SunBuzz’ stand out. This compact plant has smaller leaves and lots of secondary flowers, which results in better color performance. The smaller size makes it more manageable and programmable on the bench for growers and more appealing in stores. You can expect to enjoy long-lasting flowers from this cute sunflower, and more bright flowers will keep coming once you remove the main bloom after flowering. ‘SunBuzz’ works for indoor and outdoor use, and needs fewer plant growth regulators (PGRs) than similar varieties. Claire Josephson, Marketing Manager of PanAmerican Seed, says plants will stay shorter during short-day conditions and grow taller under long-day conditions, which is important to consider when using PGRs.
Morgana Mum Family (Ball Ingenuity)
The launch of the Morgana Mum Family offers a true uniform family with identical growth habits and blooming consistency for indoor or outdoor production. Bred by Royal Van Zanten, and offered exclusively through Ball Seed, Morgana Mums have 2-inch, two-toned blooms with dark centers surrounded by lighter outside petals. The Morgana Family comes in five colors (Red, Orange, Purple, Yellow, and White) with a sixth in the pipeline.
Armeria ‘Dreameria Dreamland’ (Darwin Perennials)
Represented by Plants Management Australia, Dreameria Armeria are a break-through in breeding for this genus. Unlike traditional armeria, which only flower in spring and fall, Dreameria flower through the heat of summer and present in the garden like ever-blooming allium. New Dreamland brings an eye-catching, bright coral-pink flower to the series. These plants bulk up well, have a tidy habit great for containers or landscapes, and attract butterflies. Karl Batschke, Global Products Manager for Darwin Perennials, says, “the outstanding heat tolerance of the ‘Dreameria Dreamland’ and season-long flowering positions Dreamland as a wonderful frost-to-frost perennial.”
Geum ‘Tempo Yellow’ (Terra Nova Nurseries)
With blooms starting in early spring, Geum ‘Tempo Yellow’ has loads of dark-edged, primrose-yellow flowers borne on black stems and continues to rebloom after the main flush. After the flowering season, this foliage plant can stand on its own, offering textural contrast with bright-green leaves growing in a dense mound. Pollinators love this variety. It is deer resistant and easy to grow.
Anemone ‘Fall in Love Sweetly’ (Proven Winners)
A new genus for Proven Winners, the vigorous and prolific Japanese Anemone ‘Fall in Love Sweetly’ brings a great option for fall-blooming perennials. The semi-double, rose-pink flowers bloom above a large mound of dark-green foliage, which is sure to catch the eye in any garden. Although many anemone spread rapidly through the landscape, this variety spreads more slowly, making it easy to control. Butterflies love it, while deer and rabbits seem to resist it, allowing it to maintain its beauty throughout the years.
Helianthus ‘SunBelievable Brown-Eyed Girl’ (Thompson & Morgan)
Brown-Eyed Girl is a multi-branching sunflower that stands 30 inches tall and wide with more than 1,000 blooms appearing from June to November. The plant is sterile, so it keeps pushing flowers until frost, with new flowers covering the old quickly as to not detract from the overall appearance. This daylength-neutral plant works well for pots and borders, does not require a complicated plant growth regulator (PGR) regimen, and is super easy to grow. Bees love Brown-Eyed Girl, too. Bred by Thompson and Morgan, this is a Monrovia exclusive introduction in North America.
Cyclamen ‘Tianis Deep Salmon’ (Ch. Morel)
Deep Salmon provides long-lasting, intense salmon-colored blooms on a naturally dense and compact cyclamen. Like the other varieties in this series, Deep Salmon has synchronized flowering, uniform growth, and easy maintenance, even in difficult conditions, that make it suitable for big production. Bred by Morel Diffusion, this Tianis variety has been awarded “OUTstanding Cyclamen,” meaning it’s the best series for outdoor use.
Violas Admire Series (Ernst Benary of America)
With uniform bloom time across the series, Admire violas have bright blooms that do not fade easily and excellent branching allows for tons of color all season long. The four new colors to watch for include Deep Purple Face, Lavender Pink Face, Lemon Purple Wing, and Neon Purple Wing. With early, consistent pack performance, uniform plant habits, and great performance in both fall and spring, these new violas offer a great option for fall color.
Delta Speedy Pansy Series (Syngenta Flowers)
Syngenta new pansy series from seed, Delta Speedy, has reliably fast finish times, even under short-day conditions, for more bench turns. It’s an all-weather crop, good for spring or fall, and stands up to rain. Delta Speedy pansies are great for late fall to winter flowering in the South and West and early spring production in the North.
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