More than halfway through the California Spring Trials, the Greenhouse Grower team had a busy, four-stop day, visiting American Takii, Sakata Ornamentals, Speedling Inc., and Benary. We had a fantastic day seeing dozens of our friends and spending time talking about the industry’s past and its bright future. That’s what we love about coming out to California Spring Trials: In addition to the beautiful plants, we get to see our industry colleagues and friends, and get refreshed, reinvigorated, and re-energized to continue working hard to bring you the best possible, compelling coverage that we pride ourselves on at Greenhouse Grower.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: SunPatiens have been simplified into two growth categories - Compact and Vigorous, and the Spreading types have been incorporated into each. @FlowersBySakata has a few new colors in this garden favorite for 2019.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: CaliPetite calibrachoas are tiny, so if you grow them, don’t expect them to fill out beast-size containers. @FlowersBySakata illustrated this with a retail ready display showing the finish size in small containers where they belong.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Younger consumers like Millennials want to refresh planters and colors throughout the year, according to consumer research by Home Garden Panel. A good way to do this is with drop-in combination planters into medium pots like these from Summit Plastics.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Because the average consumer attention span is now only 8 seconds and visuals are processed 60k times faster than text, @MasterTagNews showcased these new tags @FlowersBySakata to show how growers can grab attention.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Profusion zinnias have been All-America Selections (AAS) several times over. @FlowersBySakata featured all of its AAS winners in this attractive display.
@Laura_GG_Editor: According to @PhilipsHorti lighting, here’s the difference between lighting with LEDs (left), high pressure sodium (middle), and the California sun (right). LEDs help with height control.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: For growers who use plant growth regulators, be aware that Paczol is now called Pac-O due to a change in formulators. OHP was talking PGRs and herbicides @AmericanTakii.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Bikes were everywhere at CAST, but bikes are common for flower people, with many of our origins in bike-friendly countries like The Netherlands. Check out these pretty bike-flower display ideas from @AmericanTakii.
@Laura_GG_Editor: American Takii is the king of sunflowers, and as such, is working with the @vangoghmuseum to provide sunflowers when it opens it’s museum in Kyoto, Japan.
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@Janeen_GG: Thompson & Morgan teamed up with Dorset Tea to give out free packets of its sunflower seeds. Consumers can do a buy-one-get-one free and get ten packets of seeds. It’s a win-win for both companies.
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@Janeen_GG: Thompson & Morgan’s garden kits come with everything needed to get seeds started. What a fun gift for beginning gardeners or kids.
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@Janeen_GG: Flower fragrance is making a comeback. It’s about time. We’re seeing it in roses, petunias, and dianthus. I think this marketing idea from @hilverdakooijbv for fragrant dianthus is brilliant.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Plant Source International is a domestic cuttings producer that grows Westflowers’ Crazytunias and Chameleons calibrachoa, Danziger varieties, and a number of other breeders varieties, as well as generics.
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@Janeen_GG: Happy 175th anniversary to Benary! The best part of the day today was a walk through its history. What an accomplishment.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: The unification of East and West Germany and destruction of the Berlin Wall was a big deal and turning point for Benary, which was originally located in East Germany.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Did you know, Benary’s Managing Director Matthias Redlefsen got involved in the business because his wife, Claudia, is a descendant of Fritz Benary and owns the company? Redlefsen values the family company and is leading it into the future with fresh ideas.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Ernst Benary & Co. celebrates 175 years in breeding at CAST. In World War II, the Benary family sent nine sons off to war, and only two returned. One of those was Fritz Benary, who biked through Germany collecting seed to restart the company after it was devastated in the war.
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@Janeen_GG: In 1912, Benary was shipping seed on the Titanic when it went down. Talk about a shipping problem!
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Benary launched Benary Plus in 2017, in cooperation with German breeder Volmary, and now offers more than 500 vegetative varieties exclusively through its own sales network. A year in, Managing Director Matthias Redlefsen says the market has adapted and it’s going well.
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@Laura_GG_Editor: Our team had a great late afternoon tour learning about Benary’s 175 years in breeding at California Spring Trials, and spent some quality time with our friends Matthias Redlefsen, Jen Calhoun, Matt Mart, and Snow Maestas. We enjoyed it greatly!
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@Janeen_GG: We rounded out the day with some stimulating conversation about the future of the industry with Matthias Redlefsen and Jen Calhoun of Benary.
As always, we will have more comprehensive coverage in the trials in our upcoming June print issue, and online at GreenhouseGrower.com. We’ll highlight a number of things, from new varieties to trends we’re seeing, and more in-depth industry news and discussions.
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Meanwhile, let us know what you think of our coverage this week so far, and what you’re seeing that you really like! We would love to hear your feedback. Comment below, send us an email at [email protected] or [email protected], or send us a Tweet @Laura_GG_Editor or @Janeen_GG.
015At CAST 2018, Sakata Captures Consumer Attention Spans, and Benary Celebrates Its History
April 18, 2018 
