Kick Spring Sales Up A Notch With 20 New Plant Introductions For 2017
It’s time to look forward to the spring season and what plants will get you off to the right start. These new cultivars have all the traits of good breeding — uniform habits, bold colors, showy blooms, good vigor, and excellent branching. And while a pop of color is nice in spring, it’s even better when it lasts through the summer. Among these new intros are several good options for the cross-season color that consumers love. Check out these 20 potential candidates for your greenhouse from the introductions for 2017.
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Bacopa MegaCopa Series (Ball FloraPlant)
New MegaCopa has superior heat performance. In summer trials, MegaCopa’s habit stayed controlled, and its early-season color held up all the way through the Texas summer heat. It is well branched with large flowers, and offers better center-fill with showy blooms that cover the plant. The MegaCopa series is available in five colors.
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Angelonia ‘Archangel Cherry Red’ (Ball FloraPlant)
Cherry Red is the first red angelonia — a huge color breakthrough in the class. Archangel has large-size blooms on upright stems. All colors in the series are perfectly timed together and uniform in habit. The series is a combo-friendly, heat-tolerant choice to extend your season and celebrate the summer. Cherry Red offers the darkest red in high light and cool temperatures, with a more watermelon tone in the greenhouse or diffused light. ‘Archangel Cherry Red’ received an Honorable Mention for breeding in Greenhouse Grower’s Medal of Excellence program.
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Begonia ‘Unbelievable Tweetie Pie’ (Dümmen Orange)
A new addition to the interspecific series of Unbelievable begonias, ‘Unbelievable Tweetie Pie’ from Dümmen Orange displays extra-large, bright-lemon flowers set off by dark foliage. It is extremely heat tolerant with a long bloom season. This variety performs well in both sun and shade. An excellent branching habit means it is incredibly floriferous and remarkably durable during shipping.
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Begonia MegaWatt Series (PanAmerican Seed)
Striking, non-stop flowers keep plants covered in huge color all through the summer. Pink Bronze Leaf delivers a color unique to this type of begonia. Sturdy flower stems hold flowers above the foliage. MegaWatt are beautiful plants with lush foliage, perfect for landscapes, baskets, big tubs, and borders. They perform well in heat and drought with no deadheading needed. The MegaWatt Series received an Honorable Mention for breeding in Greenhouse Grower’s Medal of Excellence program.
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Calliope Medium Geranium (Syngenta Flowers)
The new Calliope Medium geranium series has a controlled habit suitable for quarts, two-gallon containers, and hanging baskets. This more compact series offers the same reliable performance, great vigor, and tough heat tolerance as the larger Calliope geraniums. It is available in Scarlet, Pink Flame, and Dark Red. The Calliope Medicum Geranium series was one of the Industry’s Choice nominees for Greenhouse Grower’s Medal of Excellence program.
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Celosia ‘Twisted Orange’ (Ball Ingenuity)
Twisted is a one-of-a-kind celosia that is sure to get second and third looks. Large cristata-type flowers are easy to grow with tons of bold color. Twisted has the same retail appeal as Intenz celosia classic; it can be grown similarly, making it an easy add on. Twisted works for spring, fall, or pot plant programs.
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Confetti Garden Dancing Jeans Combo (Dümmen Orange)
Dümmen Orange is introducing a new Confetti Garden from Dümmen Orange featuring ‘Potunia Plus Denim’ and ‘Potunia Blueberry Muffin.’ Dancing Jeans is sure to have eye-catching impact at retail and in the garden. Handpicked ingredients showcase prominent shades of purple with accenting white atop large rounded plants perfect for containers, baskets, or the landscape.
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Gerbera Majorette Series (Sakata Ornamentals)
The Majorette Gerbera series has unparelleled uniformity, flower power, and controlled plant growth. The series features seven colors, including White and one bicolor and is ideal for quarts and larger containers with multiple plants. Majorette Gerbera varieties are offered as Slick Coat seed for streamlined sowing and singulation.
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Gomphrena Ping Pong Series (Sakata Ornamentals)
The drought-tolerant Gomphrena Ping Pong series works wonderfully in combos, especially with zinnias, providing a strong infusion of bright color. It comes in three new colors and works well in mass plantings.
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Interspecific Impatiens ‘Bounce Bright Coral’ (Selecta)
Bright Coral is an important bold color for the Bounce series of interspecific impatiens. It features higher-end vigor similar to ‘Bounce Cherry.’ Bounce is an exciting new shade alternative that offers the habit and flower count of Impatiens walleriana, but it’s resistant to downy mildew and thrives in sun and shade. Even better, the well-branched plants bounce back like magic after wilt.
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New Guinea Impatiens ‘SunStanding Orange Aurora’ (Dümmen Orange)
Bred by Dümmen Orange for sun tolerance, ‘SunStanding Orange Aurora’ is a hybrid New Guinea Impatiens that adds a burst of liveliness with a tropical feel. Sporting bright, flame-orange flowers over glossy green and bronze foliage, these New Guineas are both striking and sturdy, thriving in most garden conditions.
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Lavandula stoechas ‘The Princess’ (Plants Nouveau)
‘The Princess’ was bred in Australia and has blooms in the most intense shade of pink found on the market. Plants are early flowering and have a beautifully pungent lavender fragrance. Selected for the intense flower color and long season of bloom, this new plant is compact, neat, and covered in flowers. The highly aromatic gray foliage is the perfect foil for the perfectly pink blossoms. Plant it in the garden, in pots, or use as a hedge, and it will not disappoint.
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Mandevilla ‘Sun Parasol Apricot’ (Suntory Flowers)
‘Sun Parasol Apricot’ matches the Sun Parasol Giant mandevilla series with blooms spanning 3½ to 4½ inches. It is ideal for trellises in larger pots and is a fast grower with excellent branching. Apricot’s trailing habit is also beautiful in hanging baskets.
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Petunia ColorRush Series (Ball FloraPlant)
A new vegetative petunia series with big vigor and even bigger garden performance, ColorRush provides huge mounds of color and holds up in the heat and rain. It is ideal for 12-inch and larger containers and baskets, as well as landscapes. The series includes a range of bright, eye-catching colors and novelties. They are nicely matched in habit, making production planning easier.
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Petunia ‘Easy Wave Yellow’ (Wave)
New ‘Easy Wave Yellow’ has better branching with strong rooting compared to vegetative yellow varieties. The Easy Wave series offers the widest array of decorator colors. They’re perfect for solo and mixed planters, hanging baskets, and landscapes. Best of all, these spreading petunias deliver customer-pleasing performance all summer.
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Petunia ‘Good and Plenty Bubbilicious’ (Green Fuse Botanicals)
Bubbilicious features a bright-pink flower, creating a beautiful stand-alone container or dynamic mixed-garden planting. The Good and Plenty line is early to flower with a mounded habit. This versatile series can be finished in 4-inch containers to 13-inch hanging baskets. Its finish height is 4 to 6 inches.
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Petunia ‘Night Sky’ (Selecta)
‘Night Sky’ boldly goes where no petunia has gone before, with a never-seen-before bloom pattern. It matches the Headliner series in habit, timing, and vigor. ‘Night Sky’ is a great addition to 4-inch pot to 12-inch basket programs. It has distinctive blooms — no two flowers are the same. The constellation-like speckling on a rich-purple backdrop offers a unique look for gardeners. Petunia ‘Night Sky’ is Greenhouse Grower’s 2016 Reader’s Choice winner and was an Editor’s Choice nominee for the Medal of Excellence breeding awards.
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Petunia ‘Surfinia Heartbeat’ (Suntory Flowers)
‘Surfinia Heartbeat’ is an adorable novelty with white flowers that have a pattern of pink hearts. The hearts grow with love, care, and adequate fertilizer. Plants have a compact mounding and trailing habit. They are charming in hanging baskets, containers, and window boxes. Consider them for Mother’s Day promotions.
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Salvia greggii ‘Mirage Hot Pink’ (Green Leaf Plants)
A striking pink, ‘Mirage Hot Pink’ is one in a series of Salvia greggii that features large flowers and bold colors in burgundy-pink shades. Its habit is mounding and stems resist breakage, making pots easier to ship and easier to display. Bred by Darwin Perennials, ‘Mirage Hot Pink’ is sun loving and hardy in Zones 7 to 9.
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Salvia splendens ‘Grandstand Red Lipstick Pink’ (Green Fuse Botanicals)
Grandstands are magnets for nectar-loving birds, bees, and butterflies. They grow into stately and full plants that remain in flower from early spring until autumn’s frost. The new addition for 2016, Red Lipstick Pink, has an exciting red and pink bicolor flower. Its finish height is 18 to 24 inches.
View all
Bacopa MegaCopa Series (Ball FloraPlant)
Angelonia ‘Archangel Cherry Red’ (Ball FloraPlant)
Begonia ‘Unbelievable Tweetie Pie’ (Dümmen Orange)
Begonia MegaWatt Series (PanAmerican Seed)
Calliope Medium Geranium (Syngenta Flowers)
Celosia ‘Twisted Orange’ (Ball Ingenuity)
Confetti Garden Dancing Jeans Combo (Dümmen Orange)
Gerbera Majorette Series (Sakata Ornamentals)
Gomphrena Ping Pong Series (Sakata Ornamentals)
Interspecific Impatiens ‘Bounce Bright Coral’ (Selecta)
New Guinea Impatiens ‘SunStanding Orange Aurora’ (Dümmen Orange)
Lavandula stoechas ‘The Princess’ (Plants Nouveau)
Mandevilla ‘Sun Parasol Apricot’ (Suntory Flowers)
Petunia ColorRush Series (Ball FloraPlant)
Petunia ‘Easy Wave Yellow’ (Wave)
Petunia ‘Good and Plenty Bubbilicious’ (Green Fuse Botanicals)
Petunia ‘Night Sky’ (Selecta)
Petunia ‘Surfinia Heartbeat’ (Suntory Flowers)
Salvia greggii ‘Mirage Hot Pink’ (Green Leaf Plants)
Salvia splendens ‘Grandstand Red Lipstick Pink’ (Green Fuse Botanicals)
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Janeen Wright is former Editor for Greenhouse Grower. . See all author stories here.