The Plants That Got Us Here
July 24, 2008 
I have recently been listening to some interesting comments from growers, marketers and retailers. Everyone agrees that breeding, selecting, evaluating and finally introducing a cultivar take extraordinary time, talent and money. However, we all seem to have accepted the concept, whether true or not, that people don’t know anything about–nor care to know anything about–cultivars.
We have accepted the word of marketers that gardening has become less popular because it is perceived as work, whereas landscaping is popular because someone else can do it for us.
We have learned that we not are selling plants but selling a lifestyle, but we can’t define what lifestyle means.
No wonder we are confused.
Although those maxims may be true, I still can’t get away from the fact that new and great plants will always be necessary, even if no one cares but us. My daughters are definitely cultivar-impaired, but lifestyle rich and they depend on us to provide the right plants, since they don’t have a clue. That makes our job of selecting the right cultivar more important than ever.
People are forever asking about the newest and best, and a few old-timers like me can’t help but look at a bed of 30 new and different lantanas, for example, and wonder, “How did they get so good?” In many cases, a single introduction propelled a genus to the spotlight, resulting in dozens of new cultivars and significant improvements for the landscaper/gardener and retailer.
In keeping with the fact that cultivars don’t just improve on their own, I have thought a good deal about those “plants that made a difference.”
Here are my choices for my 10 most significant annuals and perennials in our business. Most of them could be defined as “the plants that got us here,” and therefore tend to be more historic in perspective.
Over many glasses of fine wine, I came up with these lists knowing that:
–Many of these are “historic” and in fact may not be as popular as they once were.
–These are my personal choices, and not backed by sales figures or panels of experts.
–People will disagree.
Armitage’s Choices for the Ten Most Significant Annuals
Begonia ‘Dragon Wing.’ What a terrific plant! It allowed us to finally see the importance of this huge genus, and was the catapult for all non-wax begonias. It worked everywhere and is still immensely popular. ‘Dragon Wing’ helped the market accept rex type begonias and wonderful new introductions like ‘Bonfire.’
Calibrachoa Million Bells/Lirica Showers. These two series were the earliest in the legions of calibrachoas that have since appeared. People still use Million Bells as the common name for the genus. Even though they were not without problems, they opened the floodgates.
In our trials this year, we have over 50 new cultivars, none of them were even on the market two years ago.
Coleus Sunlover series. Introduced modestly over 10 years ago, this was the first series of coleus to exhibit full sun tolerance everywhere in the country. Although they were soon eclipsed by the Solar series and then dozens more, they helped the concept of sun-coleus grow. Of the original seven in the Sunlover series, a few such as ‘Rustic Orange’ and ‘Red Ruffles’ are still popular. The surge in the popularity of sun-loving coleus has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost.’ A plant that appeared out of the blue about five years ago, it has proven to be so good in so many parts of the country that it must be on this list. I notice that other selections from ‘Diamond Frost’ are in our trials this year, so perhaps it will also be a trailblazer for other cultivars. But even as a stand-alone, it deserves all the accolades it has received. It is one of the top five plants in the last five years.
Impatiens Super Elfin series. I am sure to get in trouble with impatiens breeders for selecting this one instead of some other series, but its continuous refinement and longstanding excellence have put it on this list. Many other series are also distinctive and have been for many years, but this series is one that will never go away.
Ipomoea ‘Margarita.’ The introduction of the ornamental sweet potato is another example of this industry’s acceptance of new things. Who would have believed that a vegetable could be so popular? It is everywhere! This year we have at least a half dozen handsome new sweet potatoes in trial. ‘Margarita,’ however, is still the leader.
Lantana ‘New Gold.’ This selection came to prominence during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, when it was used as the “pathway of gold” between Atlanta and Athens. People saw, they marveled and then went to the greenhouse and bred more compact lantanas. The old-fashioned southern plant is now a mainstay all over the country, embracing almost every color under the sun.
Pennisetum rubrum. The movement to containers required “thrillers”–plants that grow vertically–to complement the “fillers” and “spillers” that authors like Kerstin Ouellet (“Contain Yourself–101 Fresh Ideas for Fantastic Container Gardens”) so wonderfully taught us about. This is simply a plant that worked, and its success resulted in other “thrillers” being introduced, and other pennisetum grasses hitting the market.
Petunia ‘Purple Wave.’ What other honors can be bestowed on this plant that haven’t been already? Its introduction breathed new life into a stalling petunia market, and opened the eyes of everyone who was tiring of “one more petunia.” I have seen this plant and all its relatives used in beds, containers, baskets and mosaiculture from Peoria to Perth. The Wave name is almost a noun today (“I put Waves in my garden”). ‘Purple Wave’ is not the leader it once was, but anyone who is successful with petunias today was aided by the introduction of this plant.
Verbena ‘Homestead Purple.’ A plant that came out of nowhere is still one of the best selling plants of all time. When it was introduced in the early ’90s, the verbena market was struggling, but it came along just as forward-looking growers were searching for new annuals. It performed perfectly everywhere. Since its success, at least a hundred new verbenas have been introduced, many with outstanding colors and outstanding habits. And finally, a bona fide new verbena in the Homestead family, ‘Homestead Red,’ was introduced in 2008.
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