Six Consumer Trends and Plants That Are Made for Them
July 27, 2021 Cutting-produced or vegetative annuals are commonly used in greenhouse production and remain true to type while often finishing quicker and flowering sooner than their seed-grown counterparts. It must be noted, though, that the comparison between vegetative and seed material isn’t always straightforward and each one has their place depending on the result you want to achieve. However, if vegetative annuals are what you are after, here are a few products to consider that are a good fit for popular consumer trends.
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The Environmentally Conscious Consumer
These consumers put the planet first. They lean toward eco-friendly, low-maintenance plants that save water and conserve the soil. They’re mindful of fertilizer use and not always hip on plastic pots. They’re friendly toward eco-products that hold a purpose and offer sustainability.
- Native to the U.S., heliopsis is a perennial with a wide range of heat and cold tolerance. Two good variety choices from Kientzler are ‘Punto Rosso’ and ‘Sol D Oro’.
The Houseplant Aficionado
This consumer has become a passionate collector of sorts, often on the hunt for plants they’ve seen on social media or at a friend’s house. The highly sought-after fiddle-leaf fig is a good case in point. In addition to the aesthetic appeal of bringing nature indoors, enthusiasts also love houseplants for their physical and mental benefits.
- Sterling Silver Scindapsus (Scindapsus treubii ‘Moonlight’) from Costa Farms’ Trending Tropicals Collection is a hard-to-find climbing aroid that is adored and highly sought after by houseplant collectors for its heart-shaped leaves flushed with silver for a lovely shimmery effect.
- The new Dahlia Dahlita Series (Selecta) includes bright solid colors and interesting bicoloreds. Plants have an abundance of small, long-lasting blooms and can be sold as early as Valentine’s Day.
The Tropical Trendsetter
If they can’t go to the tropics, these consumers will bring the tropics to them with plants that give their patios and landscapes a lush, exotic feel. It’s not only the plants with vibrant blooms that excite this consumer, it’s also those plants with unique and oversized foliage.
- Aglaonema ‘Ultra Pink’ (Costa Farms Trending Tropicals Collection) is one of those plants consumers practically can’t kill. It grows in virtually every home or office, adding a bold stroke of color, and a lot of year-round beauty.
- Crossandra ‘Orange Marmalade’ (Kientzler) has showy orange blooms. Plants thrive in heat and indirect to direct light.
- Ball Ingenuity is offering four new Rex Begonia series for retail sales in 2022. Jurassic Dino has a compact habit for 4- to 6-inch pots. Jurassic Jr. has 40% smaller leaves than Jurassic for less breakage. Jurassic Megalo works well for 10-inch pots and larger.
The Pollinator Advocate
Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, and other pollinators are welcomed to this consumer’s garden. The plants they desire are the ones that welcome pollinators with open arms and invite them to stay a while.
- Helianthus ‘Suncatcher’ (Kientzler) is a Zone 5 perennial that produces color in the summer heat and in to fall.
- Lantana Shamrock (Ball FloraPlant) is a new, medium-vigor lantana series that works great in a wide-range of pot sizes — from quarts to hanging baskets. The series is uniform across all four colors, and the plants are well-branched with a mounded habit.
- Hummingbirds love Petunia ‘Crazytunia Mandeville’ (Westhoff) and it loves the heat. Large trumpet-shaped flowers and unique coloration combine to create an easy-care focal point with great weather resistance.
The Container Creator
Designing the perfect container or buying the perfect combo appeals to this consumer, who strives for the perfect balance of thriller, spillers, and fillers. They’re big on plants with color, texture, and interest for their dramatic appeal.
- Cyperus ‘Cleopatra’ (Kientzler) is a good focal point plant for containers, especially when mixed with other heat-loving plants.
- Woodland Combo Frosted Morning (Kientzler) offers a full foliage look for four seasons of color. It’s hardy and works from early spring into fall.
- Coleus ‘Monkey Puzzle’ (Terra Nova Nurseries) works well for containers, hanging baskets, and combo pots with its rounded, spreading habit.
- If you’re looking for a dramatic touch in containers, Centaurea ‘FanciFillers Chrome Fountain’ (Westhoff) is a good choice with its silvery-white foliage. It’s a heat-loving, drought tolerant thriller that is perfect for summer combos as a mounding component.
- Coleus ‘Spitfire’ (Ball FloraPlant) is a micro-coleus that shows off stunning colors and patterns. It can be used in full sun or shade. It’s a versatile, premium variety that is late- to never-flowering, while offering consumers a low-maintenance, high-impact plant. It holds its colors very well in vibrant pink and lime green.
- Petunia ‘Headliner Enchanted Sky’ (Selecta) features both a hazy white star and sky pattern backed in a cheery pink flower color. The Headliner series is known for its mounded, medium vigor habit that works well for impactful hanging baskets and mixes.
- Calibrachoa ‘Bumble Bee Hot Pink’ (Ball FloraPlant) joins the collection with large-size flowers. It stands out with a vibrant yellow throat and dramatic hot pink hue.
- The new Mixmaster combo, Great Escape, features some of the latest introductions from Ball FloraPlant, including Calibrachoa ‘Cha-Cha Diva Hot Pink,’ award-winning Petunia ‘Bee’s Knees’, and Verbena ‘Firehouse Burgundy’.
- Pairing the success of SunPatiens with the new introductions of our Angelissa angelonia and SunDance lantana series from Sakata Ornamentals, the combination of flower texture and form, complementary plant habit and exceptional heat tolerance provides experienced and novice gardeners alike with beautiful container displays that are easy to grow and last throughout the long hot summer.
The Carefree Gardener
Fuss-free, fool-proof, and low-maintenance are the operative words for this consumer. They’re busy and want the showstopping garden look without the work.
- Coleus ‘Nova Roly Poly’ (Terra Nova Nurseries) produces a round mound of teardrop-shaped leaves with red centers and lime-green edges. It’s a symmetrical, vigorous, easy-care selection for containers, hanging baskets, summer borders, and mass plantings.
- Verbena ‘Beats’ (Selecta) has a naturally compact-spreading habit. It is durable for shipping to retail and flowers two weeks earlier than other verbenas. Beats is also tolerant to heat, cycling, and water stress, and production is easy with no pinch and no plant growth regulators.
- Petunia ‘Headliner Enchanted Sky’ (Selecta) features both a hazy white star and sky pattern backed in a cheery pink flower color. The Headliner series is known for its mounded, medium vigor habit that works well for impactful hanging baskets and mixes.
- The unique color array offered by SuperCal (Sakata Ornamentals), combined with exceptional cold tolerance (for early spring sales), disease resistance, and heat/rain tolerance provide long lasting customer satisfaction for gardeners from Montreal, Canada to Houston, TX.
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