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2022 California Spring Trials: Top Ten Plants from Ball Horticultural

Janeen Wright By Janeen Wright|April 2, 2022

Ball Horticultural is always a great stop along the California Spring Trials (CAST) trail filled with beautiful plants, good people, and plenty of new varieties to consider growing for the 2023 retail season. This year Ball didn’t disappoint. Greenhouses filled with colorful plants from Ball Ingenuity, Selecta, Burpee, and Ball FloraPlant were a riot of color. Outside, Darwin Perennials and Kieft Seed displays beckoned you to immerse yourself in the world of perennials.

It was difficult, but our team of Greenhouse Grower Editor Janeen Wright, Contributing Editor Allan Armitage, and Robin Siktberg narrowed the long list of plants we liked down to our top ten favorites. You will want to download Ball’s CAST mobile app on Google Play or the Apple AppStore to see the full range of new plant introductions Ball Horticultural has to offer.

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  1. Interspecific Solarscape Impatiens (PanAmerican Seed)
    The first thing you notice about Solarscape impatiens is their vibrant color. The next thing you notice is their mega-size blooms. Solarscape is the first interspecific impatiens series from seed that offers growers the flexibility of an input that is available year-round. Colors in the series include Magenta Bliss (pictured), Neon Purple (available through Ball Seed, once sold out it is gone), Orange Burst, and White Shimmer.
  2. Spreading Hula Begonias (PanAmerican Seed)
    Hula is a unique type of spreading begonia with a trailing habit that is perfect for baskets and containers. It’s a good choice for landscapers, too, with the masses of flowers it produces that show on the top. The series is daylength neutral and one of the earliest interspecific begonias to flower, with timing similar to BabyWing. The series includes three colors and one bicolor: Blush, Pink, Red (pictured), and Bicolor Red White.
  3. Snapdragon ‘Maryland Rose’ and ‘Maryland Dark Orange (pictured)’ (BloomStudios)
    These snapdragons are not a new introduction for this year, but they were the first thing that caught our eye as we entered the Ball site. Rose is best for short days, moderate light levels, and temperatures of 50⁰F to 55⁰F. Dark Orange has a vase life of seven to 10 days.
  4. Delphinium ‘Red Lark’ (Darwin Perennials)
    It was hard to miss ‘Red Lark’s’ standout coral-red color. ‘Red Lark’ is a first-year flowering perennial that is a breakthrough in hybridization. The Zone 5 variety is a sterile hybrid that will not reseed and should be considered short-lived, one to two years, in the garden.
  5. Petunia ‘Headliner Strawberry Sky’ (Selecta)
    Strawberry Sky is a new addition to this medium-vigor, mounded series that flowers early for a fast finish. Blackberry Vein, Light Pink Sky, and Pink Sky 23 (upgraded version) join the series this year in addition to Pink Sky.
  6. Glimmer Double Impatiens (Ball FloraPlant)
    Glimmer is a new double impatiens series with beautiful rose-like blooms. It is highly resistant to Plasmopara destructor (the rename of obducens), the cause of Impatiens downy mildew. Colors include: Appleblossom (pictured), Bright Red, Burgundy, Dark Red, Hot Pink, Salmon, and White.
  7. Verbena ‘Lascar Orange Lava’ (Selecta)
    Orange Lava has that wow type of color that is so unique in verbena it will turn heads. Slightly less vigorous than other Lascar verbena, Orange Lava’s medium-vigor, mounded-trailing habit is excellent habit for combinations and the landscape. Other new additions to the Lascar series include Blue+White and Purple+White.
  8. Cyclamen ‘Smartiz Rose Bengal’ (Ch. Morel)
    Smartiz cyclamen are tolerant of extreme heat conditions. They are the perfect minis for summer and fall flowering with their high-density performance and long-lasting colors. ‘Smartiz Bordeaux’ is a second color option in the series.
  9. Osteospermum ‘Zion Pink Sun’ (Selecta)
    This unique bicolor transitions from yellow to pink to blue. It is compact and easy to grow without PGRs. The Zion collection was inspired by the colors of Zion National Park and is available as a callused cuttings.
  10. Canna ‘Cannova Red Golden Flame’ (Ball Ingenuity)
    Cannova is the first seed canna that is easy to grow in this heat-tolerant class. They work well in 4-inch pots to 2 gallons and are ideal for cart programs. Red Golden Flame has an incredibly unique bloom color that is saturated red with bright-yellow edging.

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Janeen Wright is former Editor for Greenhouse Grower. See all author stories here.