California Spring Trials 2023 Preview: Blue and Purple Plants Bringing the Color
California Spring Trials (CAST) 2023 is right around the corner, taking place March 29-April 2 along the California coast. What can you expect to discover at CAST this year? Over the next past weeks, GreenhouseGrower.com has offered a series of slideshows, video previews, and more.
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Petunia 'Crazytunia Cosmic Violet' (Cohen Propagation Nurseries/Westhoff)
New breeding from the famous crazy colored Petunia line by Westhoff in Germany. A new addition to the bestselling line of Cosmic Pink and Cosmic Purple. Half hanging compact habits, produced from clean certified stock. New for season 2023-2024.
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Ageratum houstonianum 'Kona Blue' (Hem Genetics)
Ageratum houstonianum ‘Kona Blue’ is Hem’s most compact Ageratum, part of its LowGrow line of products that require no plant growth regulators. More compact than the Aloha series, Kona is ideal for pack use and for 4-inch pot production. Good seed production and produces very uniform seedlings for plug trays.
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Alstroemeria 'Inticancha Sunstar' (HilverdaFlorist)
Inticancha is a series of strong patio alstroemeria that is easy to maintain and will flower continuously from spring until autumn. New to this series is ‘Sunstar’: unique purple color, elegant flower shape, large flowers, and a strong bright color. ‘Sunstar’ is tolerant for climates with higher temperatures.
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Aster 'Azumi XL Blue' (Sakata Ornamentals)
Aster ‘Azumi XL Blue’ brings big bold blooms to this brand-new aster series. These extra-large flowers achieve desired plant height with ease and have a high usable plug count with tolerance to fusarium.
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Cyclamen Midi+ Indiaka Mix (Morel Cyclamen)
Distinguished by its unique two-tone color combination, the new Midi+ Indiaka Mix is the blend of four exceptional shades of the series. Plants are early and synchronized for flowering. Ideal for 4- to 6-inch pots with excellent plant shelf life. Indiaka are an excellent outdoor cyclamen variety for balconies and patios, or as indoor for flowering color. Height is 11 to 12 inches and spread is 9 to 10 inches.
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Delta Pro Pansy Series (Syngenta Flowers)
Delta Pro brings the highest levels of programmability and uniformity to a multi-season pansy. Early and extremely uniform flowering, within varieties and across the series, takes the guesswork out of planning and production for spring and fall.
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Ever Flowering Wax Flower (Chamelaucium) (Nir Nursery)
This is a new and innovative line, and is especially suitable for gardening, patio, and big pots/containers. The line allows constant flowering (autumn, winter, spring, summer) of the same plant. This line is available in the colors Pink and Purple. In this line some of the varieties are bush-shaped and others are Jupiter shaped. It can’t stand heavy frost.
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Hydrangea 'Tabletensia Blue' (Ball Ingenuity)
A one-of-a-kind hydrangea that is low growing, making it perfect for bowl use. An ideal option as a table centerpiece indoors or outside on a patio in a sheltered area. These should be transplanted into an 8-inch bowl for growing on/finishing. Available in Blue and Pink. Refer to the Ball Ingenuity “Hydrangea Forcing Guide” for detailed culture information. Height is 8 to 10 inches. Spread is 12 to 14 inches. Exposure: Indoor
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Iberis 'Candy Sorbet' (Dümmen Orange)
With its super-compact, mounding habit and flowers beginning in early summer, ‘Candy Sorbet’ fills an important space for June and July bloomers. This Iberis’s purply-pink flowers are one of the most unique colors within the category and bloom for upwards of six weeks. Mounding clouds of blooms sit atop beautiful dark-green foliage. Suggested for 1-gallon and 2-gallon containers. USDA Zone 6.
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Lavandula angustifolia 'BeeZee Dark Blue' (Hishtil Nurseries)
Lavandula angustifolia BeeZee Series is a new hardy, compact, and exciting angustifolia series with similar characteristic and masses of flowers that will attract and keep the bees busy during the long flowering season.
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Lavandula angustifolia 'BeeZee Light Blue' (Hishtil Nurseries)
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Lavandula angustifolia 'Layla Presto Blue Lavender' (Danziger)
Danziger’s Layla Series of Lavandula angustifolia is one of the earliest flowering English lavenders on the market. ‘Layla Presto Blue’ is even earlier – up to 10days earlier than the original blue. ‘Presto Blue’ brings more beauty to the garden too, flowering from spring into the heat of summer with larger, eye-catching blooms. This first-year flower perennial does not require vernalization or bulking.
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Lavandula angustifolia 'Lovely Sky Blue' (Hem Genetics)
Lavandula angustifolia ‘Lovely Sky Blue’ is a great new lavender from seed that blooms reliably the first year with no vernalization. This variety forms a strongly branched plant with beautiful light lavender blue flower, with the beloved lavender fragrance, which is so attractive to pollinators. Winter hardy USDA Zones 5-9. 12 to 16 inches tall.
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Lavandula 'Layla Presto Blue' (ThinkPlants/Danziger)
Earlier to bloom than ‘Layla Blue’ (10 days+), for extended season. Quick to bulk and come into flower. First year flowering, can also be produced with traditional perennial timing. Great branching, with large blooms at every node. Fragrant – excellent for pollinator programs. Exposure is full sun and best for USDA Zones 5-9. Flowering time is spring to summer.
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Lavandula stoechas 'Lavlov Blue' (Hishtil Nurseries)
Lavandula stoechas Lavlov Series has a compact, rounded bushy form, early flowering, and bursting colors and aromas. It also matches as a set and provides outstanding performance with little grower effort — truly hitting the sweet spot between a compact growth habit and the abundance that customers desire.
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Lavandula stoechas 'Lavlov Deep Purple' (Hishtil Nurseries)
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Lavandula stoechas 'Lavlov Purple' (Hishtil Nurseries)
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Lavender stoechas 'Purple Power' (Southern Living and Sunset Plant Collections/PDSI)
This new Spanish lavender offers fun in the sun with excellent heat tolerance and a dazzling vivid fuchsia hue. Purple Power’s breezy open growth habit allows for better air circulation, reducing issues with disease. Hardy to USDA Zones 8-10, ‘Purple Power’ offers a repeat show of blooms in cooler climates. Available in the Southern Living Plant Collection and Sunset Plant Collection.
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Lisianthus 'Solo Violet' (Sakata Ornamentals)
Lisianthus Solo is Sakata's newest cut flower series coming in four colors. It has an even longer vase life of 21 days. The strong petals allow for good transportation with no stained flowers. This is the first pollen-free series in the world.
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Lobelia 'Blue Breeze' (Kientzler)
First in a new generation of interspecific lobelia breeding. Considerably enhanced heat and drought tolerance. Early to semi-early flowering with a mounded habit and great growth performance.
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Lobelia HotpoT Series (Westhoff)
This new five-color series has all of the attributes of the Hot breeding program, but now in a smaller, early flowering form, making it perfect for virtually PGR-free production for small pots. In conjunction with the original Hot series and the recently introduced Hot+ series, Westhoff can offer a lobelia solution for all growers.
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Osteospermum 'SummerSmile Magenta' (Kientzler)
Early spring series with great garden performance and prolific flowering. All SummerSmile varieties are ideal for mixed combinations. New ‘Magenta’ variety contrasts well with the vibrant ‘SummerSmile Yellow’ variety.
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'Spring Grandio Lavender Shades' (Sakata Ornamentals)
‘Spring Grandio Lavender Shades’ is a beautiful new color that is sure to grab consumer attention. This unique color addition stands out with a tie-dye pattern on the flowers with an early and abundant flowering under short days. This is the most uniform flowering series on the market with shades of color that impress.
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Pericallis 'Senetti Lavender Dawn' (Suntory Flowers)
If you love ‘Senetti Magic Salmon’, you will really love ‘Lavender Dawn’. This plant is more compact and loaded with blooms. The color-changing magic continues with blooms starting out lavender blue with bright centers that expand as flowers age. Think Easter in the North.
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Petunia 'Blanket Double Surprise' (Green Fuse Botanicals)
An exciting new addition to the Blanket Petunia family, ‘Double Surprise’ produces a combination of color from a single plant. Flowers of silver, white, purple, lavender, and even bicolors pop all season long. This miliflora double petunia will self-clean and will envelop the landscape all growing season.
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Salvia nemorosa 'Noble Knight' (Dümmen Orange)
Noble Knight’s large purple-to-blue flowers may catch your eye, but the plants’ flower power is what will keep this salvia in your production rotation. Thick, weather-tolerant flowers are self-cleaning, but the plant remains attractive even when the petals do fall. A compact habit, great branching, and early flowering sweeten the deal. It’s an ideal and easy first-year flowering variety. USDA Zone 3.
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Viola 'ColorMax Blue Jeans' (Sakata Ornamentals)
Blue Jeans are in! Sakata's new ‘ColorMax Blue Jeans’ is a unique color addition to the series. With early flowering, this viola is excellent for the spring or fall; it has better heat and cold tolerance than pansies. The extra-large flowers match the rest of the Viola ColorMax Series.
View all
Petunia 'Crazytunia Cosmic Violet' (Cohen Propagation Nurseries/Westhoff)
Ageratum houstonianum 'Kona Blue' (Hem Genetics)
Alstroemeria 'Inticancha Sunstar' (HilverdaFlorist)
Aster 'Azumi XL Blue' (Sakata Ornamentals)
Cyclamen Midi+ Indiaka Mix (Morel Cyclamen)
Delta Pro Pansy Series (Syngenta Flowers)
Ever Flowering Wax Flower (Chamelaucium) (Nir Nursery)
Hydrangea 'Tabletensia Blue' (Ball Ingenuity)
Iberis 'Candy Sorbet' (Dümmen Orange)
Lavandula angustifolia 'BeeZee Dark Blue' (Hishtil Nurseries)
Lavandula angustifolia 'BeeZee Light Blue' (Hishtil Nurseries)
Lavandula angustifolia 'Layla Presto Blue Lavender' (Danziger)
Lavandula angustifolia 'Lovely Sky Blue' (Hem Genetics)
Lavandula 'Layla Presto Blue' (ThinkPlants/Danziger)
Lavandula stoechas 'Lavlov Blue' (Hishtil Nurseries)
Lavandula stoechas 'Lavlov Deep Purple' (Hishtil Nurseries)
Lavandula stoechas 'Lavlov Purple' (Hishtil Nurseries)
Lavender stoechas 'Purple Power' (Southern Living and Sunset Plant Collections/PDSI)
Lisianthus 'Solo Violet' (Sakata Ornamentals)
Lobelia 'Blue Breeze' (Kientzler)
Lobelia HotpoT Series (Westhoff)
Osteospermum 'SummerSmile Magenta' (Kientzler)
'Spring Grandio Lavender Shades' (Sakata Ornamentals)
Pericallis 'Senetti Lavender Dawn' (Suntory Flowers)
Petunia 'Blanket Double Surprise' (Green Fuse Botanicals)
Salvia nemorosa 'Noble Knight' (Dümmen Orange)
Viola 'ColorMax Blue Jeans' (Sakata Ornamentals)
In the slideshow above, learn how new blue and purple varieties can help complement baskets and combos, or stand out on their own.
You can find the complete CAST lineup and schedule here.
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Brian Sparks is senior editor of Greenhouse Grower and editor of Greenhouse Grower Technology. See all author stories here.