Dr. A’s Five Fabulous Finds at CAST – Day 1
June 24, 2021 It’s great to be back on the road again with the Greenhouse Grower team for California Summer Trials 2021. We had a packed first day, with visits to Ernst Benary of American, Pacific Plug & Liner, and Syngenta Flowers. As always, there were plenty of great plants to see. I’ve narrowed them down to five of my top picks.
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Ptilotus exaltatus ‘Joey Improved’
Benary introduced Ptilotus four to five years ago, and I, among others, viewed it with both amazement and a good deal of skepticism. At the time, I was captivated with the beautiful flowers on a deep-green frame. It was unique and a new plant to the industry. I was skeptical because it did not appear particularly robust and the growing instructions were rather vague. Add to that the fact that other than Scaevola, few plants native to Australia have succeeded outside the West Coast.
However, I was incredibly impressed with the improvements in the plants today at Benary. The inflorescences were twice the size of what the original introduction sported, and plants were obviously more robust. In asking, I was told that today Benary knew a great deal more about production and propagation, but that we were looking at far better genetics. I may still be a little skeptical, but this looks like a much different plant than what was available before. I look forward to seeing a successful relaunch.
Herb Delights
More people are growing herbs. They are medicinal, usually wonderfully fragrant, and provide culinary value. Then add to those attributes the fact that many are highly ornamental. Oregano, thyme, sage, and basil are but a few that were quite wonderful at Benary.
However, what I was most impressed with were the mixed herb containers, where herbs were mixed and matched for heights and diverse colors. A bunch of thyme is fine, but combining it with some tricolor sage and golden oregano triples its value to my neighbors and my daughters. Beauty as well as taste await our decks and gardens.
Petunias
Petunias seldom make my short list on plants I want to recommend. However, two new series at Syngenta Flowers caught my eye. Both sport small flowers, vigorous growth, and short stature.
My first recommendation is the Dekko series, especially ‘Dekko Sorbet’, ‘Dekko White’, and ‘Dekko Banana.’ The reason for my exuberance is that they are essentially groundcovers in habit. These three, as well as the blue Dekkos, were covering entire beds and smothering any weed that dared raise its head.
I also very much liked ‘Itsy White’, whose flowers looked like a white Bacopa but would be excellent in mixes and even as a groundcover. Even in the incredibly crowded petunia market, Syngenta has shown there is still room for more.
Geranium interspecific ‘Caldera Salmon’
Like petunias, there seems to be way too many geraniums already on the market, so why introduce others? When Syngenta Flowers introduced Caliente and Calliope, they showed that extraordinary landscape performance was possible with beautiful plants.
Caldera series is Syngenta’s newest series. The vibrant salmon color combined with the dark foliage make this a plant that people will see across the garden center bench. It is the most beautiful of any of the interspecifics I have seen, and if it has the performance of the others, it will be a winner.
Spanish Lavender ‘Ever Great Blue’
It is hard not to love lavenders, and we have had some great improvements over the years. Seeing this Spanish lavender from Pacific Plug & Liner made me look twice and then look again. ‘Ever Great Blue’ has some of the biggest ears I have seen on a lavender and will immediately impress consumers and landscapers. In the ever increasingly crowded lavender market, this one should find some traction.
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