Fan Favorites That Emerged From Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants Trials
November 30, 2022 Note: Information for this trials report comes from Kristi Challender at Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants.
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This season’s weather was probably one of the best, in terms of growing and maintaining the multitude of genera showcased in our trials, that I have seen in years. The average temperatures from May through August were a high of 78°F and a low of 55°F. Rainfall total for the three months was 9.32 inches which was spread out evenly throughout the summer.
This year, like every year, we had issues with deer stopping by and sampling the wide variety of plants in the gardens. Their curiosity seemed to be more focused in the beginning of the summer. Deer block was sprayed to deter them. On a positive note, they did not decimate entire genres like in past years.
New this year was an extensive cut flower bed to help promote our new cut flower program for 2023. 164 varieties were planted in 3-foot by 6-foot plots, staked, and grown with netting. We wanted to try to follow our targeted clientele of smaller, home growers, so we decided to not use weed mat to better emulate their growing conditions. The theory was that weeding would have to be concentrated at the beginning of planting and after the flowers filled in, they would naturally block out the weeds. Needless to say, that did not go as planned. With optimal growing conditions, the weeds quickly took over and the cut flower bed was weedier than we wanted. But lesson learned. Next year we will be laying down weed mat for better weed control. And even with the over-abundance of weeds, the cut flower bed was still a huge success and well received by our visitors. We learned a lot from growing the varieties that we have and could potentially add to our cut flower program.
It was hard for me to narrow down my favorites to just a few. There were so many great entries to choose from. This was a good year for series to take center stage. The new Begonia Hula series from PanAmerican Seed is a good example. We displayed this series in 20-inch pots and hanging baskets where the explosion of color lasted all summer. These begonias boasted a well-branched habit and flowers held abundantly above the foliage. They withstood the elements and were a fan favorite.
Begonia ‘Prism Sunset’ (Westhoff) was also a showstopper among the gardens this summer. Displayed in our 20-inch shade containers, this variety showed a kaleidoscope of warm hues in orange, peach, and yellow. This was a variety you saw from a distance and were drawn in for a closer look.
We also featured New Guinea Impatiens in the sun. Although Sakata’s SunPatiens reigned supreme, there were some notable contenders. Danziger’s Impatiens Sol Luna series is compact and well suited for sun. All the colors in the series were uniform in shape and remained floriferous all summer. Impatiens Solarscape from PanAmerican Seed is a seed propagated impatiens that also preformed equally with its vegetative counterparts. This series had a uniform, mounded habit and was covered with flowers. Coming from seed, the Solarscape Impatiens also offers a more cost effective and a more readably available option for growers.
We collect data and take photographs of everything in the Trial Gardens, each week during the season. Four years of photos and data are available on our website.
Top Performers:
- Begonia Hula series (PanAmerican Seed)
- Petunia x hybrida Supercal Premium Series (Sakata Ornamentals)
- Kniphofia uvaria ‘Glowstick’ (Darwin Perennials)
- Salvia interspecific Salgoon series (HilverdaFlorist)
- Veronica ‘Seaside’ (Brent Horvath/GardenChoice)
- Plectranthus ‘FanciFillers Guacamole’ (Westhoff)
- Lantana Heartland series (Dümmen Orange)
- Celosia plumosa Flamma series (Sakata Ornamentals)
- Rudbeckia hirta Sunbeckia series (Bull Plant Genetics)
- Colocasia ‘Heart of the Jungle’ (Proven Winners)
Visitor favorites:
- Begonia ‘Prism Sunset’ (Westhoff)
- Alstroemeria ‘Summer Paradise Indian Summer’ (HilverdaFlorist)
- Begonia Hula series (PanAmerican Seed)
- Begonia x hybrida Bionic Series (Syngenta Flowers)
- Bracteantha ‘Granvia Gold’ (Suntory Flowers)
- Petunia hybrid ‘Supertunia Mini Vista Midnight’ (Proven Winners)
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