Favorite Plants From Plantpeddler’s 2023 Variety Day

Posted by Brian Sparks|August 8, 2023

Plantpeddler hosted its annual Variety Day on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, with a goal of “Testing the Best in the Midwest.” Attendees were greeted by another beautiful northeast Iowa weather day. The event highlighted nearly 1,500 varieties of vegetative annuals in large containers, hanging baskets, and beds from a global array of breeders, in a vivid array of garden color. The day also saw a record number of attendees including breeders, sponsors, brokers, growers, garden center managers, and industry professionals. Here is a link to a short video recap of Variety Day 2023.

1 of 7

1 of 7

Plantpeddler's 2023 Variety Day highlighted nearly 1,500 varieties of vegetative annuals in large containers, hanging baskets, and beds from a global array of breeders, in a vivid array of garden color.
2 of 7

Attendees enjoyed perfect weather throughout the day.
3 of 7

Begonia 'I'Conia First Kiss Del Sol' (Dümmen Orange)
4 of 7

Calibrachio 'Calitastic Cappucino' (Westhoff)
5 of 7

Bracteantha 'Granvia Crimson Sun' (Suntory Flowers)
6 of 7

Begonia 'Fragrant Falls Peach' (Beekenkamp)
7 of 7

Begonia 'Adora Velvet Red' (Syngenta Flowers)

This year, the focus of the presentations was the use biologicals. Andrew Butler of Green Valley Greenhouse (Greenhouse Grower’s 2022 Head Grower of the Year) opened the seminars with his practical, real-world use and application of biorationals and beneficials. He was followed by three industry experts covering various aspects of this emerging technology: Kevin Johnson of Microbial Science Laboratories, Andy Peterson of Spectrum Sales LLC (Evofactor and BioSupersil), and Heidi Doering of Koppert Biological Systems.

At Variety Day, participants had the opportunity to vote on their favorite three varieties. The winner this year, Begonia ‘I’Conia Portofino Del Sol’, is in the 2024 program at Plantpeddler. It was once again a day dominated by begonias, with 10 of the top 25 coming from the genus. The remaining 15 represent a mix of spring annuals genus. Check out the slideshow above for a closer look at the top five plants, and see the table below for the complete Top 25 list.

Plantpeddler also hosted a new event on Thursday, Aug. 3, apply named “Educate the Educators.” The event featured lectures and workshops to help ag educators fund, run, and teach horticulture in educational greenhouses. 58 schools, with more than 80 attendees, were instructed by a team of industry experts. It was a very rewarding event for all involved.