Welby Gardens Bounces Back With Its 2021 Field Trials
January 25, 2022 Welby Gardens’ trials and open house event in Colorado were very successful this year. Production and Trial Manager Dan Gerace says they tested more than 750 varieties and had approximately 250 industry professionals attend and vote for their top five favorites. The Top 10 choices are listed below.
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- 1st Mimulus ‘Mai Tai Red’ by Danziger
- 2nd Bracteantha ‘Granvia Gold’ by Suntory Flowers
- 3rd (tie) Dahlia ‘Dalaya Vampire 22’ by Selecta One
- 3rd (tie) Rudbeckia ‘Sunbeckia Laura’ by Flamingo Holland
- 4th Ptilotus ‘Joey Apex Improved’ by Ernst Benary of America
- 5th (tie) Coleus ‘Main Street Bourbon Street’ by Dümmen Orange
- 5th (tie) Petunia ‘Crazytunia Mayan Sunset’ by Westhoff
- 5th (tie) Petunia ‘Splash Dance Poppin Pink’ by Danziger
- 6th (tie) Bracteantha ‘Granvia Pink’ by Suntory Flowers
- 6th (tie) Begonia elatior ‘Vermillion Hot Pink’ by Beekenkamp
Gerace also says the biggest challenge this season was having limited employees during peak season.
“But fortunately, because it is a family business, I was able to add my two high-school-aged kids onto the payroll part-time so as to not detract from normal production efforts,” he says. “Also, there was still a fair amount of uncertainty with the ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions; we were not sure we would be allowed to have an event this year, so everything had to be pushed to the last minute. However, all of our staff pulled together wonderfully to make sure the party was spectacular.”
Welby Gardens has been conducting trials for the last 31 years that include an open house for customers to see the new items and best sellers side by side. The breeding companies and brokerage firms send starter material and help sponsor the event to cover the cost of the food. In return for their sponsorship, they get a table or area where they can display their latest plant material as well as hand out catalogs and other POP items. The interaction with regional garden centers, growers, and landscape professionals hopefully helps direct and solidify future introductions and relationships. Every year Welby has a different theme to focus displays and make the event creative and fun. This year, the theme was “Island Paradise”; Gerace says, “because we all needed a little escape after the months of lockdown and minimal travel.”
“The most unique plant in our trial this year was our #1 vote-getter Mimulus ‘Mai Tai Red,'” Gerace says. “For one, it went perfectly with our theme and even inspired our signature cocktail — attendees knocked back 15 gallons of the stuff! Although mimulus is not a new plant, propagating from unrooted cuttings alongside other annuals is new, so kudos to Danziger for getting there first. The plant’s vertical stature with the way the flowers stack from the bottom of the stems all the way to the top really had everyone walking straight to it.”
Attendees also really liked the Rudbeckia Sunbeckia series by Flamingo Holland. All were well-branched with nice proportions and many color options.
“The variety ‘Laura’ had the largest flower I had ever seen on a rudbeckia and was also one that drew the most people,” Gerace says. “Rudbeckia ‘Sunbeckia Ophelia,’ which is very similar, won the Best of Show at the Colorado State University (CSU) trial, which was announced September 10, 2021.”
The Bracteantha Granvia series had two cultivars land in the Top Ten list: ‘Grandia Gold,’ which was new last year, scored high both years, and the pink-numbered variety (11388) hopefully will get added to Suntory’s offering very soon, Gerace says, adding, “They both looked excellent in our trial and outdoors at CSU from early June all the way through the end of August.”
“We are looking forward to the upcoming season and would love to chat with breeders that are thinking about breaking into the Mountain West region,” Gerace says.
Learn more about other 2021 field trials here.
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