Plant Trials Were Welcomed Back With Open Arms in 2021
December 27, 2021 
Garvinea Gerbera ‘Garvinea Karoo’ (Flaming Holland)
As Greenhouse Grower Contributing Editor Dr. Allan Armitage noted in one of his most recent columns, “plant trials are as essential to the credibility of our industry as quality control labs are to the meat industry.”
Which is why it was great to see many of these trials come back in 2021 after being either cancelled or significantly scaled back the previous year thanks to the COVD-19 pandemic. It all started with the announcement that California Spring Trials (CAST) was coming back … as the California Summer Trials. While most host locations had appointment-only schedules and limited extracurricular activities, one thing didn’t change: the ability to check out the latest introductions from leading breeders.
You can find expert insights from Dr. A. and our team at Greenhouse Grower here. In addition, be sure to visit our YouTube page, where we featured in-person interviews with many of the people behind the plants on display.
As summer continued, growers and plant lovers also welcomed back field trials that took place at universities, botanical gardens, and growing operations. Our team is still compiling highlights from some of these trials, but you can discover what we’ve made available so far here.
So what will happen in 2022? One thing we know is that CAST is returning to its normal spring time frame. Learn more here (https://www.greenhousegrower.com/crops/california-plant-trials-moving-back-to-spring-in-2022/).
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