PlantHaven, Pacific Plug & Liner, Suntory, Vivero, and Southern Living/Sunset Western Plant Collections, as well as Green Trade Horticulture, grouped together at the Santa Barbara Polo Club to greet California Spring Trials 2022 attendees and show off their new plant varieties. No horses were on hand, but there were plenty of great plants to keep visitors occupied.
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Cuphea ‘Hummingbird’s Lunch’ (PlantHaven)
PlantHaven’s newest cuphea, another hummingbird attractor, was also a group favorite for its abundance of bright, cherry-red blooms. This is a versatile plant suitable for containers, borders, or mass landscape plantings, and it’s low-water once established.
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Salvia ‘Vibe Ignition Sunrise’ (PlantHaven)
Sunrise is the first bicolor addition to the Vibe series of Salvia × jamensis with its peach and pink blooms. Plants are heat- and drought-tolerant once established. Sunrise is another good pick for attracting pollinators, particularly hummingbirds.
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Pericallis ‘Senetti White Red Heart’ (Suntory Flowers)
White Red Heart (pictured) and Blue Halo are new additions to the Senetti line this year, bringing the total up to more than 15 colors in the series. You can’t beat these pericallis for early spring color and cool-weather garden performance in containers and the landscape.
Peachy Keen (pictured) is one of three new color additions to the Granvia series, along with Pink and Harvest Orange. These super-sized strawflowers are vigorous growers that will last a while in container gardens or the landscape. Plants are also resistant to mildew.
Winter’s Angels hellebores produce a plethora of outward-facing blooms on a compact plant. They can take full sun in climates with milder summers if the roots are kept cool. Vibey Velvet has an early bloom time of December to March. It is hardy in Zones 5 to 8.
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Delphinium ‘Delgenius Blue Fabulosa’ (Pacific Plug & Liner)
The addition of Blue Fabulosa to the Delgenius line makes for seven colors now available in the series. Blue Fabulosa is similar to Glitzy, only the flower color is closer to blue versus purple and the bloom time is earlier. The plant does have some heat tolerance and is hardy in Zones 3 to 9.
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Hydrangea ‘Princess Bride’ (Plant Development Services)
This unique hydrangea hybrid forms flowers up and down each stem, resulting in white lacecap flowers from spring to fall. Plants are hardy in Zones 7b to 10 and won’t be available until 2023. ‘Princess Bride’ will be available to consumers under the Southern Living Plant Collection and Sunset Western Plant Collection labels.
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Better Boxwood (Plant Development Services)
Better Boxwood is the first collection of scientifically bred blight-resistant boxwood in the industry. The collection features four blight-resistant varieties (Skylight, Babylon Beauty, Heritage, and Renaissance), each with a unique size and form to fill any boxwood need. The newly formed partnership between Tree Town USA and Plant Development services, named Better Boxwood, will begin taking liner orders in Sept. 2021 for Spring 2022 delivery to grower partners across the U.S.
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Cuphea ‘Hummingbird’s Lunch’ (PlantHaven)
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Salvia ‘Vibe Ignition Sunrise’ (PlantHaven)
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Pericallis ‘Senetti White Red Heart’ (Suntory Flowers)
In addition to displays of hellebores, salvia, and lavender, PP&L showed off some of its tropicals selections. The company does not plan to carry every tropical from A to Z. Rather, it is trying to narrow down its list to hone in on the products that customers are really looking for.
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Suntory Flowers featured a new co-branding concept pairing up its new Calibrachoa ‘Million Bells Orangina’ with the premium beverage Orangina. Suntory Holdings, the parent company of Suntory Flowers, is part owner of Pepsi Bottling Ventures, which produces the Orangina drink in North America.
Green Trade Horticulture, a relatively young company about two years old, was also on hand at the CAST site to let attendees know about its capabilities to supply tissue culture and tissue-culture grown liners of mostly perennials and foliage plants to customers throughout North America.
Additionally, the Greenhouse Grower team saw several exciting new plant varieties at this site that offer lots of opportunities for growers. Be sure to check out the slideshow to see some of the highlights.
April 19, 2022 
