Variety Favorites From the Society of American Florists’ Convention

Posted by Brian Sparks|October 1, 2019

Spray Rose Sweet Sensation (RioRoses)

The Society of American Florists (SAF)’s annual convention in Amelia Island, FL, included recognition of the 2019 Outstanding Variety winners from SAF’s Outstanding Varieties Competition. Nine different varieties were presented with best variety awards for their respective classes, and one variety was awarded Best in Show: decorative (cut) foliage Cotinus of The Sun Valley Group.

Each year, hundreds of entries are evaluated by a team of three judges on the following criteria: color and commercial appeal; stem and foliage; bloom form; bloom size; and overall quality and presentation.

In the category Best in Class, the cut roses were divided into three separate classes: the rose, the garden rose, and the spray rose. For the standard rose, the ‘Queen Berry’ variety from Continental Farms took the honors. For the garden rose, ‘Bellalinda Cerise’ by Fresca Farms was the variety that came out on top. Finally, for the spray rose, RioRoses’ ‘Sweet Sensation’ was voted best in class.

Oregon Flowers’ ‘Lilium Papaso’ variety took the highest honors in the cut bulb class. For gerbera, Kitayama Brothers’ ‘Landmark’ was voted best in class. ‘Clarice’ by Natural Flowers was voted best in the class of alstroemeria. For the dianthus class, Dümmen Orange’s ‘Damascus’ took the highest honors, and for chrysanthemum, ‘Shortcake’ by Deliflor Latin America was voted best in its respective class.