Spring Trials Day 5 – A flower with some rhythm, what women want and trial showstoppers

We spent day five of the California Spring Trials at three different locations and got an eyeful from a handful of companies.

In San Juan Bautista, Schoneveld Breeding, Greenex, Hem Genetics, Thompson & Morgan, ABZ Seeds and Plant Source International all shared space at Speedling. It was there that we got an inkling some consumers may feel like dancing when they see the new Jive cyclamen series from Schoneveld. The series kicks off with eight colors with three additional colors expected next year, including flame types. Each variety in the series produces flowers with waved or frilled petals. These mini-type, compact, round plants produce many leaves and thick flower stems with central flowering.

Schoneveld will also be introducing the new Mammuth series at this year’s HortiFair show. The flowers will be larger than the company’s current XL series. There will be seven to nine varieties in this new series, which will be suitable for 6- to 8-inch pots.

Greenex, which represents five different breeders, showed off the new MoreFlowers kalanchoe series from Queen. The series name is appropriate for the multi-petaled flowers. The series starts with two varieties – Paris, which produces creamy-lime colored flowers, and Pink Paris, which has soft pink flowers.

Nearly everyone stopped to look at Hem Genetics new, uniquely-colored Diane Lavender Picotee dianthus. This F1 hybrid D. chinensis produces large flowers on compact, uniform plants. The 12 varieties in the series are very evenly matched for habit and flowering.

In Gilroy, Danziger dedicated 70 percent of its display space at Headstart Nursery to its new line of Mixis combinations. Targeted at female buying power, the Mixis program includes well-matched mandatory tags and containers. On display were 16 different recipes, most being same species combinations. Growers have the flexibility to choose from Mixis Same-Crop with two to three designer colors; Mixis 3-Combo-Crops mixing two to three tested designer varieties and Mixis Freestyle that allows the growers to choose the colors and species they want to use.

We rounded out day five in Watsonville and caught a glimpse of the Happy Copper petunia – another trials showstopper – shown by Cohen Propagation Nurseries at Pacific Plug & Liner, where the Agrexco companies’ products were also on display. Bred by Breier, the petunias produce large single orange-copper flowers with a complementary tan throat. The plants flower under short-day conditions and can be used in pots and hanging baskets. There are eight varieties in the series.

Stay tuned for more coverage from the 2011 California Spring Trials.