The 16th Annual Heimos & Millstadt Young Plants Poinsettia Trial & Open House was held on November 15 and 16 in Millstadt, IL. Over 160 varieties were grown and displayed for the industry to see, compare, and learn more from breeder representatives. Seven breeders presented their varieties and throughout the event, attendees were able to select their favorite varieties. The two winners, tied for first place, were Princettia® Sparkling Rouge of Suntory Flowers and Ruby RedTM of Express Seed Company. And in this article, Scott Rusch and Rebecca Siemonsma of Express Seed Company, look back on the event.
Princettia Sparkling Rouge of Suntory Flowers and Ruby Red of Express Seed.
Two days
The Trial & Open House was held over two days. The first day was ‘Broker Day,’ where breeders walked broker sales representatives through a detailed variety of presentations. During this day, there were about 30 attendees, explains Rusch. The second day was ‘Industry Day,’ which was attended by growers, retailers and allied trades. On this day, there were about 100 attendees. Rusch said, “Hats off to the team at Heimos & Millstadt Young Plants for an excellent trial yet again. It is great that you can show in this article all the hard work and dedication they put in to drive even more attendance next year. Heimos follows this with a spectacular holiday weekend open house for the public, reaching over 4000 people from the community and raising funds for local organizations.”
7 key breeders
The trial was grown half under natural day length and half under blackcloth growing. According to Siemonsma, it is a great trial for North American growers: “This helps growers see a variety of responses under different circumstances. We feel this is one of the top open houses for growers to learn about new varieties and see them growing firsthand.”
Trial
The trial was grown half under natural day length and half under blackcloth growing. This helps growers see a variety of differences under different circumstances. According to Rutchs, it is a great trail for the North American market: “We feel this is a top open house for North American growers to learn about new varieties and see them grow firsthand. Hats off to the team at Heimos & Millstadt Young Plants for an excellent trial yet again. It is great that we can show in this article all the hard work and dedication they put in to drive more attendance next year.”
Left natural day length, right blackcloth.
What was new?
A lot of novelties were presented. Express Seed’s InBlume Indoor Floral introduced a collaborative marketing and supply chain solution from Vivero International for Express, Rinehart, Beekenkamp, Lazzeri, and Suntory Poinsettia varieties. They also offered a full assortment of leading poinsettia varieties as well as companion plants from partners all over the world, including Captain Calla Lilies, Prime® & Perfecta® Kalanchoe, Flame® Zygo Cactus, Cyclamen, Pot Mums, and so much more.
Also, InBlume showed their new catalog, which shows assortments from 5 breeders: Express, Rinehart, Beekenkamp, Lazzeri, and Suntory. Click here for the catalog.
Breeding teams discuss new and experimental varieties and companion products mixed combos.
It was also announced that week that Steve Rinehart is the new Breeder for Express Seed Companies genetics as part of the InBlume portfolio.
From left to right: Kayla Red, Jack Frost, and Norwin Orange (Click here for the enlarged picture).
Top 10 varieties
Throughout the event, attendees were able to select their favorite varieties, below is the list of the top 10 varieties:
The two winners, tied for first place, were the Princettia Sparkling Rouge by Suntory and the Ruby Red by Express.
They were followed by:
3. Kayla Red – Beekenkamp
4. Guilia (Experimental) – Lazzeri
5. FabYULEous Red – Dummen
6. Luv U Pink – Dummen
7. Jack Frost – Rinehart
7. Flurry White – Dummen
7. Red Glitter – Dummen
7. Norwin Orange – Dummen
“Jack Frost, Flurry White, Red Glitter, and Norwin Orange all tied for 7th place and rounded out the top 10 varieties.”
Overview Comparison area - Individual pots.
Below are some videos that were recorded during the Trial & Open House:
Rebecca is the Poinsettia expert at Express and the new Director of InBlume Indoor Floral.
For more information:
N. G. Heimos Greenhouse
Amy Morris
Millstadt Young Plants
6627 State Route 158
Millstadt, IL 62260
Email: [email protected]
www.ngheimosgreenhouses.com
Express Seed Company
www.expressseed.com