2024 is an exciting year for Kolster. The Dutch breeder will not only celebrate its 80th anniversary but will also continue its expansion with Magical products. These include not only cut shrubs, flowers and the Magical Hydrangea range, but also Magical Garden Plants: a range with 92 varieties of garden shrubs and perennials.
This year, Magical Garden Plants launched several novelties: the Salvia Magical River Series was expanded to 16 colors and four Diervilla Magical varieties were introduced. Nepeta Magical Mr Blue Sky was also introduced.
The Magical Garden Plants team highlighted these products at several trade fairs and inspections. Wouter den Hollander, board member of Kolster: "Due to the great interest among growers, we expect a lot of demand for these products in 2025. Reserve them early, so you don't miss out."
Marco ten Hoope and the Salvia Magical River series
We asked Kolster's breeder, Marco ten Hoope, what makes the three new series different.
Salvia Magical River Series
Ten Hoope: "The strength of the Salvia Magical River Series lies in its hardiness and recoverability. The flowering period is very long, from June until the first frost. After a period of extreme weather, which we experience more and more often, this Salvia series grows and blooms vigorously again." Ten Hoope outlines another advantage for growers: "This Salvia series has a very short cultivation period. In just 10 weeks, the cutting grows into a flowering plant. Once in the garden, the Salvia grows into a substantial plant."
The 16 cultivars can be recognized by their names: they are all named after a river, such as Salvia Magical Danube or Yukon. By the way, these two cultivars were awarded a bronze medal at Plantarium|GROEN-Direkt.
Diervilla Magical Series
Diervilla Magical Series
And what makes the Diervilla series special according to Ten Hoope? "We have four different cultivars, each with its own colors. This hardy shrub, which grows about 75 cm tall, has flowers that contrast nicely with the foliage, especially the two dark-leaved cultivars, Magical Dark Delight and the almost black Magical Starry Night. I also always see lots of bees on our Diervilla, which is an important aspect for us as well as for the consumer. What I also like are the seed pods. These give an extra ornamental value to the plant after flowering."
This series also had prize winners at the novelty trials at Plantarium|GROEN-Direkt last August. Both Diervilla Magical Dark Delight and Green Dragon won bronze.
Nepeta Magical Mr. Blue Sky
Nepeta Magical Mr. Blue Sky
Finally, Nepeta Magical Mr. Blue Sky, named after the 1970s hit by Electric Light Orchestra because of the sky blue color of its flowers. Ten Hoope says: "This garden plant also attracts insects. It has an unprecedented long flowering period from early May to September. The plant is strong and wind-resistant, with a wide upright growth of up to 120 centimeters. The plant makes gardening easy, as its dense foliage prevents weed growth. What I also like is the dark purple calyxes that continue to give ornamental value to the plant after flowering."
Nepeta Magical Mr. Blue Sky also won prizes, during the Summer Days in Boskoop.
"For all the plants mentioned, they look great in borders but also do well in a pot on a terrace. In addition, these robust plants are very suitable for public greenery," Ten Hoope believes.
Brenda Sleeuwenhoek
Sleeuwenhoek pleasantly surprised
Brenda Sleeuwenhoek is also pleasantly surprised about the attention to the novelties: "After I started as Marketing Manager at Kolster in January, it is great to see that the Marketing activities are bearing fruit. We don't do this alone but want to promote the products together with our customers. For example, we support them with professional visual material, plant labels and catchy descriptions of our Magical Garden Plants cultivars. Everything to make it as easy as possible for our relations. At the same time, we also get positive feedback from growers. We welcomed hundreds of growers to our nursery during the FlowerTrials and several Magical days this year. We heard first-hand what they find important. And we like to build on that both in terms of breeding and marketing."
For more information:
Brenda Sleeuwenhoek, Marketing Manager
Magical Garden Plants by Kolster BV
Tel: +31-(0)172-217 090
[email protected]
www.magicalgardenplants.com