As summers grow warmer across the United States, demand for heat-tolerant plants is steadily increasing. Retailers and consumers alike are extending their plant-buying seasons, seeking resilient varieties that thrive in high temperatures. Among these, Portulaca has emerged as a popular choice for its robust summer performance and vibrant blooms, making it a favorite among gardeners and garden centers alike. This is explained Bart Hayes of Westhoff who also sees a good demand for their SeaGlass Portulaca series in the US.
Steady growth of Portulaca
Portulaca has been a staple of Westhoff's offerings, especially for summer shoulder-season programs. The sales of their Portulaca varieties been consistently upward in recent years. "First and foremost, the Portulaca is a superior product for home gardeners. It is heat tolerant, drought tolerant/water-wise, pollinator-friendly, and has amazing blooms - what more could these plants do?." But its success cannot only be attributed to the quality of their breeding, also to their supply network, explains Hayes. "Of course the breeding is there, but also our supply network allows for redundancy, which leads to resilience and reliability."
Good branching and big flowers
So what makes the SeaGlass series stand out? "The series was selected for good branching and big flowers. While big flowers may seem standard, Portulaca's photo-responsive nature—flowers that open during the day and close at night—makes size particularly significant. The bigger the flower, the faster/earlier they open, and the slower/later they close, simply from gravity."
A new name for a new era
Westhoff recently rebranded its Portulaca program under the new SeaGlass series, signaling advancements in breeding and a fresh direction for the brand. "This rebranding effort aligns with our global marketing expansion. We have not marketed Portulaca in Europe or Oceana/Australia up to this point, so we wanted a single brand for uniformity among our global licensees."
Bicolors are trendy
Among Westhoff's Portulaca, bicolor varieties have gained notable popularity. "I think it is due to an overall trend among home gardeners around the world recently. It waxes and wanes, but right now bicolored flowers are very popular."
Bright future for Portulaca
The future for Portulaca looks bright. "We do expect demand to increase, not dramatically, but steadily. Crops like Portulaca, Scaevola, or Angelonia act as a bridge at the garden center between Spring flowers and fall products. Garden consumers are finding that they can visit the garden center multiple times through the year to find products that will work for them at that time, rather than just visiting in the Spring and stocking up for the entire year. This consumer-focused approach makes the garden center less a singular, annual chore and more of a monthly shopping experience, providing a better experience and improved results in the garden."
Breeding for excellence
And regaring breeding, what are you looking for? "Anything to extend flower life, either in the garden or on the retail bench, is a primary focus", says Hayes. "Intense, bright colors are always a focus, but for summer flowering plants, it is super important since they have to stand out among all the other plants."
For more information
Bart Hayes
Westhoff
Email: [email protected]
www.westflowers.de