California Spring Trials 2019

Grolink Plant Company in Oxnard. At this location, ANthura, Prudac, Berger, Florist, Royal Van Zante, Schoneveld, Evanthia, Suntory and ABZ Seeds were showcasing their varieties and products.

At the Grolink site, the way towards the CAST trial location.

There we are, at the CAST location at Grolink.

Dorien van Engelenburg and Eric Juckers of ABZ Seeds presenting the Summer Breeze Rose. It was introduced last year and is fully available on the market now. It is one of the double rose-like flowered strawberry varieties in their assortment. “It has a deep rose color and a lot of flowers”, explains Juckers. “On top of that, on top of that every flower produces a delicious strawberry It is a real ornamental edible and the demand so far is very good.”

The team of Evanthia presenting the Sunsation Yellow Multiflower. New about this variety is that it is pinched. As a result it has up to 4 flowers instead of 1. All flowers flower at the same time. After the first row of flowers is done flowering, the consumer can remove it, which allows the second row of flowers to start flowering. Then, one will enjoy a flowering period of weeks.

Lorentina McKoy, Masahi Matsumara and Kentaro Suka of Suntory presenting Surfinia Purple Starshine. “It is our fist star pattern petunia. On top of that, it is more compact, not as vigorous as the other surfinias in the series and has a good rain and heat tolerance. This year, Surfinia is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary in Europe. In 2022, they will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sufinia in the US.

Scott Gilham of Sun-Fire Nurseries trials several varieties in Sarasota Florida of Suntory and finds interesting sports. One of the sport he found is Sunrosa Yellow Delight, a sport of Orange Delight.

The team of Berger presenting the new Natural Fiber & Aggregate – Wood PH. “For crops that require a more porous substrate, this combination of NF Wood and perlite provides excellent drainage capacity reducing the incidence of water stress and stimulating rapid root development.”

Saskia Bakker, Arthur Kramer and Sjaak Sijm of Florist Holland. Saskia is holding the new Patio Gerbera Pinnacles with palm size flowers, Arthur holding the Garvinea Classic Femmy and Sjaak holding the Garvinea Sweet Frosting, with white flowers and a black heart.

A glimpse of the CAST trial location Grolink.

Visitors checking out the varieties presented at the Vivero booth.

Dominik Neisser and Oliver Gomez of Vivero International presenting Isotoma Fizz ‘n Pop Glowing Violet of Planthaven. It is a newer generation Isotoma and grows in natural daylight already the beginning of March without additional lightning. According to Domenik, it stays compact and forms a nice flower ball, without shooting. These on display have been grown outdoors in California.

The team of Schoneveld presenting their campanulas. On the left the portenschlagiana type Ambella and on the right the Carpatica type. They are starting up cutting production at Ball Darwin in Colombia, which enables Schoneveld's customers to buy the product with the regular shipments.

Nico Laan and Brigitte Verheij-Verkaar of Royal Van Zanten presenting Garden Jewels, alstroemerias for in the garden. They will produce between 200 and 300 flowers all summer and autumn long. Currently, the portfolio holda 4 varieties yellow, pink, peach and lilac blush). Flowers grow inlength up to 3 feet and can therefore be enjoyed outdoors on the plant in the garden or indoors as cut flower. It is a perennial inmoderate climates.

Alstroemeria Colorita Katiana from Royal Van Zanten was, according to Nico Laan, the company's Sales Manager, one of the most photographed products at their booth. Accroding to Nico, the variegated leaf is what makes this variety so special.

Visitors visiting the booth of Schoneveld.

Ard Ammerlaan of Prudac showing the Heartbreaker tomato to Ferdi van Elswijk of Koppert, who was visiting the show.

Ard Ammerlaan presenting Ponchi Fa, one of the table top varieties presented. 20 plants fit per m2 and from seed, they will be ready to sell in 12 weeks. All varieties in this table top concept are produced in 12 cm pots. The idea behind the concept is a single use product; harvest the product and you can throw it away afterwards. It demand for this product is now starting to develop.

In a half circle Prudac is showcasing their varieties from small to large.

Entrance to Greenfuse Botanicals. At this location PAC Elsner, Westhoff and T.O. Plastics are presenting their varieties and products.

Manfred Mehring of Westhoff Flowers presenting Silver Strand in the Fancy Fillers collection, one of the varieties he bred. It is a structure plant that looks like a succulent, but isn’t. It grows faster than a succulent and therefore works well in combinations. It grows a bit taller in a combo, but does not grow over.

How the roots developed in the Sure Root Pop Bottom of T.O. Plastics.

Another new product of T.O. Plastics is Plant pie. It only needs 3 inch of soul to create a scculent garden. This means less soil for the grower and the cosumer can put it, all together in a container.

Noel Yan of T.O Plastics presenting the Sure Root Pop Bottom. It is a 15 count tray with a pop bottom, which enables the grower to transplant easily; activate the dimple and it dislaunches the plant. Usually, growers were using a pot and tray, but this alternative is less labor intensive. Sure root series does not have a flat side, so root development seems to be better as well.

One of the growers that is using the Sure Root Pop Bottom of T.O. Plastics on large scale is Bailey Nurseries.

Jörg Mehle of Elsner PAC presenting the Pinkerbell. This geranium does not need any cooling and flowers all summer long. It is said to be the most heat tolerant regal geranium. Click here for the enlarged picture. Nice to mention is that this German breeding company is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year and is still a family business.

Terry Sudhoff with KOBA Presenting the Popp ‘n Go, an innovative solution for growers who supply landscapers. "This product allows for easy 'popping in' of finished goods to patio planters or the landscape, offering a huge savings in time and labor for the landscaper."

From Darling Daidy (small flowers) to Betsy (large flowers), they are all available at Greenfuse Botanicals.

Steve Jones with Greenfuse Botanicals presenting the Rudbeckia Rising Sun Chesnut Gold. This large flowered variety flowers day light neutral. It flowers in 12 weeks, any time of the year. “Usually they flower late in summer and only blooms on very long days, but this variety already flowers under short days.”

Steve Jones with Greenfuse Botamicals with plant breeder John Robb of Paradise Plants and Mark Lunghusen of Australian Horticultural Services, both all the way from Australia to visit the trials and of course John’s own bred lavendula’s, marketed by Greenfuse in the US.

Way to the Ball Horticultural trial site.

At Ball Horticultural, varieties are showcased indoors and outdoors.

Ruud Brinkkemper and Lisa Lacy with PanAmerican Seed presenting their new Impatiens Downy Mildew resistant series Beacon. In the photo, they are comparing it with Super Elfin XP. Its plant structure, flowering time, flower size and crop culture is similar to Super Elfin, however Beacon impatiens exhibit high resistance to the currently known and widely prevalent populations of Plasmopara obducensm which cause impatients downy mildew.”

Cor de Jong of Kieft Seeds presenting Salvia Salvatore Blue. It is claimed that this salvia features the largest spikes and the deepest colored calyx, spikes and flower in Salvia nemorosa from seed.

My lovely tour guides at the Ball Horticultural site; Katie Rotella with Ball Horticultural and Denise van Kampen of PanAmerican Seed. Katie is holding the lavender stoechas Bandera Deep Rose and Denise the Lavender Stoechas Bandera Deep Purple, both new varieties.

The seeds of the Calibrachoas in the Kabloom series of PanAmerican Seed are supplied as Precision Multi-Pellts, which means four seeds in one pellet. As a results, the plants have more even rooting and moer even germination. There a 5 new varieties added to the series that including these new varieties consists of 9 varieties currently. On the picture Calibrachoa Kabloom Cherry with the seeds presented. More on this new variety later in FloralDaily.

Wondering how the Kabloom Calibrachoa Precision Multi-Pellets look like? The wall behind Camilla Valle with PanAmerican Seed South America) shows a closwe-up of the seeds.

Karl Batschke of Darwin Perennials presenting Digitalis Arctic Fox Rose. “This hybrid Digitalis offers winter hardiness for northern growers (Hardy zone 5a-9a) and summer-long flowering for southern growers.”

Florence Vaux of Morel presenting Indiaka. A new bi-colored cyclamen series. The series has more heat resistance with an intense coloring. “The contrast between the petals’ white base and its vibrant color at the tip of the flower makes a stunning show.” Also nice to mention is that this French breeding company is celebrating it’s 100th anniversary this year and that they received the MPS certificate A+ end of 2018.

Tim Duffin of Burpee presenting Sweet Pepper Mardi Gras Fun Orange. The Mardi Gras Series offers four colors that can be grown together in one large container for a colourful patio display. “They are well matched in habit and timing across all colors.”

Jason Twaddell of Ball FloraPlant holding the Calibrachoa Cabaret Good Night Kiss, a new variety added to the Cabaret series. The entire series is early flowering, uniform in habit and flowering time, so all colors can be mixed. It is well-branched with full centers and most varieties flower with an 11 hour day length and stay open and in flower under low light conditions – a big plus for retail.

The Geranium Galaxy of Ball FloraPlant is a new series that is replacing the old Allure series. Ball FloraPlant collected 1MM data points and looked at 100k plants for their garden performance and travelled 238,900 miles (the distance to the moon) for trials. They trialed it at 8 sites across the USA. Result: "A geranium that produces mounded plants that are vigorous enough to keep their large, semi-double blooms all season in large containers and landscapes. It offers the best garden performance in the zonal geranium class, with a vigorous, but controllable habit."

Some of the colors in the Geranium Galaxy of Ball FloraPlant.

Heidi Tracy and Susan all the way from Ball Horticultural China.

Joan Mazat of Ball Ingenuity holding the Kanmara Hydrangea. "It is a new generation of hydrangea with large blooms that will thrive in any shaded area." It is bred by HBA and supplied as dormant product (done by Aldershot). Currently, the Kanmara series consists of 5 colors.

Kelsey Fletcher of Ball Ingenuity presenting Zesty Zinnias. These zinnias are double flowered and display their color all season long. They work well in containers, mixed combinations and borders. On top of that, pollinators seem to love this plant.

Jason Twaddell, Christine Nowicki and Eric Pitzen presenting the Dahlias in the Venti series of Selecta one, Jason is holding Tequila Sunrise. It is a uniform series, vigorous series of double-flowered dahlias. Sourced from a worldwide-proven dahlia cutting farm, Venti varieties have been trialed and grown throughout Europe and North America.

Osteospermum ecklonis Zion Purple Sun was – of course- also on display, the winner of the Fleuroselect award 2018.

Geu Koning of Koning and Koning. He is a breeder and a son of a breeder. On the picture, he is holding a variety bred by his father, namely Lavendula angustifolia Annet, and distributed in North America by Darwin Perennials.

Layci Gragnani and Dan Schultz of Star Roses and Plants presenting Blueberry Midnight Cascade; a hanging basket blueberry.

Visitors checking out the varieties at the Ball Horticultural location.

Visitors interested in the new impatiens series of PanAmerican Seed; Beacon.

Felici Van der Velde (in the Middle) of PanAmerican Seed talking with Brigitte Verheij-Verkaar of Schoneveld and Saskia Bakker of Florist Breeding, who were both visiting the location of Ball Horticultural.

Entrance to the trial location at Windmill in Buellton. At this location, Kientzler, 2Plant International, J.Berry Nurseries, Skagit, Oasis, Pelemix and Dramm were showcasing their products.

Eli Shalmon and Eliane Hembree of Pelemix. Among other products, they were also presenting a solution for the commercial cannabis grower; MJOT 65. It is a ready to use compost in a compressed form. “You only have to add water.”

Besides new varieties also other solutions were on display. At Dramm, for example, the team (from left to right: Tim Reusch, Les Evans, Hared Babik and Louis Dramm) presented their water management and sanitation solutions. On the picture two sanitizers; a smaller and larger one. It will work with any sanitizer and foaming agent. “The difference between this product and others is that we put pressure on it. Often much air is added and then, the foam does not hold well. Now, it holds better.”

Jim Berry of J. Berry with Mitch McDonald of Botany Lane Greenhouses, one of their largest young plant produces for Hollywood Hibiscus. They are presenting Hollywood hibiscus Runaway Beauty. This new variety has large bi-colored pink and almost semi double flowers. Funny to share is that you can do a quick quiz on hollywoodhibiscus.com. It will show you what character suits your personality and your landscape best. https://www.hollywoodhibiscus.com/what-is-your-hollywood-hibiscus-personality

Michael Wiebe and Eric Prechtl of Oasis presenting the Terra Plug, with Soax advanced. What are the benefits? Here listed: Easy extraction from trays for both manual and automated transplant. Fast and uniform rooting with development of strong fibrous root system. Bonding technology allows for customized sizing of the plugs. Provided uniform water penetration throughout the rootzone. Eliminates the need for spot watering, thereby reducing costs and labor.

Andreas Kientzler of Kientzler presenting Fairy Kisses Vanilla Berry. It is a new series released series in North America. It is scented, don’t set seeds and flowers all summer long.

Double…. Do you see the similarity? Dave Eastburn of Gro ‘n Sell does see it. Together with Kathy Paige, also from Gro ‘n Sell he visited the CAST and this picture has been taking at the booth of Kientzler in front of the compact double.

At the Windmill location. Steve Rinehart and Andreas Kientzler of Kientzler, talking with visitors.

Marc Radsma of Skagit holding the hellebore Ice ‘N Roses Red of German breeding Heuger. They have added over 300 varieties.

Frank Riteco and Pieter van der Lans of 2Plant International presenting the Ella Hybrids. “For Christmas, growers are always focussing on poinsettias, but it puts pressure on the prices of these products. We are here to show that there are other crops they can grow, like our white lilies. We asked several customers if they would purchase these items at Christmas time.” See the next picture for the answers.

2Plant international asked US consumers if they would by the pot of white lilies that they were presenting. And the answers are as follows, see the picture. “And the funny thing is that many even choose the expensive one”, says Pieter van der Lans.

At Windmill, Jim Berry of J. Berry Nurseries talking with visitors.

Robert Bett of Planthaven, holding the Corydalis Hillier 'Porcelain Blue', with broker Pam Youngsman of Poppystars and Marc Radsma of Skagit.

Welcome to the Windmill site. Marc Englert of Pelemix organizes the trials at the Windmill site for several years now.

Perry Wismans and Lindsay Pangborn of Dümmen Orange presenting the new rooting technology Basewell. Last year, they started with annuals and now they are expanding the basewell offering with perennisals.. Customers can now order 12 packs.

Spring King as bare rooted cutting and in the back the Spring King 3 weeks later.

Lindsay Pangborn of Dümmen Orange presenting New Guinea Roller Coaster. It has double flowers a top of dark green foliage and has an abundance of pink blooms made for shade.

James Chittum of Quick Plug at the Dümmen Orange trial site. Quick Plug was bought by Dümmen Orange last year.

Visitors looking at the varieties of Dümmen Orange.

Perry if Basewell talking with visitors.

Visitors learning more about the Dümmen Orange varieties.

Dümmen Orange welcomes their visitors to their trial location.

Alicia Suits of Sakata presenting the new begonia series named Viking. The series is divided in Standard and Xl plants and there are three leaf colors; green, bronze and chocolate. According to Alicia, unique is the chocolate leaf. “It is the darkest leaf on the market. On top of that it has large blooms.” The series was already launched in Europe last year and Viking XL Red on Chocolate was crowned AAS winner 2019.

Other novelties at Sakata are SunPatiens Compact Orchid Blush and (upper richt) and Profusion Cherry Bicolor. Special about the Orchid Blush is the fact that it needs less water than the others in the series and about Cherry Bicilor is the fact that it is a bicol. More on these varieties later on FloralDaily.com.

Also at Sakata, ornamental vegetables are on display.

Visitors taking pictures of the Sakata varieties.

Visitors seeing the differences between the regular sunpatiens and the Compact Orchid Blush.

Visitors looking at the mixes made with the Sakata varieties.

Continuous rains on the petchoa Supercal of Sakata to show how well it can cope with it.

Gill Corless of Sakata presenting the SuperCal Permium Sunray Pink. In Europe, the SuperCal premiums are named Beautical. “When it comes to garden performance, SuperCal and new the SuperCal Premium (Beautical in Europe) are uniquely superior to all other petunias. Part petunia, part calibrachoa, they are all-weather performers that can stand up to cold and heat. Plus, they can withstand heavy rains and bounce right back with little to do damage.”

Having breakfast or lunch at Sakata is very pleasant.

At Floricultura in Salinas. At this location, Beekenkamp and Monrovia are showcasing their varieties.

Sirekit Mol of Beekenkamp proudly in front of their new design for Labella Dahlia, with the slogan “From big to small, we have it all!”. She is holding the Medio Fun Golden Eye. One of the varieties that is doing very well worldwide.

Beekenkamp went into petunias and introduced their Petunia Tea series at the CAST last year. And they seem to do a good job. At the Pen State Trials, they sent in their 10 ten varieties and their variety Rose Morn was awarded the best variety among all varieties that were sent in (150 in total). More on Rose Morn and the Tea Petunia series of Beekenkamp later on FloralDaily.

Part of Floricultura filled with flowering plants.

Jonathan Pedersen of Monrovia presenting SunBelievable Brown Eyed Girl Helianthus, a variety bred by Thompson and Morgan and sold in North America by Monrovia. This award-winning, multi-branching, heat tolerant, non-invasive annual produces over 1,000 flowers in a single season, throughout summer until first frost. It has yellow petals with a dash of red surround the large brown center of each sensational flower.

Varieties presented in the greenhouse of Floricultura.

Mike Huggett of American Takii presenting new hybrid Digitalis Pink Panther. Besides it’s striking Panther pattern, more habits make it an interesting crop for the grower, retailer and consumer. “It is a first year flowering digitalis and is easy to grow for the grower. In the garden, it will get a height of 18-24 inch and gives secondary blooms when the first matures, it flush throughout the season.”

Ryan Boehm, David Barcel and Troy Bettner of OHP presenting Fortess and FireWorxx. Fortess is a granual used on ornamentals, grasses and perennials. It can kill weed postemergent. “It sold for example the bitter cress problem on asparagus fern.”

Floris Tas, the new Sales Manager USA and Canada at HilverdaKooij presenting their new Salvia. "It grows fast and both the stems and flowers have vivid colors. On top of that humming birds are fond of this plant."

This year, HilverdaKooij and Florist will merge. At their trial location, they were already showing some of the varieties of Florist, like the Garvinea.

Antoine Groot of Takii Europe presenting preciosa zinnia. It is a new double flowered Zinnia series with 8 varieties in three categories; tropical blend, stardard mix and straigt colors. It is a very self branching compact type that grows uniform.

To the location of Speedling in San Juan Bautista. At this location, Hem Genetics, Plant Source International, Vista Farms and Lambert were presenting their varieties and products.

Ted Katoo, Deedee and Brandon Palmer of Speedling are welcoming the visitors of the CAST.

Marco Laan of Hem Genetics taking a picture of visitors in front of the Hem Genetics varieties.

Marco Laan of Hem Genetics presenting Vinca F1 hybrid Solar Avalanche Blueberry. It is one of the trialing varieties and according to Marco, the color of this new variety makes it unique. It is a variety for the warmer areas as it needs warm temperatures and light.

Jerome O’Neill of Vista Farms presenting Sunstone Red (introduced in 2017) and Sunstone white (introduced 2018). This year, the production of the crop was very good, so Jerome is enthousiastic about the quality and result. “Now we can show good samples to the visitors.”

Jerome O’Neill with Waleska Torres of Vista Farms presenting the Hibiscus Chaty Kathy and Playboy of breeder J.Berry. End of 2017, they signed a licence to propagate the J. Berry Hollywood hibiscus. According to Jerome, they attracted a lot of attention.

Mike Samilian of Lambert present their Eco-Peat solutions. According to Mike, this product allows more air-ration r 4-12 inch long term crops. As a result, the crops will have more roots.

Troy Lucht of Plant Source International in front of the Heugera varieties they grow. They grow unrooted cuttings to the North American market and have production sites in Mexico and in the U.S. This year, they will add the Suntory breeder line to their list.

The AAS team Gail Pabst (third on the right) and Diane Blazek (right) with the AAS judges, who also have display gardens. From left to right: Mark Dwyer, Mark Konlock, Steven Poppe, Gail Pabst, Jeff Kuehny and Diane Blazek.

At Syngenta, there was a large presentation of the varieties in the marketing concept Thinkplant. This concept was established by Syngenta and Danziger in 2018 with the idea to be a 1 stop shop for the brokers and supermarkets in the US. The concept is received very well in the market and more and more breeders are joining Thinkplants.

Brandon Willis of Syngenta presenting the Imara XDR (Extreme Disease Resistance). This new impatiens series is available in 9 colors and 1 mix. Red Star and Pink are the newest additions in the series. It is their biggest introduction these trials as it resistant to Impatiens Downy Mildew. On top of that, it is a shade plant and according to Willis, retail is always looking for shade plants. In North America, they also provide POS material for this series with the slogan: “Take back the shade”

Sunfinity Sunflowers of Syngenta. More on this variety later on FloralDaily.com

Bossa Nova Night Fever Papaya from Flora Nova (sold by Syngenta in North America), for example. It is claimed to be the first begonia boliviensis from seed with dark leaves. The dark leaves and bright flowers result in a large color contrast.

Gerard Werink of Syngenta (responsible for countries outside Europe and the US) presenting begonia Tophat. This white variety, together with the bi-colored are the unique colored ones. On top of that, it is claimed that plant is a bit higher and produces up to 20% larger flowers than other begonia varieties.

Visitors checking out the varieties of Syngenta.

Dennis Wheeler and Ken Chatman of Chrisal presenting Alesco at the site of Syngeta. On the left, the untreated Techno Heat Light Blue Lobela and on the right the one treated with Alesco. Chrysal Alesco sprayed 2 days before shipping protected plants during 3 days of simulated shipping from the negative effects of ethylene.

Imara XDR had the largest display at Syngenta.

Imara XDR being compared with other varieties.

Lennaert Kapiteijn and Wim Kleine of Kapiteyn presenting Lorenzo, a new variety that is genetically short. It has a long shelf life and the US market seems to be liking it very much.

At Headstart Nursery in Gilroy. At this location Danziger and Varinova were presenting their varieities.

Bart Kuijer of Varinova at Headstart Nursery. He is holding Merita Red. Soon Syngenta will sell their varieties in the North American market.

Assaf Golan of Danziger presenting a new variety in the Amore series. This series was introduced in 2017 and at Danziger, they are continuesly adding new varieties and improving the existing varieties.

Petunia Cascadas Red of Danziger. After the GMO issue, which took out a lot of red, Danziger have put a lot of effort to bfing back a good red on the market.

Assaf of Danziger talking with a visitor.

Proven Winners was presenting their varieties at Kirgin Cellars Winery in Watsonville. It is the fourth year, they are showcasing their products at this location.

John Gaydos of Proven Winners showing visitors around.

Sedum Rock ‘N Grow ‘Boogie Woogie’, a variety with variegated leaves. According to Christa, it has a nice mounded habit and be used in landscape and in combos.

Natalie Carmollie of Proven Winners presenting Ringo, a new landscape rose. It is a hybrid of the desert rose (you can see the red eye) and a shrub rose to get the better habit. Color goes from bright yellow to white. It already won 6 awards and is hardy to zone 4 up to 8. According to Natalie, it is super easy for the consumer to grow. “They need to feel a winner”, she laughs.

Special about the bulbs of this plant is that they are De-eyed. This means that they will have 6-7 shoots instead of 1.On top of that, the top of the bulb is painted, to make sure they will be planted the right side up.

Kerry Meyer presenting the Heart to Heart Caladiums that will be new to the Proven Winners line in 2020. These varieties were developed by Classic Caladiums, one of the leading worldwide breeder and suppliers of Caladiums. They have joined the Proven Winners team recently and supply several of their varieties through their brand. They are very happy with this new addition because tropicals continue to trend strongly in the market and 'the industry is always looking for shade plants'. "On top of that, the striking leaf colors, shapes, increased disease resistance and sun tolerance, and season-long color make the Caladiums stand out."

Visitors looking at the Proven Winners Varieties.

Seminars being given at the Proven Winners site.

Lou Vergeer of VTC wa also visiting the CAST. We bumbed into him at the Proven Winners site.

Rely Jaldety of Jaldety presenting Sedum Silver roses. This new color is according to Rely a good addition to their assortment. “The color silver or silver blue is always doing well.”

Nomi Hen of Cohen Propagation Nursery presenting Nemesia Honey Dark Purple. It is a new variety in the Nemesia series, bred by Breier, and is natural compact.

The tea of Hishtil, from left to right: Haim Rosenblum, Eyal Kleirger and Eyal Inbar, presenting Lavendula Beezee. The series, bred by David Kerley, consists of five different colors, with the same flowering window. BeeZee was introduced by Hishtil last year at 'Flower Trials'. The interest has increased since. See the following article to learn more about BeeZee: https://www.floraldaily.com/article/9084025/uniform-growth-lower-transport-costs-and-higher-bee-amounts/

Susan Loui of Global Plant Source. She organized this location for the five companies.

Asaf Nir with his father Nitzan Nir. Asaf is holding rice flower and Nitzan color wax. The color of this wax comes from the plant itself. It has not been painted, tinted or dyed.

Taufik Dawahri of Kamel presenting the new inection tray that can be re-used for several years.

The trial location at Suncrest Nurseries.

This year, at Pacific Plug and Liner, a tent was set up to let the CAST participants show their varieties. As the CAST was held so early this year, they could not make room in their shipping area, which is fully filled during this time of the year.

At pacific plug and liner, Terra Nova Nurseries, Klassman-Deilmann, Quality Cuttings and Sunset and Southern Living were presenting their products.

Marlon Carrera of Pacific Plug and Liner presenting the Hellebores Winters Angel Charmer. The best thing about this variety is that you can programm it for Chrismas bloom as it is a really programmable variety. Besides, it is also compact and full of flower and flowering continues up t five months. The flower color is raspberry pink and has leaf variegation, explais Marlon.

Larry Finley of Terra Nova Nurseries presenting their new perennial Geum Tempo Rose."Blooming" might be the word that characterizes this vareity. "It blooms early, for a long time and even re-blooms." Read the following article to learn more about this new Geum variety: https://www.floraldaily.com/article/9085333/re-blooming-perennial-keeps-pollinators-coming-back-for-more/

Janet Sluis of Sunset Western Garden Collection and Kip McConnell of Southern Living Plant Collection presenting the vertical growing gardania named: Diamond Spire. “It works well in containers and landscape and continues to re-bloom and also blooms under cooler conditions than the regular gardenia. Unique about this variety is that it grows vertical”, explains Kip.

Klasmann-Deilmann was again presenting their Growcoon (a 100 percent biodegradable glue) this year.

Also the varieties of Whetman Pinks were on display.

Jacqueline Azbill and Carlos Martinez of Quality Cuttings Team presenting the impacio impatiens of Westhoff. This variety is, according to Azbill, more tolerant to the sun.

Table at Pacific Plug and Liner nicely decorated.

At the Benary location, they always make sure to have surprise element. This year, it was their Benary TV Channel where they presented their new products in a funny and television selling way.

The flower size of the Pink Bronze Leaf Big Begonia.

Jen Calhoun of Benary presenting the Pink Bronze Leaf Big Begonia. It is a new variety in the big begonia series and has dark (which gets even darker in the sun) colored leaves and glossy foliage. The big begonia series is, according to Jen, a powerhouse for Benary. “It works well worldwide and landscapers love them.” she says.

Also this year, a word of thanks. “Last year, at the CAST, Benary celebrated their 175th anniversary. To help thus celebrate, you joined us in our “Bike Around the Globe” challenge as a way of giving back to our industry. Benary announced that we would match a $1 charitable donation for every mile ridden. We had lots of fun jumping on stationary bikes with you and keeping track of the mileage at events in the US, Guatamala, Chile, Germany and The Netherlands All together we rode a lot of miles! We are proud to announce that we have donated $10,000 to The Naivasha Chldren’s Shelter (Kenya_ and $10,000 to Fundacion Semillas de Esperanza (Guatamala). Please accept our sincire thanks for ou participation in this event. For more info about these charities: www.shelteryetu.org

Aramis Lemon & Pink by Benary+. This Argyranthemum fruescens has bi-colored flowers of which some change when they mature.

Scott Hanes of Benary holding Tuka Tuka Red Glow. This Bidens ferulifolia is one of the three new introductions to the Tuka Tuka series. The series is characterized by: the bi-colored flowers, the well branched habot and the ‘great alone combinations’.

Visitors checking out the varieties of Benary+

A group of Gloeckner South America visiting Benary