Retailer’s Choice Awards

Jennifer Polanz

While at Cultivate’19, several garden center retailers who are members of The Garden Center Group took the time to scope out products that stood out among the crowd. We’ve already mentioned the AquaPots by Proven Winners in this space, and in the Cultivate’19 coverage in GrowerTalks we highlight the new line of Ty Dy Crotons from ForemostCo. Here are the rest and a brief description of why they received the honor:

• Illicium parviflorum BananAppeal from Bailey Nurseries—Features golden yellow, anise-scented foliage and keeps a mounded form for a well-behaved Illicium.

• Petunia Midnight Gold from Ball FloraPlant—A unique, double-blooming novelty color of deep crimson to black with lemon border. Exceptional branching and profuse flowering.

• Senecio candicans Senaw Angel Wings from Concept Plants—A well-rounded plant with silvery white, velvety leaves. A frost-tender perennial that’s hardy to Zones 8 to 11 (in the north, overwinter indoors).

• FlowPot program from CTi Plastics—An initiative that works with Plastic Bank to recover plastics that are ocean-bound and incorporate them into decorative containers.

• Basewell Rooting System from Dümmen Orange—These are bareroot cuttings that feature advanced root development with no growing media, allowing Dümmen to ship from offshore locations to growers who can transplant them into the finished container.

• Chrysanthemum Rainbow Circus from Dümmen Orange—A new bi-colored pot mum with vibrant red-and-yellow flowers that resemble a circus tent.

• Ficinia truncate Ice Crystal from Flamingo Holland—With a frosty, variegated look, this evergreen, grass-like perennial grows to about 6- to 8-in. tall with foliage, about 12 in. total. Reported hardiness down to 20F.

• Under the Sea Coleus Red Snapper and Pink Tuna (pictured) from HortCouture Plants—Two new additions to the line caught the eye of judges for their dramatic, “eye-popping” color.

• Jack Frost Japanese Maple Hybrids from Iseli Nursery—A new line of small- to medium-sized trees bred to withstand the dramatic weather fluctuations in the upper Midwest. Rated to Zone 4 hardiness.

• Seaside Serenade Newport Hydrangea from Monrovia—The new introduction of Newport brings the total in this series to 10, and judges liked the deep and rich color tones. Hardy to Zones 4 to 9.

• Iris versicolor Purple Flame from North Creek Nurseries—This iris features purple foliage that emerges in March, providing a wow factor early on.

• Buxus NewGen Boxwood Freedom and Independence from Willoway Nurseries and SynRG—The NewGen family has been through years of trialing with a better tolerance of Boxwood Blight and better resistance to Boxwood Leafminer. Hardy to Zones 5 to 8, these will be available through SynRG growers. GP