When you think of Geum, the first thing that comes to mind might be the ugly foliage after flowering. "It used to be that the summer foliage was so ugly after flowering that one needed to plant something else to hide the offending plant", says Chuck Pavlich, Director of New Product Development at Terra Nova Nurseries. This bad habit inspired Terra Nova Nurseries to breathe new life into this genera. They improved foliage on all of their varieties and in the meantime, they continued adding new varieties. At the California Spring Trials, they premiered their latest introduction, Pretticoats, a repeat flowering variety with large flowers on short stems.
Geum PRETTICOATS™ Peach
This new introduction brings Terra Nova's Geum assortment to five varieties. Currently they have Tempo ‘Orange’ and ‘Yellow’ in a series. In addition to Pretticoats ‘Peach’ they also have Rustico ‘Orange’ and a sunfast gold foliage variety called ‘Sunkissed Lime’.
The varieties are characterized by the shorter stems, larger flower clusters and longer bloom period. "It sets Terra Nova's bred varieties apart from other Geum varieties." And according to Pavlich, the combination of long bloom period with good looking foliage makes all of their introductions special.
This new introduction brings Terra Nova's Geum assortment to five varieties. Currently they have Tempo ‘Orange’ and ‘Yellow’ in a series. In addition to Pretticoats ‘Peach’ they also have Rustico ‘Orange’ and a sunfast gold foliage variety called ‘Sunkissed Lime’.
The varieties are characterized by the shorter stems, larger flower clusters and longer bloom period. "It sets Terra Nova's bred varieties apart from other Geum varieties." And according to Pavlich, the combination of long bloom period with good looking foliage makes all of their introductions special.
Clockwise, starting upper left: Geum TEMPO™ Orange, Geum TEMPO™ Yellow, Geum RUSTICO™ Orange and Geum ‘Sunkissed Lime’.
The long blooming is very appreciated by their growers. "Due to the longer blooming period, growers are selling our geums easily over an extended time. And longer bloom period means longer shelf life too. On top of that, the easy, “can-full” habit that our Geums bring to the table is highly valued as well."
However, a long bloom period used to go hand in hand with ugly foliage after the flowering period. Terra Nova is selling Geum for over 15 years and, like any other breeder, they are continuously improving their crops. "The ugly summer foliage of older Geum varieties was one of the main issues that we had to 'solve'. After years of breeding they were able to bring the best aspects of this diverse genera and improved all of their varieties accordingly.
"Great foliage, great habit, exciting colors and extended bloom period have breathed new life into this genera."
