Click here for the extensive Photo Report of the California Spring Trials that we have published right after the Trials.
The entrance to GroLink's headquarter in Oxnard, California. This location includes fifteen acres of greenhouses for producing Chrysanthemum and Dianthus cuttings as well as a state-of-the-art rooting station.
Work most go on. GroLink propagates Garden Mums, Cut Chrysanthemums, Pot Chrysanthemums, Dianthus, and Phalaenopsis. From mother stock to cuttings, plugs, trays and ready for retail containers, GroLink ships to growers throughout North America.
The entrance to the California Spring Trials location at Grolink.
Ton Koers of Schoneveld holding the Sprinkles, on the left the regular and on the right the dwarf. Without the application of PGRs the dwarf is very compact. The series consists of six colors.
Primula Perola is a Polyanthus-type Primula and has thick stems. Koers expects this variety to be introduced on the US-market in 2019.
Jeremy Buenaventura of Ameriseed presenting the Marigold Little Duck. It has 4 to 5 flowers per plant, a ball shaped flower and no PGR's are needed.
Clockwise: This Mega Bloom Red has large flowers that have a diameter up to 8 cm. It has a fast and high germination percentage and is a good heat tolerant vinca variety. Mega Flow series has vigorous basal branching and big flowers with overlapping petals. The Big Duck, a F1 Marigold, is the larger variety of the Little Duck. Hotunia Radiance Series is said to consist of the most heat resistant petunias.
Nico Laan of Royal van Zanten presenting the Tiara. According to Laan, it is a nice 'beefy' plant.
This skyfall garden mum series was introduced in the US last year. Now, they are going to introduce it on a large scale.
Judy Born and Felicia Vandervelde Florist Breeding & Propagation. Born is holding the Patio Gerbera Capitol and Vandervelde the Garvinea Sweet Memories.
Clockwise: Garvinea Sweet Love is the first red color in Florist's Sweet series. Sweet Love blooms from early spring until the first frost and has a high resistance to pests and diseases. Patio Gerbera Volcanoes is improved with a larger flower size and shorter crop period. Patio Gerbera Sedona is a new red patio gerbera that also has a short crop period.
Delilah Onofrey of Suntory holding the Petunia ‘Surfinia Trailing Red’. Compared to the ‘Surfinia Deep Red,’ this plant is fuller and more vigorous and the flower color is brighter and larger. "This essential red will be perfect in patriotic combinations."
Million Bells Mounding Calibrachoa Butter Pop has pale yellow with yellow center flowers and is medium-vigorous. Beedance Bidens Yellow is a compact bidens variety with yellow flowers. The Grandessa series have been introduced last year and is an intergeneric hybrid cross. The plants in this series have large flowers and are vigorous. These habits are said to set the Gandessa apart from standard argyranthemums. Sun Parasol Giant pure White is part of the Giant group, which is known for its large flowers' vigorous growth. The flowering season is slightly later than the original group but runs parallel with many other pot plants.
Lennaert Kapiteijn of Kapiteyn Flowerbulbs holding the Captain Solo. This Calla variety flowers early, has many and large flowers and a long shelf life. The flowers and stems of this compact plant will stay steady and straight up until the final phase of flowering.
Clockwise: Captain Lido, Captain Tulsa, Captain Kelso, and Captain Lovely. According to Kapiteijn, The new captain varieties which are introduced at CAST17 are known from their collective strong points: short cultivation time, long shelf life, many strong stems and flowers per tuber, strong colours, compact, and genetic short plants.
Dave Doolittle of PlantHaven holding the Dianthus American Pie. This variety has scented large single flowers, is repeat blooming and has silver foliage.
Dahlia Painter Sunfire is part of the Painter Collection that consists of four varieties. This collection is known for its 4 inch in diameter blooms and bold colors. Corydalis Hillier 'Porcelain Blue' has aqua blue flowers and blue-green fern-like foliage. It has no summer dormancy, is profusely repeat flowering and has no seed set. Salvia Badacious 'Rhythm & Blues' has saturated dark blue flowers with black calyx. The foliage has a dark green color and is not yellowing with the season.
Ard Ammerlaan of Prudac holding the Ponky Pepper Spicy Jane. This is a pepper in Prudac's F1 hybrid product portfolio. It is a basket type with the ability to fill a 30 cm basket with bright red fruits. Spicy Jane F1 is easy to combine with flowers or herbs. Spicy Jane F1 leafs are shiny and its leaf structure secures a low water use.
Clockwise: Heartbreaker Dora F1 produces heart shaped tomatoes. Dora F1 is Prudac's second upright growing variety. The tomato nick-name is "love-apple" becomes reality. Hybrid Quattro F1 is a variety that tastes like an ordinary onion. The Ponchi F1 Fa produces juicy and sweet (Brix 10) with a soft skin. It does not get yellow leaves when the fertilization is OK. Sturdy Jimmy, which has a brix between 10-12 and the tomatoes have a soft skin.
At Grolink.
We also met the production manager of Grolink Martijn De Bruijn. On this picture, he is holding the Heartbreaker of Prudac. This plant was cultivated at Grolink.
Luit Mazereeuw of Evanthia presenting the Sunsation potted sunflowers.
Dominik Neisser of Vivero Internacional behind three (blue, violet and white) Buddleja's that are now available for the US market. These plants are heat resistant, and the fragrant flowers flower all summer.
Patty Raker of Hort Couture holding the Mentha Zest Mint Beehaving. This plant is an upright mint that attracts bees.
Peter Kok of Heritage Greenhouse Products.
More novelties of the California Spring Trials participants will follow soon.