US (CA): Growers turn outstanding varieties into marketing gold

Seeing 5,000-plus stems of the best flowers and plants on the market is a special experience for those who wander through the Outstanding Varieties exhibit at the Society of American Florists’ Annual Convention. For the growers who enter the competition, the contest is about more than a ribbon — it’s also marketing gold.

“Outstanding Varieties puts you on the map,” said Diana Roy of Resendiz Brothers in Fallbrook, California.

The contest — this year at SAF Palm Springs 2018, Sept. 12-15 at the Westin Mission Hills in California — features commercially available cuts, bedding plants, and potted plants. Judges evaluate the entries and award a Best in Show as well as Best in Class for the 13 categories: Cut Rose, Cut Garden Rose, Cut Spray Rose, Cut Dianthus, Cut Chrysanthemum, Cut Bulb Flower, Cut Alstroemeria, Cut Gerbera, Other Cut Flower, Decorative (Cut) Foliage, Potted Flowering Plant, Potted Foliage Plant, and Bedding Plant, Convention participants vote for People’s Choice.

But that’s just the beginning, really. Roy explained that education has been one of the hallmarks of the contest for Resendiz Brothers. Entering varieties raised the profile of the proteas they grow.

“Here in the U.S., proteas have been relatively uncommon,” she said. “When I first started, education was the primary way I benefited.”