Danziger is honored to be the winner of the best in class prize and also the best in show prize for AMOR CANDY, with its unique pink flowers, combined with a vivid green center, a true eye-catcher that grabs attention from afar. According to SAF’s board members, this is only the second time that a chrysanthemum variety has won this prestigious prize in 136 years.
Left: Maggi, right: Amor Candy.
“The first thing you notice is its intense color,” says Jim DelPrince, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, Associate Extension Professor at Mississippi State University. “The rays [the petal-like parts] are a red-violet, and the disks [the centers] are a yellow-green. These are direct opposites on the color wheel, which produces a very powerful appearance.”
Additionally, he notes, this chrysanthemum variety is very “floriferous” and boasts long laterals. “Those traits make it easy to use in a vase, foam, wire mesh, chicken wire, coconut coir, and rockwall base,” says Delprince. “These are some of the many reasons this entry was head and shoulders above the rest.”
Left: Amor Candy, Right: Green dragon.
Fellow judge Lani Callister, Fresh Flower manager of Ensign Wholesale Floral in Salt Lake City, Utah, echoes his comments. “It’s a really appealing claret wine color,” she says. “And those laterals are amazing. One stem could serve as a focal flower.”
Judges at the competition scored each entry based on color and commercial appeal, stem and foliage, bloom form and size, and overall presentation. The judging panel, which included three retailer, three growers and three wholesalers, evaluated specific categories of flowers, and the entry with the highest score won “Best in Class.”
Passion de Almendra.
Danziger also won the blue ribbon prize for Lepidium, Green Dragon a magnificent green volume variety that was grown by Skyflowers Colombia. Two red ribbon prizes were awarded to Danziger for its chrysanthemum variety named Passion de Almendra and for a new cut rose variety named Maggi that was grown by Greenrose Ecuador.
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