As Westhoff was planning their 2025 CAST display, they wanted to narrow their focus and present information that would be useful and productive for all attendees. They acknowledged the challenge of carving a week out of spring to come to California and aimed to have a concise message that could resonate for the next season and beyond. At this point, Westhoff has a very broad and encompassing assortment that is not practical to show all at once, so they considered what to focus on. Several questions came to mind to help drive this decision: What are the current and future needs of the garden consumer? What are growers looking for from Westhoff? How can they best connect their products to growers and the broker salesforce across North America?
They decided to focus on Petunias, as this is a consistent strength for Westhoff, and discuss how they are expanding not only their assortment but also their reach in providing access to Westhoff products, as well as new items and building new genera and categories. Additionally, they chose to present products in their boldest format with large, perfectly grown plants, while also displaying in retail-ready formats like quart pots and cart programs.
Westhoff is continually humbled by the turnout and response to their products and is genuinely grateful to all those in attendance. For those who were unable to visit in person this year, they hope the recap will share a little of the experience and inspire others to consider making the trip next year to discuss possibilities over a cup of coffee or some of the best tacos Southern California has to offer.
Petunias, petunias, petunias
Westhoff has long been associated with superior Petunia breeding and selections, especially novelty Petunias, and this year they decided to emphasize this incredibly important crop. Now that Westhoff and Selecta have come to a resolution, they presented the DiscoBall Petunias to the market. These plants have the characteristic bright color with white speckles, but what sets DiscoBall apart from other spotted type Petunias on the market are the neat, tidy habits they exhibit, as highlighted on the grower cart in quart stadium pots. They found that a good number of these novelty color/pattern Petunias are sold in smaller pots, so a more controlled habit is called for, especially since plant growth regulators can negatively impact the pattern. The speckles are very consistent across the canopy and tend to be more resilient under high light and temperature environments.
© Westhoff
A huge leap forward in Petunia breeding, several new Crazytunias, and a rebrand of one of Westhoff's most recognizable and distinctive series were featured at the California Spring Trials this year. Petunia Pink Cloud is the next generation of Petunia breeding from Westhoff, with an incredible capacity to recover after rain and flower development twice the speed of typical Petunias. The Crazytunia series has become synonymous with unusual, novel Petunias, and Westhoff continues to refine the series by introducing new varieties and dropping older, redundant colors. The rebranding of the Inferno series (formerly the Hells series) of Petunias was kicked off with two new introductions, including The Orange!, capturing the imagination of most visitors with its true, clear orange color.
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Westhoff continues to grow and expand to meet the demand for their varieties. Quality Cuttings Team (QCT) added Calibrachoa to their unrooted program and announced an expansion with Westhoff Petunias for spring 2026. Vivero International, a long-term partner, is expanding to a new product category: Begonias. Savannah Flowers, Westhoff's fifth licensee, will supply the North American market and was granted permission from the USDA to export Westhoff's Dianthus from their facilities to the US.
Although the show was nearly stolen by their Petunia program, there is still more from Westhoff. A new pre-planned combo program called EZ Mix is making its way to the US and Canada. Westhoff is also introducing their own line of interspecific geraniums in the Vamos series, a true Ivy x Zonal hybrid with intense bright solid and bicolor varieties.
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For more information:
Westhoff
[email protected]
www.westflowers.de
