Notes from the breeder's backyard

A little different this week as I come to you from my back patio here in Carpentersville, Illinois. If you joined me for the Day 4 Echinacea videos for Darwin Digital Days (recorded week 24) you may have seen these heavily budded but with no color. My Echinacea Artisan containers were in full bloom at…

Thursd to organize Online Trade Fair

The Thursd online platform will organize an international online trade fair between 1 and 14 October. Due to the coronavirus the uncertainty with regards to traditional fairs…

Darwin Perennials

Notes from The Gardens at Ball

Being unable to travel to visit customers does have some benefits. I am able to visit The Gardens at Ball in West Chicago as I please, and track the progress of all our great Kieft Seed and Darwin Perennials genetics as they mature and flower throughout the season. So, instead of “Notes from the Road,” I’d like to bring you…

Initial postponement Myplant revoked, new dates 15-17 February 2021

Myplant comes back in 2021. The trade fair had initially been postponed for 7 months, but the current circumstances have persuaded both exhibitors and the management of the event to reschedule it again. "It wouldn’t have made sense to hold the one international trade fair of reference for the industry in…

UC Davis

US: $1 million grant to expand Climate Ready Landscape Plants project

A research project initiated in the Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, evaluates landscape plants in two-year trials under varying irrigation levels to determine the best irrigation level for optimal plant performance in regions requiring supplemental summer water. Creating water budgets is required…

RHS

Rain plus heatwave sees desert plants bloom in UK for first time ever

Thanks to May's late spring rain and June's early summer heatwave, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has seen a surge in desert plants blooming across their four gardens. Over at the RHS Garden Hyde Hall, a Dasylirion wheeleri has produced a three-metre-tall flower spike for the first time ever. The…

China: Hortiflorexpo IPM Beijing to organize online trade event

Hortiflorexpo IPM Beijing invites manufacturers throughout China to exhibit their products online in a new, online trade show. Powered by advanced information technology,…

Top 10 perennials growing in the Darwin Perennials trial gardens

It is Week 24, which is traditionally the time of year for our popular Darwin Perennials Day. This year, due to Restore Illinois restrictions on gatherings, our single-day event can’t take place, but no worries! We’ve reimagined Darwin Perennials Day into Darwin Digital Days – with an “s” – so you can…

Four Star’s 2021 Plants & Programs guide showcases new introductions

You can see Proven Winners new varieties in Four Star Greenhouse’s 2021 Plants & Programs guide, featuring annuals like Luscious Royale Red Zone Lantana and an improved best seller Supertunia Royal Velvet Petunia. “Luscious Royale Red Zone may be the most exciting addition to date in our subseries of grower-friendly…

Lucky Star pentas are newest Louisiana Super Plants

Lucky Star pentas come in many different colors. On this edition of Get It Growing, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard explains other reasons why this plant is now a member of the Louisiana Super Plant program. Source: LSU AgCenter (Randy LaBauve)

Chiswick House & Gardens

What is the rarest flower in the world?

The flowers that are most commonly referred to as the rarest ones are Corpse Flower, Jade Vine, and Ghost Orchid. However, if we look at the flowers that have concrete information about their population size, the answer is clear. The rarest flower in the world is the Middlemist Red. The scientific name…

RHS Chelsea Plant of the Decade revealed

Each year at Chelsea the RHS invites the public to vote for their favourites in different areas of the show. The winner of each category is the choice that receives the most votes and wins the coveted People’s Choice award. There are two awards for the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Decade. The first is…

Cornell University

Cornell cancels 2020 Floriculture Field Day

Sadly, the 2020 Floriculture Field Day at Cornell has been canceled. But the flower and foliage plant trials will continue. Visit the Facebook page of the Cornell Annual Trials Program for more information: https://www.facebook.com/CornellAnnualTrialsProgram. They will be posting photos and videos of the…

Blue Daze named Texas Superstar

A time-tested Lone Star favorite – Blue Daze – has been added to the list of Texas Superstar plants. Brent Pemberton, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research ornamental horticulturist, Overton, said Blue Daze has been a long-time ornamental favorite of gardeners and landscapers and deserves the designation. The latest Texas…

"Don’t let your Garden Mums bud too early and set back growth"

Mums may be short day (long night) flowering plants, but they can still flower under long days, especially during cold nights. Although flowering takes a bit longer, varieties that are Very Early to Mid natural season timing, as listed in the Fresh All Fall Guide, will initiate flower buds under 14.5…

US (PA): Culture trials in West Grove - a look back and a look forward

As spring marches ahead and this year’s trials begin to unfurl (oblivious to current global events), I pause in the relative calm before the spring storm. Here in Pennsylvania our first three culture trial groups are already potted and growing green with anticipation of the sea of blooms yet to arrive.…

Brindabella Purple Prince wins sustainable landscape performance award

Brindabella Purple Prince has earned a 2021 Local Artist award, bestowed by American Rose Trials for Sustainability (A.R.T.S.). The organization identifies the hardiest and most disease- and pest-resistant rose cultivars through regional testing under low-input conditions. The region Purple Prince won spans…

Digitalis Panther available now for retail

Digitalis Panther is a new product from Takii and is being launched in conjunction with four selected distributors: Florensis, Ball, Graines Voltz and Rudy Raes. The garden plant is being grown in various pot sizes by a number of European growers. The new Digitalis Panther has a very natural appearance,…

The complete chloroplast genome of fragrant plantain lily

Fragrant plantain lily (Hosta ventricosa) is an ornamental plant and widely cultivated in China due to its environmental adaptability. In a new study, the complete chloroplast…