It was such a pleasure to host Kieft-Pro-Seeds at the Santa Paula facility for the Very First Time under the Ball flag. We heard many positive responses to the varieties Kieft presented, and there were mega-kudos to the Holland team of presenters all throughout the week! Best of all, the local hummingbird and butterfly population practically feasted on the floriculture buffet in the Kieft outdoor pavilion. Here are just some of the highlights…

Giddy About Gerbera

Revolution™ is a remarkable pot gerbera that excels in earliness over each and every other variety on the market. It has a short cultivation period (15-16 weeks); high uniformity; compact and well-shaped plant habit; and is suitable for year-round production. What was most noticed, however, was the wide range of colour showing down the benches at the Kieft Shoppes on Main, which was manned by Gerbera Guru Maarten Dekker. (We also filmed Maarten explaining the features and benefits of each of the Kieft Gerbera series. Stay tuned for posting!)

The latest Mega Revolution™ series is specially developed for the larger container sizes (6 in. and up). It creates nice bushy plants with flower sizes to the extreme, and is another remarkable pot gerbera generation. The Watermelon variety resembles the fresh fruit color of a watermelon.

Salvia Stunner

Kieft’s new New Dimension Salvia in Blue and Rose was another that caught guests’ eyes. This seed rendition of Salvia nemorosa has two strong colors with the same habit that lasts a long time in the landscape. It’s a well-matched series that finishes fast with no PGRs needed. Blue is the deepest blue fromseed, while Rose boasts the same characteristics. Watch these first-year flowering perennials grow up to 10 inches high!

Pincushion Pleasure

At pack trials, sometimes guests gravitate toward the big and the bold. But oftentimes a “sleeper” plant can make a giant splash and steal the show. That’s the case with Blue Note Scabiosa. Another first-year flowering perennial, Blue Note is the largest-flowered blue pincushion from seed. The butterflies were dancing happily above the floriferous blue blooms and helped draw visitors near for a closer look. This Scabiosa is excellent for early Spring sales from overwintered (frost-free) production. It would look great in borders or mass plantings in the landscape. It certainly showed well in California!

Seed Lavandula

The Ellagance series of seed-grown Lavandula grows up to 14 in. with rich, gray-green foliage. Sprouting high on very strong stems are large, dense flower spikes in colors like Ice, Sky, Purple and new Snow, the only true white lavender from seed. Ellagance is more Winter hardy and cold tolerant with good tolerance for foliar diseases. Even better, it ships well to retail with its upright and well-branched habit.