Trip Report California Spring Trials 2022
Claire Josephson former Marketing Manager
It was so good to finally be back at California Spring Trials (CAST) this year. If you had a chance to travel to our location, thank you for making CAST 2022 a wonderful success. Week 13 provided so many exciting things to see in Santa Paula and we’ve got your highlights right here. You’ll find an overview of what products impressed attendees with both new introductions, as well as existing varieties from PanAmerican Seed.
Hula™ Spreading Begonia. Pan American Seed’s newest introduction of begonia looks amazing in a hanging basket and will impress on a retail bench. It has the opportunity to be sold as a more premium product since it can be mixed in a container or can fill in a landscape bed. Its high-impact colour continues all season long with early flowering – time it just like Baby Wing! Available in Bicolor Red White, Blush, Pink and Red.
Trailblazer Pepper from the HandPicked Vegetables™ Collection. This high disease-resistant, striking yellow, sweet bell pepper features firm, thick walls and can maintain shelf life at retail farmer’s markets. The perfect stuffing pepper has a rich flavour and adds a bright hue to any vegetable retail program.
Maryland Snapdragon from BloomStudios® Cut Flowers. While it wasn’t a “new” introduction, our display of Maryland Snapdragons WOW’ed guests to Santa Paula. They were especially drawn to our in-ground performance trials where Maryland stood in tall, colourful rows – even in the driving rains we experienced that week. Maryland is a group 2 snapdragon best for short days, moderate light levels and cool temperatures.
Bluesette Perovskia from Kieft Seed™ Perennials. With its controlled habit, early flowering and finishing, Bluesette is great for both the consumer and landscape professional market. It’s a true alternative to vegetative varieties, since it’s the first and only compact, branching Perovskia from seed. This novelty variety is a pollinator magnet with attractive foliage and a wonderful fragrance. It looked fabulous at CAST when placed in mixed arrangements – guests could see the possibilities!
Cool Wave® Blue Pansy from our Wave brand. Besides Bluesette, we showcased another shade of the Color of the Year: Very Peri at CAST, and this spreading pansy was no exception. This vibrant variety features excellent, trailing flower presentation and an attractive plant at point-of-sale. It really is a cool-season gardener’s dream and paired very well nestled with our White Lion Leucanthemum.
Ruby Heart Coleus from Fantastic Foliage®. This show-stopping coleus offers a remarkable ruby red hue with a thin chartreuse border. Its heart-shaped leaves also feature the green colouring on the undersides and stems, adding brightness throughout the foliage. As part of the Premium Sun collection, Ruby Heart can tolerate full sun and high humidity, but can also thrive in the shade.
Solarscape™ Interspecific Impatiens for Pro Landscape Performers. If you haven’t heard about Solarscape, this is our seed-propagated interspecific impatiens series that provides the same garden performance as vegetative varieties without the royalties! Perfect for opening-price-point, non-branded programs at retail. Read a Q&A on Solarscape with Lisa Lacy, PanAmerican Seed Portfolio Manager – Product Development. This series features bright, vibrant colours available in Magenta Bliss, Orange Burst and White Shimmer, with an XL variety Salmon Glow.
PanAmerican Seed continues to bring real solutions to you and your customers with our new introductions. Contact your preferred distributor to place your order. And hope to see you next year in Santa Paula!
