Here are our top takeaways and important grower comments from CAST 2019:
Growers are looking for ways to save time, money and still bring unique varieties to the market
CAST 2019 saw garden trade enthusiasts and experts from around the globe converging at displays throughout the state of California. Nearly one thousand visitors stopped by Danziger’s California Spring Trials 2019 display in Gilroy to see the new varieties for 2020. “Every year, at CAST and at other trade events in North America, we learn more about what our customers need, the challenges they face and the opportunities they’re looking to take advantage of,” says Ori Danziger, deputy CEO at Danziger. “This year was no exception. We take what we learn and use the information to drive solutions for our customers.”
The 2019 Danziger display focused on highlighting grower solutions and providing specific information on plant usage. “Our mission is to develop inspiring plants that deliver top-notch performance for the grower and the home gardener,” adds Danziger. “We’re working hard to make growing our varieties easier and more profitable.”
Growers are looking for a petunia that performs well in propagation with minimal intervention.
Danziger’s CAPELLA™ Petunia series turned heads at CAST, and not just because of the striking new colors like Neon Pink, Baby Pink, and Ruby Red. Growers say they love CAPELLA™ because it meets all their growing needs:
- Performs well in propagation
- Blooms early enough for any program
- Creates a tidy quart with minimal PGR
- Available in eight colors, creating beautiful baskets and combos
- Continues to grow and perform in the home garden
Growers are looking for varieties that look good in quarts with little or no PGR use.
Danziger is bringing easy-care color back with the VANESSA™ Compact verbena series. This new compact series stays compact with minimal PGR use, providing excellent color in quarts. Just like Danziger’s VANESSA™ series, VANESSA™ Compact is tested for mildew tolerance and cycling of color. Through extensive breeding work and testing around the globe, both series show excellent mildew resistance. But, the most exciting attribute may be that both VANESSA™ and VANESSA™ Compact won’t cycle out of flower. Each color in the series was tested for bloom cycling. The plants consistently push out new blooms to ensure long-lasting color, creating retail sizzle with big color in quarts, and stunning hanging baskets.
Novelties Need to Really Deliver
Novelty petunias were on display at just about every CAST location, but Danziger was the only one to have Elvis singing the praises of AMORE™ petunias. The surprise visit by the King of Rock and Roll kicked off the start of the Spring Trials event, highlighting the newest variety in the unique petunia series, AMORE™ King of Hearts. This stable, uniform series features shopper-stopping blooms with five heart shapes. Growers told us they like the fact that AMORE™ fits well with any petunia program. The AMORE™ series is well matched in flowering response, so it creates outstanding retail displays. “Home gardeners are gravitating toward novelty petunias now more than ever,” says Danziger. “The heart shapes in the blooms of AMORE™ really capture attention and drive sales.”
Choosing the Right Variety for the Right Performance
Growers told us they’re looking for varieties that can deliver performance that is specific to their program needs. “Matching the correct variety for hanging baskets or quart production is key,” says Danziger. “We’ve focused our calibrachoa breeding work to match each series to a program need.” One series that stands out is Danziger’s LIA™ Calibrachoa. LIA™ was bred for use in hanging baskets and larger combos. LIA™ is an early flowering series with noticeably bigger blooms. It shows good vigor, enabling it to keep up with petunias in a hanging basket. Two new colors join the series for 2020 – LIA™ Dark Red features clear, deep-red blooms. LIA™ Glaze is a perfect, clear white. There are four existing colors in the series including Bubblegum, Yellow, Melon, and Blue.
Not Your Grandmother’s Variety
Our breeder’s passion to improve a favorite variety led to Goldstar™. This is definitely not the Jamesbrittenia of long ago. Goldstar™ is well behaved and has enhanced resistance to foliage disease. It’s also day-neutral and extremely heat tolerant. Growers that visited CAST told us they liked the way it was performing in combos. The sunny-yellow blooms go with everything, making it a go-to variety for any hanging basket or combination.
If you missed our display at California Spring Trials 2019, or maybe just want to take another look, you can! Check out our virtual tour.
Learn more information on the new 2020 Danziger varieties!