Cultivate is one of those shows that everyone needs to attend at least once, or if you’re lucky, every other year. It is a place where you can chat with vendors, introduce yourself to customers, greet old friends, take advantage of excellent lectures, and, of course, meet a ton of plants. The show has everything, from the smash band The Chlorophyll Harmonic Orchestra (they are really good!) to informal lectures on the show floor to brokering deals for the next year.
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Spigelia ‘Little Redhead’ (Walters Gardens)
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Lagerstroemia GreatMyrtle Series (Garden Choice)
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Helianthus ‘Sunfinity Double Yellow’ (Syngenta Flowers)
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Erysimum Erysistible Series (Syngenta Flowers)
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Coleus ‘Skeletal’ (Kientzler)
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Canna ‘Cannova Gold Leopard’ (American Takii)
Kudos to all the folks at AmericanHort for coordinating this mammoth project — thank you.
Whenever I attend trade shows, it is still obvious that the common denominator of our industry is the plants. Viewings, discussions, and lectures about plants that sell, plants that solve problems, and plants that are simply in demand were on full display again this year. Since I am in the middle of this Plantapalooza excitement, here are a few plants that were constantly mentioned as must-tries.
- Coleus ‘Skeletal’: A rather weird but certainly eye-catching coleus, from Kientzler. Impossible to ignore. Winner of the Greenhouse Grower Medal of Excellence Editor’s Choice Award.
- Canna ‘Cannova Gold Leopard’: The Cannova series from American Takii is excellent and this is, at least to me, the most beautiful of the group. Winner of the Greenhouse Grower Medal of Excellence Industry’s Choice Award.
- Helianthus ‘Sunfinity Double Yellow’: Sunflowers just get better every year and this double from Syngenta Flowers is a must-have. One of the most-talked-about plants at California Spring Trials (CAST) and Cultivate.
- Nepeta ‘Chartreuse on the Loose’: Nepetas are exploding in popularity. This chartreuse-leaf form from Walters Gardens was recommended by Justin Wisniewski of Aris Horticulture and seconded by many others.
- Erysimum Erysistible Series: Wallflowers have been on the radar for a few years now, but their popularity has been held back by the lack of heat tolerance. I have trialed this series from Syngenta Flowers and am pleased to say it has been a winner in Georgia trials for two full summers. The best wallflower I have seen.
- Spigelia ‘Little Redhead’: Indian pinks have always been in demand, and the ability to propagate the plant opened the floodgates. There are a number of nativars available, but ‘Little Redhead’ from Walters Gardens is the most available.
- Carex ‘Moon Falls’: This is a no-brainer from Pacific Plug & Liner. It follows in the footsteps of my favorite carex, ‘Feather Falls’, but with a slightly different variegation pattern. Everyone was talking about this plant — a good indication of future sales.
- Lagerstroemia GreatMyrtle Series: Highlighting a shrub for a greenhouse audience may seem like a stretch, but these dwarf crepe myrtles are catching on for smaller gardens. They are “mailbox plants” and absolutely full of flowers. ‘Cherry Delight’ from Garden Choice is one of my favorites.
- Polemonium ‘Golden Feathers’: Jacob’s ladder plants have been around forever. However, Brett Cromley from Monrovia and others had nothing but good things to say about this selection from Darwin Perennials. The yellow/green variegation catches everyone’s attention and plants seem to have good vigor and better perenniality than other variegated polemoniums.
