New Varieties Digital Guide 2023 - 32

vaughn's view
BY VAUGHN FLETCHER
DISTINCTIVE
1
&EXCEPTIONAL
PERENNIAL INTRODUCTIONS
At the Costa Trials, these perennials stood out among more than
160 varieties on display.
I
Vaughn Fletcher
is president of
Fletcher Consulting.
He has been in the
horticulture industry
since 1971, working in
many areas including
landscaping, garden
center and greenhouse
production, greenhouse
and nursery sales and
sales management.
He can be reached at
vfletcher9@gmail.com.
n my three previous Costa articles, I highlighted
dynamic annual introductions and top-performing
baskets recipes. My evaluation of the trial would
be incomplete without an overview of many new perennial
introductions for 2022-23.
I have used the word parade to describe the volume
of new perennial introductions and their durability,
environmental resilience, unique flower colors and
floriferousness in the trial during my late February and
late April visits. There were over 160 varieties represented
by 14 international and domestic flower and perennial
breeders. The liners were planted in the trial beds weeks
49 to 50, and my focus in the selection process was
heat, humidity, rain tolerance and, most importantly,
prolific flowering.
I submitted my first GPN perennial article in 2017,
and since that time the quantity and quality of new
introductions entered in regional trials have expanded
significantly. What has been impressive are the
breeding advancements and product development,
resulting in exciting new cultivars and improvement in
morphological characteristics such as color, size, form,
and textures. The benefits of these new varieties are
greater disease resistance, heat and drought tolerance,
first-year flowering, extended flowering, and multiple
application potential.
32 NEW VARIETIES 2023 DIGITAL GUIDE GPNMAG.COM
The Costa perennial trial offers an early glimpse of the
development and maturation of these new perennials,
which will be manifested later in the summer and fall in
multiple regional trials.
1. RUDBECKIA HIRTA 'DAKOTA FLAME'
GreenFuse Botanicals
The Dakota series was introduced in 2020 following over
10 years of revolutionary breeding, development and trialing.
So what is revolutionary about this series? It is the first true
hirta with Zone 5 hardiness, first-year flowering and day-length
neutrality. No cold treatment is required for spring flowering,
so the series can be introduced to the market for late spring
and early summer sales. Red Shield was introduced in 2020,
followed by Gold, and the new Flame for 2022-23, which was
in the Costa trial and flowering prolifically. This is a spectacular
bicolor with a dark eye and yellow ray petals that will augment
the Dakota series with three distinctive hirta varieties. I posted
a photo of this variety on my Facebook page and it captured
much attention. Flame will create outstanding visual impact
at retail and garner significant consumer interest.
2. AGASTACHE 'BETTERBUZZ AMARILLO'
Dümmen Orange
Dümmen Orange has entered the agastache arena with
three colorful varieties for 2022-23: 'Betterbuzz Amarillo',
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
New Varieties Digital Guide 2023

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