January 2020 - 24

MARKETING
'Lucky Lemon Glow'
'Bloomify Red'
heat tolerance. It's also a key component to any butterfly garden, and
with pollinator-friendly plants topping trends coast to coast, lantana is a
must-have.
Wendy: There are so many reasons to love lantana! Lantana is a heat
lover but also does very well in summer gardens throughout North
America. They are available in a versatile range of colors and flower
non-stop all season long. Lantana requires very little care, and once
established, is quite drought resistant. They can add a bright pop of color
to garden plantings, hanging baskets, porch pots or anywhere colorful
flowers are desired.
Brian: This crop was a good choice due to the trend seen (and what we
see in our young plant bookings); people want more and more summer
performance out of the annuals they buy. We continue to see a decline in
annuals like bacopa, diascia and nemesia or annuals that don't hold up for
a full season of color. With crops like lantana, we see them going all the
way until first frost and offering good color. I had a pot of 'Hot Blooded'
by my office door and I took a photo of it on Oct. 15, in Grand Rapids still
looking good even though we already had a few light frosts.
GPN: What has been your role and experience in the development,
marketing and/or sale of lantana?
Brian: At Mast Young Plants, we have a department that runs plant
trials called our innovating department. We always trial new varieties for
breeders before they hit the market and give them feedback. We have a
public trial garden where in the summer of 2019 we grew out the new
varieties that breeders will hit retailers within the summer of 2020. This
gives us a chance to see them and to allow retail and wholesale growers a
chance to come and see them and decide which they prefer. We were able
to work with Syngenta Flowers in 2019 and offer a pre-release of their
24 JANUARY 2020 GPNMAG.COM
2020 variety, 'Hot Blooded'. This exciting new variety sold very well as a
pre-release and should be well received at retail in 2020.
Wendy: I'm a floriculturist and flower breeder. I play " the birds and
the bees " with lantana to invent and develop new varieties that possess
superior garden performance for our customers. I collaborate with
marketing, sales and consumers to make sure we are on the right track to
develop and deliver the best new varieties to the market.
Sarah: I am the lantana product manager for Ball FloraPlant. I manage
the life cycle of a lantana variety in our pipeline from its start up until the
point it becomes a commercial introduction. Simply put, I help bring new
lantana varieties to the commercial market!
Our lantana breeder creates new, experimental lantana varieties. Ball
FloraPlant then trials these varieties for multiple years to make sure they
meet our performance standards. Plants get trialed in locations across
North America - in gardens and greenhouses. Many of the plants we trial
do not meet our standards and do not move forward, but a few do. It's
rewarding and exciting to see the progression of a plant: From an initial
selection by our breeder, to years of consistent trialing, to a plant offered
for sale to growers and consumers grown in people's gardens across the
globe! Our breeder often sends me pictures he finds of people growing and
promoting the varieties he bred. Getting to be a part of that gives me a
great sense of pride.
GPN: What changes and innovations have you seen in recent years in
the lantana category?
Sarah: The recent breeding in this crop has given it more variety and
versatility. Some new breeding has resulted in plants with highly improved
branching. Better branching creates plants that are easier to manage for
both growers and gardeners. There are also more size options in the crop.
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January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2020
