May 2022 - 52

vaughn's view
BY VAUGHN FLETCHER
Annual Introductions
T
CAPTIVATING
FOR 2023 - PART
1
The Costa Premier Spring Trial in Miami, Florida showcases a diverse range
of new annuals. This is Part 1 of Vaughn's report.
here is so much excitement and energy in the
air when you enter the Costa Trial in early
spring to observe and evaluate new annual and
perennial introductions for the coming year.
Premier is an appropriate adjective to describe this
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.
outstanding trial. It is the first trial of the season, and
it is comprehensive,
organized, well-labeled
and comprises hundreds of
varieties representing more than
15 international flower breeders.
The quart size trial varieties
are planted weeks 50-51 in row
beds with subsequent plantings
in baskets, landscape beds, and
designer recipe containers.
I attended trial week 8 this
spring following 10 weeks
of growth, development, and
fluorescence. The criteria I used
in highlighting specific varieties
in this article were color vibrancy,
brightness, plant vigor, earliness,
unique color patterns and
floriferousness.
Obviously, heat tolerance was not a factor in my evaluation
this early in the season; however, I will return in late April when
the trial has matured and the plant material has been impacted
by weeks of extreme temperatures, high humidity and frequent
rains. I will submit future articles on the performance results
52 MAY 2022 GPNMAG.COM
In my opinion,
a new plant
introduction has to
justify its existence
in many areas.
of the basket and bed trials from that April visit. Many of these
new introductions will be entered in regional trials throughout
the country and Canada this summer.
As the weather becomes more extreme, these trials offer
the industry and consumers salient information on what I call
summer hardiness. I believe the goal of this entire trialing
program is to discover and introduce
to the consumer sustainable and
durable annuals and perennials
that result in success and ultimate
satisfaction. In my opinion, a new
plant introduction has to justify its
existence in many areas, including
ease of production application, visual
impact in the retail setting, rapid
sell-through and environmental
adaptability. There were many
impressive new annual varieties that
I will highlight in a second article
next month.
1. CELOSIA PLUMOSA
'FLAMMA ORANGE'
Sakata
I saw this series for the first time
at the Mast and Raker-Roberta's trials late last August. The
flower colors were stunning, and the size and profusion of
plumes were extraordinary. The series has five colors: Bright
Red, Orange, Rose, Golden and Red, as well as a Mix. In the
Costa trial beds, the performance was consistent with what I
1
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
May 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2022
