October 2021 - 40

VAUGHN'S VIEW
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stripes. The ColorBlast doubles
add value with their dramatic and
ostentatious flower forms, which
bring another level of diversity
to the entire portfolio, which
includes four solid colors, five
bicolors and four assorted mixes.
10. IMPATIENS
'SUNSTANDING NEON
ROSE'
Dümmen Orange
The Arboretum has many
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colorful and explosive landscape
beds that demand attention, and
this was true of the 'Sunstanding
Neon Rose' landscape beds, which
greeted me as I began my tour
of the gardens. This standalone
variety is more vigorous than
the Apollo or Helios series, but
matches those series in uniformity
and summer performance. This is
one of the original introductions,
and it offers heat tolerance
and prolific flowering in the
landscape. It was a showstopper
and a landscaper's dream in the
Arboretum. There are seven bright
and luminous colors in this family;
if you are looking for a uniform
and tough component for shade
or sun beds this Sunstanding
class should be considered.
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11. HELIANTHUS
'SUNCREDIBLE SATURN'
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Proven Winners
The National Garden Bureau
designated 2021 as the Year
of the Sunflower, and it is only
fitting that Proven Winners
would introduce a new bicolor
helianthus. 'Suncredible Yellow
was introduced last year, and
its companion Saturn will be
introduced for 2022. This
variety offers sunshine colored
yellow flowers with a russet red
ring and black center. In the
landscape beds, it demonstrated
exceptional heat tolerance and
floriferousness, which was what
you expect from a sunflower
in mid summer. Saturn has
deep green foliage, dark stems,
excellent branching, and 3- to
4-inch flowers that rise above
the foliage. It requires minimal
deadheading, and is more
compact with darker foliage
40 OCTOBER 2021 GPNMAG.COM
than 'Suncredible Yellow'. These
features were also manifested in
the Colorado State trial I visited a
week later. Application will include
a thriller in large containers
and as a background planting in
landscape beds. Although this
variety is listed as maturing at
24 to 36 inches, in the trials that
I have visited this summer the
plants were taller and matured at
36 to 42 inches.
12. IMPATIENS
'SUNSTANDING JAZZY
HOT PINK'
Dümmen Orange
This subseries, consisting of
Coral and Hot Pink, debuted in
2020 and was ubiquitous in many
spring programs this year. There
are so many adjectives to describe
this series, including exotic,
tropical, colorful, heat tolerant
and decorative. The plants in the
Arboretum were striking with
outstanding uniformity, excellent
branching, and flowers that were
profuse above the canopy. I
visited the Metrolina trial in midAugust
and witnessed the same
attributes in their trial beds. The
two varieties are versatile with
multiple applications in beds and
large combination containers with
flower or foliage components. I
grew them in beds in partial shade
as well as in 18-inch containers in
full sun, and they did equally well
in both locations.
13. PETUNIA 'DURABLOOM
WATERMELON'
Dümmen Orange
Petunia 'DuraBloom Royal Pink'
was the first introduction in the
series followed by six varieties for
2021, and four new colors have
been added for 2022: Yellow,
White, Silver and Red. This is an
interspecific petunia series with
exceptional vigor, heat tolerance
and vibrant long-lasting color.
I attended the University of
Georgia trial in late May, and the
DuraBloom varieties on display
in baskets manifested excellent
vigor, strong color retention
and prolific flowering. This
performance continued at the
Dallas Arboretum. 'DuraBloom
Watermelon', introduced last year,
was one of the most floriferous
petunias in the trial and one of
my favorites for its unusual color,
prolific flowering, and vibrancy.
This series has received high
marks in multiple field trials. I
trialed the entire series in my
containers and beds in the Kansas
City area, where we experience
high day and night temperatures
and excessive humidity levels. All
the colors demonstrated vigor,
durability and prolific flowering
throughout the summer. The two
most vigorous varieties in the
series, Electric Lilac and Royal
Pink, were the most floriferous in
my container trial. The series is
day length neutral with production
application in quarts, mixed
containers, and landscape beds.
Four Confetti Garden Endurables
with DuraBloom petunias will be
available for 2022.
14. VERBENA 'VANESSA
OPTIK LAVENDER'
Danziger
The world of verbena expands
every year with new colors,
disease resistance, sizes,
increased heat and disease
tolerance, and minimal cycling.
Danziger entered the verbena
arena with the Vanessa series
and followed this up with the
Vanessa Compact series. Last
year, I highlighted 'Vanessa
Bicolor Indigo' for its striking and
vibrant indigo and white flowers in
multiple trials. 'Vanessa Compact
Optik Lavender' is equally
unique with its pronounced
and eye-catching white eye,
which contrasts strikingly with
the lavender petals. It was the
most floriferous verbena in the
container trial and definitely my
favorite. The series is naturally
compact with dense branching
and forms a colorful canopy.
The color options are significant
with 11 varieties to choose
from. I have observed this series
in regional trials the past two
years, and flower cycling has
been minimal with no mildew
evident late into the summer. This
compact series has application in
quarts and mixed containers.
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October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2021
