Walking into any garden center nowadays is sure to present you with loads of marketing for the latest and hottest plant trends with only the best brands. Bigger flowers! More flowers! Different leaf color! Stronger plants! But just how true are these claims long term? And even if true, do these plants really add enough to the market? I’ll go over some of my insights into the hype around brands and their impact on buyers and gardens in southern Wisconsin.
The jump on new trends has been taken over by plant brands. Of course, this makes sense as demand will drive the sales, and marketing will ensure customers choose their brand. What I often see happening are plants being released to the market that are similar to prior varieties or to other varieties recently released to the market. This year for instance I’ve noticed this was with Spigelia marilandica, or Indian pink. Since it was brought into the horticultural eye about 10 years ago by Mark Dwyer (according to Nursery Magazine) a couple varieties have come onto the market including ‘Little Redhead’ and ‘Rajin Cajun’. Now this year Proven Winners has released their ‘Apple Slices’ variety and will add another next year called ‘Orange Slices’. Besides being the same base plant, the color breeding of the flowers have followed the same path as well with red and orange-red flowers respectively. The mature sizes are also extremely similar. To me this begs the question: it is necessary to have such new varieties? For Proven Winners it surely is as it will drive sales for an up and coming plant this is expected to make a big splash soon. Their well cultivated, brand loyal customers are certain to be excited. Time will tell if the new comers will hold up to the established varieties.
What can also be frustrating is when new varieties fall off the market within a few years. An interesting variety that came out a few years ago that I tried was the spirea from Proven Winners called Double Play ‘Painted Lady’. It had attractive, irregular variegation with a nice compact habit and nice flowering. However, it struggled to grow well past the first year in containers and yellowed out by the second summer. In the landscape only one of three survived that I had planted. The last one has struggled for a few years and has finally put on some size to about a third of it’s estimated full size of three feet tall and wide. It may come as no surprise then that this variety did not last on the market and is no longer available. The one remaining spirea in my landscape did survive transplanting and continued to grow so it seems the problem of consistency was the ultimate downfall for this variety.
There are times when brands put out great plants that become long lasting garden favorites. Great improvements in attractive qualities while maintaining good form and habit are the key for success in the most memorable varieties that I immediately think of. Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bobo’ from Proven Winners is such a useful plant that adds tons of long lasting beauty to the landscape. It’s probably the hydrangea I have sold the most of while working at a garden center. First Editions has ‘Tiger Eyes’ staghorn sumac that has been stand alone for quite some time with its bright, dissected foliage. Amsonia ‘Storm Cloud’ has also stormed the scene with its compact and full size with thicker leaves to accent the wonderful blue spring flowers. Dark stems keep the brooding look. Perhaps what keeps these select plants so popular is their hardiness for a wide range of conditions and attractive features that can fit into many applications.
Sourcing with your trusted vendors is the most important for selecting new plants. Your trusted sales representatives should be able to honestly tell you how well a plant grows in your area as well as any issues they’ve seen with the cultivar. Use their knowledge to try new things with confidence that they will sell and perform well.
References:
https://www.nurserymag.com/article/spigelia-marilandica-perennial/
