Market buzz

All-America Selections introduces more AAS winners for 2015

DOWNERS GROVE, IL – All-America Selections has announced additional 2015 AAS Winners, bringing the grand total of introductions for the 2015 gardening year to 25. The seven winners detailed below join the 12 announced this past November and six announced this past July. This is a 75-year high for AAS, as 1939 was the last time there were as many winners.

Many of the winners are the first in a class to be granted an AAS award, such as Brussels sprouts, garlic chives, oregano and pak choi.These varieties are available for immediate sale.

Brokers and growers will find these Winners for sale in the coming months as supply gradually becomes available throughout the chain of distribution.

A complete list of trial grounds and judges can be found at all-americaselections.org/trial_grounds.

A list of all AAS Winners since 1932 can be found at all-americaselections.org/winners.
 

Basil Persian
AAS 2015 Edible Winner
Regional Winner (Heartland, Mountain/Southwest and West/Northwest)

Persian Basil is a large, vigorous plant that is a prolific producer of pleasant-tasting leaves for culinary adventures. This winner is late to produce flowers, which often makes basil develop a bitter taste. The bees were also very active around this entry in the trials.

Bred by Terra Organics

AAS^® Winner Data
Plant height: 12-15 inches
Plant habit: Bushy
Plant width/spread: 15 inches
Closest comparisons on market: Cinnamon Basil, Siam Queen
 

Beet Avalanche
AAS 2015 Edible Winner
National Winner

Avalanche exhibits a mild, sweet taste with a uniform root shape and no reddish tinge, making for more attractive produce. Judges raved about the raw eating quality when they discovered there was no earthy beety taste, nor any bitter aftertaste. This vegetable grows in just 50 days.

Bred by Bejo Seeds, Inc.

AAS^® Winner Data
Plant height: 12 inches
Plant width/spread: 6 inches
Plant habit: Bushy
Closest comparisons on market: Blankoma, Albino
 

Chives, Garlic Geisha
AAS 2015 Edible Winner
National Winner

Geisha is a vigorous grower with a garlic flavor. Slightly wider, flatter and more refined leaves topped by white flower stalks late in the season mean this is another edible that can serve a dual purpose as an ornamental. Although late flowering is a good thing in herbs, when Geisha bursts into bloom, the butterfly inhabitants in your garden will be very happy!

Bred by Terra Organics

AAS^® Winner Data
Plant height: 18-20 inches
Plant width/spread: 9-10 inches
Plant habit: Upright
Closest comparisons on market: Garlic Chives, Nira
 

Broccoli Artwork F1
AAS 2015 Edible Winner
National Winner

Artwork is a dark green stem broccoli that has only recently become available to home gardeners. Previously, stem or baby broccoli was exclusively available in gourmet markets and up-scale restaurants. Artwork starts out similar to a regular crown broccoli, but after harvesting that first crown, easy-to-harvest tender and side shoots continue to appear long into the season, resisting warm temperature bolting better than other stem broccolis currently on the market.

Bred by Seminis Vegetable Seeds

AAS^® Winner Data
Plant type: Annual
Plant height: 30 inches
Plant habit: Upright
Closest comparisons on market: Apollo F1, Aspabroc F1

Dianthus Jolt™ Pink F1
AAS 2015 Bedding Plant Winner;
National Winner

This is a dianthus with brightly colored and large, showy flower heads on strong stems that perform all summer long. Jolt is the most heat tolerant dianthus on the market, sporting showy, bright pink fringed flowers. Greenhouse growers should note that Jolt is shorter on the bench, making it better for shipping and the uniform blooms last up to four weeks longer than the comparison varieties.

Bred by PanAmerican Seed 

AAS® Winner Data
Plant height: 16-20 inches
Plant type: Annual, semi-hardy to Zone 7 or milder
Closest comparisons on market: Amazon F1 Rose Magic, Noverna Coral, Barbarini Rose
 

Oregano Cleopatra
AAS 2015 Edible Winner;
Regional Winner (Northeast and West/Northwest)

Pretty silver gray foliage makes this another herb that will be appreciated for its ornamental value. Unique from Greek and Italian oreganos, Cleopatra has a mildly spicy, peppermint flavor. This compact, trailing plant produces a high yield of leaves that are wonderful as a dried spice when fresh isn’t an option.

Bred by Genesis Seeds, offered by Terra Organics

AAS® Winner Data
Plant height: 5-6 inches
Plant width/spread: 9-10 inches
Plant habit: Low growing, spreading and trailing
Closest comparisons on market:  Greek, Italian

Petunia Tidal Wave Red Velour F1
AAS 2015 Flower Winner;
National Winner

Large flowers literally cover the spreading plants that rarely need deadheading because new blooms continuously pop up and cover the old, spent blooms. Tidal Wave petunias are the tallest of the Wave family and bloom over and over all season long and recover quickly, even after hard rains. 

Bred by PanAmerican Seed

AAS^® Winner Data
Plant height: If planted 12 inches apart, plants will form a dense mounded hedge up to 32 inches tall. If planted 24 inches apart, plants will spread like a ground cover to up to 5 feet across
Plant type: Annual
Closest comparisons on market: Ramblin’Red, Tidal Wave Cherry

Photos courtesy All-America Selections

 

American Floral Endowment announces two new board members

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) has announced Cynthia “Cindy” Hanauer and William “Billy” Hardin, Jr. as new members of its board of trustees, according to a press release by AFE. Both will serve a three-year term with the option for a second term. Hanauer is founder and CEO of Grand Central Floral, LLC in Jacksonville, Fla. She has worked in the floral industry for 45 years and held senior positions at the Kroger Company, Winn-Dixie Stores and 1-800-Flowers. Hanauer’s areas of expertise include inventory management, visual merchandising and quality assurance. She is chairman of the floral advisory board for the United Fresh Industry Trade Association, a member of the Society of American Florists (SAF) and the Network of Executive Women, and is actively involved in several other floral organizations.

“There’s no greater honor and privilege than to serve as a trustee for an organization whose sole purpose is to reinforce the future of our industry through much-needed scholarships and research, while employing the generous donations of the many noble benefactors who have made our industry so great,” said Hanauer.

Hanauer will serve on the public relations/development committee, as well as on the Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF) committee.

Hardin is president of Hardin Global, LLC located in Siler City, North Carolina. Prior to that, he was president of Hardin’s Wholesale Florist in Liberty, North Carolina from 1992 to 2010. He has been involved in the floral industry for 35 years and previously served as president of the Wholesale Florist & Floral Supplier Association (WF&FSA) and on the board of directors for SAF from 2000 to 2007. He specializes in the operation of greenhouses and wholesale florists.

“I look forward to working with everyone to improve the floral industry,” said Hardin. “AFE plays such a crucial role in floriculture research.

Hardin will serve on the public relations/development and education/scholarship committees.

“Hanauer’s and Hardin’s 80 years of combined experience in the floral industry will undoubtedly lead to big things for the Endowment,” said Gabriel Becerra, chairman of AFE.
 

National Garden Bureau announces 2015 Perennial Plant of the Year

The Perennial Plant Association membership has voted, and the 2015 Perennial Plant of the Year is Geranium cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo,’ which reaches 6-10 inches high.

‘Biokovo’ is a naturally occurring hybrid of Geranium dalmaticum and Geranium macrorrhizum found in the Biokovo Mountains of the Dalmatia region of present-day Croatia. Blooming in late spring ‘Biokovo’ has masses of five-petaled white flowers, about .75 inches in diameter, that are tinged pink at the base of each petal and have darker pink center stamens, according to a press release from the National Garden Bureau.

For more, www.perennialplant.org

The Garden Center Group announces change in ownership

ACWORTH, GA. — The Garden Center Group, Inc. announced a transition of ownership from Robert and Wendy Hendrickson to Danny and Karen Summers, who assumed ownership and full management as of March 1, 2015, through the newly formed The Garden Center Group, LLC.

Since beginning his work with the group in February of 2012 as Community Manager, Danny Summers has played a major role in managing the growth of The Garden Center Group Incorporated community and promoting participation in the common goal of helping all companies involved with The Group increase market share, sales and profits, according to a press release about the transition of ownership. Although this announcement marks the official transition of ownership, Summers & Associates has been providing management services to The Group since October 2013 when Danny was named Managing Director.

Danny and Karen Summers have more than 40 years of combined retail, wholesale, association management and event planning experience.

The Garden Center Group, an alliance consisting of more than 150 companies, is the industry’s business development firm for garden centers and suppliers. The group focuses on business solutions designed to help garden centers increase sales, improve operations and retain more profit. 

For more, www.thegardencentergroup.com

NRF forecasts retail sales to increase

The National Retail Federation released its 2015 economic forecast in February, and projected retail industry sales (wich exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 4.1 percent, up from the 3.5 percent growth seen in 2014. The 4.1 percent increase would mark the biggest annual growth since 2011, when retail sales for the year increased 5.1 percent.

Additional economic insights from the National Retail Federation include:

• A baseline outlook for growth in the economy as measured by GDP is expected to land between 2.7 and 3.2 percent over last year;
• Unemployment is expected to drop to 5 percent by year’s end;
• Gains in equities and housing have boosted net worth to record levels, helping consumers feel more confident about household spending.
  
   

2015 GCA Summer Tour features nearly 20 stops

This year’s Garden Centers of America Summer Tour will feature five or more stops each day, from large destination garden centers to small, niche-oriented stores, in Milwaukee, Wisc.

The tour will take place June 21-24, and attendees will travel from the once industrial city through the rolling green hills of the suburbs. Attendees will hit 18 stops in three days.

The tour schedule is as follows. An overview of the tour with specific details of each stop is now available on the GCA website homepage.

Monday, June 22: 

• Prospect Hill Garden Center, New Berlin
• K&W Greenery, Janesville
• Borzynski’s Farm & Floral Market, Sturtevant
• Milaeger’s, Racine
• Stein Gardens & Gifts, Milwaukee
• Boerner Botanical Gardens, Hales Corners
   

Tuesday, June 23:

• Caan Floral & Greenhouses, Sheboygan
• Christopher Farm & Gardens, Sheboygan
• Johnson’s Gardens, Cedarburg
• Stein Gardens & Gifts, Wauwatosa
• The Milwaukee Domes of Mitchell Park Conservatory, Milwaukee
   

Wednesday, June 24

• Brennan’s Market, Oconomowoc
• Oconomowoc Landscape Supply & Garden Center, Oconomowoc
• Ebert’s Greenhouse Village, Ixonia
• Lammscapes/ Lamm Gardens, Jackson
• Cabela’s, Richfield
• Shady Lane Greenhouses, Menomonee Falls
• Harley-Davidson Museum, Milwaukee
   

The final day of our GCA Tour also begins the first day of Summerfest, featuring more than 800 acts and 1,000 performances on 11 stages across 11 days on the lakefront in Milwaukee. 

For more, www.gardencentersofamerica.com