All photos by Emily Mills
From new plants and garden art to a three-tier shopping cart and a quick drop-in planter, judges for The Garden Center Group’s Retailers’ Choice Awards at Cultivate’24 found 15 top products on the trade show floor.
The judges walked the show floor during the Sunday of Cultivate, looking for exciting new plants and products, with 62 nominations submitted before the judges narrowed it down to 15 award winners.
The winners (in alphabetical order by company name) are:
Helleborus ‘Mount Nebo’, Aris Horticulture/Must Have Perennials
Helleborus ‘Mount Nebo’ from Must Have Perennials features new foliage that emerges a bright red in the fall and early spring before maturing to pink, white and green speckled leaves.
Bouquets of flowers emerge in early spring along with a new flush of foliage. Rosy pink blushed buds and flowers persist for weeks before slowly fading to chartreuse. Bright yellow reflexive anthers add to the unique flowers, and uniquely colored and patterned foliage adds extended interest to shade gardens into the summer.
Mount Nebo is part of the brand’s new The Rockies Helleborus line (all Zones 6-9), which also includes Grand Teton, Pike’s Peak, Snowshoe Mountain, Hollowtop Mountain and Table Mountain.
“There’s a lot of hellebores going after flowers, and we decided to go kind of in a different direction and really pursue foliage,” says Justin Wisniewski, general manager of the Must Have Perennials program. “You get this increased interest and versatility throughout the year. It's not just about the flowers when they come out in late winter, early spring. You get beautiful interest all year long with these hellebores and something just different to integrate into your landscape.”
For more information, email kris.smith@musthaveperennials.com.
Ball FloraPlant won a Retailers’ Choice Award for three of its angelonia: AngelMist Spreading White, AngelFlare Cranberry and AngelFlare Black.
The new AngelFlare angelonia have an open, V-shaped habit that stands out in combinations, making it ideal for combos with other heat-loving items like lantana and cuphea. It’s a strong season extender for just past Mother’s Day, says Leland Toering, Ball FloraPlant’s sales manager for North America.
The Cranberry variety features deep red florets on tall spikes, while the Black variety brings a never-before-seen color to angelonia.
For the AngelMist, big blooms have a big impact in baskets or in the ground, and this low-growing, super-spreading variety makes for a unique groundcover.
“We specifically bred it to be for mixes...As you can see, the components, they really flare out,” says Toering, referencing the plant’s AngelFlare name.
Ball FloraPlant’s MixMasters We've Got Flare combination features AngelFlare Black, AngelFlare Orchid Pink and AngelMist Spreading White Angelonia.
The company has additional combination recipes on ballfloraplant.com, where the individual components can also be ordered.
“I feel like independent garden centers continue to be the backbone of our industry,” Toering told the audience. “When we come up with new varieties at Ball FloraPlant, we are looking for products that are going to guarantee not only the success of you as retailers but the end consumer success as well because we want them to come back and buy more.”
For more information, email LToering@ballhort.com.
Agastache mexicana Summerlong Lilac, Lemon and Coral, Darwin Perennials
Darwin Perennials’ new Agastache mexicana Summerlong series (Zones 7a-10b) features five colors: Coral, Lemon, Lilac, Magenta and Peach.
Lilac, Lemon and Coral won a Retailers’ Choice Award, with the judges noting the dense, mounded variety that flowers throughout the summer with beautiful, bright flowers. The judges also noted it’s earlier to bloom and longer lasting in full bloom for an extended sales window and better garden performance.
“I think it checks off a lot of key boxes for consumers,” says Seth Reed, sales and marketing manager for Darwin Perennials.
Reed also noted that the plants in this series attract pollinators and hummingbirds and have a good fragrance.
For more information, email sreed@ballhort.com.
Musa Nono Pink Variegated is a new ornamental banana plant that produces pink, white and green variegated foliage, with the pink becoming more abundant and vibrant as the plant matures.
The plant does produce pink variegated fruit, but it’s not edible.
Brittany Suarez, new products research and development administrator, says the tissue culture comes from Thailand, with a grow time of 15 weeks.
“It was really fun in January, I got to visit this lab and go to all the flower markets, and this banana was everywhere,” she adds.
ForemostCo currently has Nono Pink in tissue culture production, so more plants should be available in the coming months.
For more information, email brittany.suarez@foremostco.com.
Organic Grow-At-Home Kit, KnowingNature
The new Organic Grow-At-Home Kit from KnowingNature includes everything needed to grow the varieties of organic microgreens at home and a reusable planter. The kit includes the patented reusable planter, three packs of organic seeds (broccoli, purple radish and a salad mix of kohlrabi and Red Acre cabbage), three organic coco coir discs and detailed instructions.
The kit is currently available for pre-order from KnowingNature’s website for $45, with delivery starting Aug. 1. The kit will be available for $15 wholesale, with a suggested retail price between $30 and $35, depending on the market.
KnowingNature makes microgreen supplies for home growers, with features including being dishwasher-safe, easy to clean, BPA-free, phthalate-free, durable and reusable.
“If you’re familiar with microgreens, you know that often you see the racks, the grow lights, the large trays. All that comes from the commercial world. So what we’re doing is we’re offering a solution that’s designed for the home grower. It's sized for your windowsill, so it fits right there, no lights needed,” says Rachel Haber, KnowingNature founder and CEO. “A lot of science went into this, although your customers won’t know about that. They're just going to have a good experience growing, and it’s going to be successful and easy to do.”
For more information, email rachel@knowingnature.com.
30-Second Planter, Proven Winners
The new 30-Second Planter from Proven Winners is designed to be the easiest entry point into container gardening for new or busy gardeners, or gardeners with physical limitations. Simple planting instructions are printed on the branded, pre-planted container.
UPC codes are not printed on the container, but growers and retailers can add their own stickers. The planter currently only comes in a 10-inch size.
The 30-Second Planters are being offered by Four Star Greenhouse and Pleasant View Gardens as a pilot program this spring with their retail-ready and finished programs. A full rollout will be available for 2025.
“[Consumers] can either drop it into a deco if they want, so that gives them the ability to do a spring, summer, fall replacement, or take it out of that container and plant it,” says Jessica DeGraaf, director of retail accounts for Proven Winners. “It’s a great entry-level price point before you get into a basket or a larger deco container.”
For more information, email jessica@provenwinners.com.
Proven Winners won a second Retailers’ Choice Award for its new Unplugged Red Salvia (Zones 9a-11b).
Featuring true red flowers, these mid-sized plants love heat, don't mind humidity and will bloom nonstop for months. This drought and heat tolerant salvia with fragrant foliage is a good size for use in both containers and landscapes.
“[Salvias are] just exploding in terms of sales for the brand,” says Jessica DeGraaf, director of retail accounts for Proven Winners. “We're super thrilled about the new red. This is really a breeding breakthrough for us. We've got a lot in the fuchsia line; we’ve got a lot in rose, purple. [This is the] first true red. What I really like is this is going to give you a red, white and blue option for salvia to do as a mixed container.”
For more information, email jessica@provenwinners.com.
Three-tier shopping cart, R.W. Rogers Company
Most garden center carts have two levels, but shopping cart manufacturer R.W. Rogers has introduced a new three-tier shopping cart.
The new cart is the result of collaboration among R.W. Rogers President Bob Rogers and The Garden Center Group garden centers that participated in the Better Shopping Cart discussion last fall.
“We’d been kind of having the same footprint, the same styles, just a couple different variations,” Rogers said. “[The Garden Center Group Managing Director] Danny [Summers] and his group got together and really helped us on developing a footprint that could collect more product with higher sales all in one shopping cart.”
The cart’s top shelf doesn’t fold up and doesn’t have a child seat, but the carts do nest well.
The three-tier carts are in stock and available to order now.
For more information, email bob@rwrogerscompany.com.
A new take on the classic oakleaf hydrangea, the Li’l Annie Oakleaf Hydrangea (Zones 5-9) is a compact, well-branched variety with increased flower power, cleaner foliage and increased resistance to foliar diseases.
Part of the Bloomables Collection, this oakleaf hydrangea has white flowers that turn pink as they age, with the flowers also acting as a host for beneficial pollinators. The foliage is green and changes to burgundy in the fall, extending the garden season.
For more information, email smorgan@starrosesandplants.com.
The majority of the company’s metal décor is designed by owner Jacek Peczkowski, who’s been designing garden decor for more than 20 years. (The business was founded in 1997.) His passion for metal design stems from working with his grandpa, who was a blacksmith in Poland.
His wife, Gretchen Peczkowski, manages the warehouse and retail center, aids in design ideas and makes sure each customer has a positive buying experience.
For more information, email steelheartltd@gmail.com.
FiredUp is a new dipladenia series featuring a new flower form with a flatter pinwheel shape. Featuring an upright habit and narrow leaves, Sun Parasol FiredUp Orange is the first in the series, with at least four more additions expected in the next few years.
For more information, email delilah@suntoryflowers.com.
Suntory Flowers received a second Retailers' Choice Award for Sun Parasol Original XP Bluephoria a breakthrough color from the breeder that features true blue blooms in warmer temperatures (and more lavender blooms in cooler temperatures, like the trade show floor at Cultivate’24).
A heat and sun lover, this mandevilla hybrid’s blue flowers start as pink buds. Other colors in the series include Sunbeam (yellow), Mauvelous (pink) and Double Pink Blush (pink double blooms), the last of which is a FleuroStar winner. All are excellent plants for gardens, containers and hanging baskets.
For more information, email delilah@suntoryflowers.com.
Calliope Large Dark Salmon, Syngenta Flowers
Calliope Large Dark Salmon is a geranium with a new dark red color and dark green foliage from Syngenta Flowers.
Hardy to Zone 10a, Calliope Large is an all-season performer with a large habit that makes it great for baskets and large pots. The series includes 15 total colors: Burgundy, Dark Red, Dark Salmon, Hot Pink, Hot Rose, Lavender, Lavender Mega Splash, Magenta, Orange Splash, Pink, Red, Rose Mega Splash, Salmon, White and Scarlet Fire.
For more information, email jennifer.barnes@syngenta.com.
Cherry Blast tomato, Syngenta Flowers
Syngenta Flowers received a second Retailers' Choice Award for Cherry Blast, a new upgraded trailing variety with proven resistance to ToMV strain 1 & 2 and tolerance to late blight, allowing the plants to stay healthy and well performing into late summer. Featuring lots of cherry-sized fruits, Cherry Blast performs well in hanging baskets or large containers.
For more information, email jennifer.barnes@syngenta.com.
Rudbeckia ‘Lion Cub’ (Zones 8-10) naturally forms a tight mound of emerald green foliage topped by pompoms of golden yellow flowers with thin petals centered with a dark chocolate eye. The petals don’t brown or fade, but develop a contrasting red edge with age.
Fast, vigorous and easy to grow both in the ground and greenhouse, ‘Lion Cub’ is ideal for summer through fall containers, annual bedding and displays.
“It’s got tons of flowers. The flowers actually when they age get a little bit darker, and they actually get dry bristles on them,” says Chuck Pavlich, director of new product development. “So it’s kind of a very cool flower. It doesn’t get ugly ever.”
For more information, email larry@terranovanurseries.com.
Emily Mills is digital editor of Garden Center. Contact her at emills@gie.net.
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