Plant Development Services announces new trade releases for 2022

The company will debut its new Better Boxwood brand, a collaborative collection with Everde Growers, which features four new scientifically bred blight-resistant boxwood cultivars.


On Dec. 7, Plant Development Services, Inc. announced its 2022 trade releases, which are aimed to meet consumer demand for foundational landscape plants, ornamentals with bloom power and pollinator-friendly picks.

A highlight is the trade debut of Plant Development Services’ new brand, Better Boxwood. This collection is the result of a groundbreaking international collaboration that reinvents a landscape classic for new generations.

Better Boxwood release

Plant Development Services and Everde Growers (Houston, Texas) will debut the Better Boxwood program to trade in 2022. The collection’s four new cultivars represent the first scientifically bred blight-resistant boxwood, each offering unique growth habits. With liners available spring 2022 to growers through the newly formed partnership named Boxwood Solutions Inc., this diverse collection of boxwood will be available to consumers nationwide in 2023.

The Better Boxwood series results from over two decades of breeding and trials in Europe, led by Belgium grower Didier Hermans in cooperation with the Flemish Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, both leaders in the fight against blight in Europe for 20 years.

“These stellar new varieties meet a range of landscape needs and provide superior boxwood blight immunity,” says Kip McConnell, Business Development Director with Plant Development Services. “The industry craves a solution for the blight problem, and with our expertise in licensing and marketing, coupled with Everde Growers' production engine and nationwide reach, Better Boxwood will make an immediate impact in the marketplace.”

Southern Living and Sunset Plant Collection releases

Other exciting trade releases are new additions to the Southern Living and Sunset Plant Collections. The fragrant Mock Orange Pearls of Perfume is an elegant shrub that dons beautiful white blooms in spring, attracting pollinators near and far. Another pollinator-friendly pick — exclusively for the Sunset Plant Collection — is the new Eternal family of Grevilleas. Three introductions, Eternal Blaze, Eternal Pink Glory, and Eternal Sunshine, offer unique bright colors for gardeners to choose from to attract bees and birds.

Home landscaping trends illustrate screening and hedging shrubs in high demand, and both Southern Living and Sunset Plant Collections offer two new introductions to fill customer needs. Green Valley Arborvitae is a slow-growing evergreen selected from hundreds of Western Cedar seedlings for its growth habit and disease tolerance. It will grow 10-12 ft.

For gardeners looking for a shorter hedge, Snowbank Indian Hawthorne joins the Clean Sweep family, bringing disease resistance to this tough landscape staple. Snowbank grows to be 2-3 ft tall in a dense mound of dark green foliage with attractive white flowers in the spring.

Liners of all new 2022 plants will be available to licensed growers in the spring of 2022 and available to consumers beginning in 2023.

More information on these new releases and the complete list of 2022 trade releases will be available at the Plant Development Services booth at the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show 2022, Booths 33, 34, and 36.

To learn more about Plant Development Services Inc., visit https://plantdevelopment.com/