The fourth day of California Spring Trials 2025 is complete. Here are five plant varieties and series that caught my eye when we visited Danziger, Kientzler, Sakata, and Syngenta Flowers on the fourth day of CAST 2025.
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Begonia iCandy Series (Syngenta Flowers)
Outstanding, exciting, beautiful, fabulous, and magnificent were only some of the expressions I heard as I entered the Syngenta facility. People were looking at a new series of outstanding begonias. As I approached and saw these plants, I had to agree with all the exclamations. The foliage was handsome, and the large flowers were absolutely beautiful. This is as fine a series of begonia that I have ever seen at Syngenta. Well done.
Bidens ‘Bee Spicy Electric White Imp.’ (Kientzler)
Bidens have become a mainstream plant for patios, landscapes, and especially for mixed containers. That they get better every year is not in question, but whether we embrace colors other than bright yellow is still in question.
Kientzler genetics bring several additional colors, my favorite being this one with a creamy yellow hue on the outside of the petals and a buttery yellow center. Their calm colors capture the eye just as much as the harsh yellows on other cultivars.
Dahlia Cherie Series (Danziger)
Another excellent dahlia to bring you. We have seen single–flowering dahlia, dark–leaf plants, and bedding forms. The Cherie series has a mounding habit and bears large double flowers in both solids and bicolors. The flowers on the plants in containers look like they are resting on the foliage. However, as plants grow out in the landscape, the flower stems stretch above the leaves and are even more showy.
Petunia ‘Amazonas Plum Cockatoo’ (Danziger)
We have certainly seen enough petunias on this trip, yet every one seems to be better than the one before. Just when I think I’ve seen all the petunias I can handle, along comes Plum Cockatoo. The photo says far more than I can describe. However, if you want a plant to catch the consumer’s eye, put out a tray of these. Outstanding genetics.
Petunia ‘SuperCal Premium’ Coral Star and Yellow Sun Imp. (Sakata Ornamentals)
Two excellent new colors in the SuperCal series, they both are also in the Premium series, known for its weatherability. The Premiums have proven themselves to be tough in difficult trials around the country. Plants are excellent for baskets, beds, or containers. These colors simply add another reason to grow and sell this series.