2017 Spring Trials Day 1: Firsts, indoor peppers, lupine and more

Attendees who started in the south had clear blue, sunny skies for day 1 of the 2017 California Spring Trials. We started our day with a tour of Ball Horticultural, which showcased many “firsts,” including a climbing ipomoea in two colors and a sterile, floriferous lantana called Bloomify, both from Ball FloraPlant.

There were other unusual offerings at the Ball stop, like a collection of both ornamental and edible peppers that can be grown indoors from PanAmerican Seed and the Lucky Star pentas series that has follow-up blooms that quickly replace the spent ones, offering more uniform growth.

At Green Fuse Botanicals, the Staircase lupine series — grown from tissue culture — officially debuted, after it was received well last year as a pre-introduction.

Floranova presented several new series with a focus on blooms, including Cheerleader, an African marigold that comes in three colors and features secondary blooms that come in quickly, Phlox Popstars, which has star-shaped flowers, and Freefall XL, a new generation of the Freefall pansy series that features larger blooms with a compact, mounding habit.

Tomorrow, look for coverage from the GroLink, Chisan Orchids Nursery and Windmill Nursery stops.

• Bringing the garden inside
• Farmers market inspiration
• Climbing to new heights
• Throw-back branding
• All about the blooms