New Petunia PANACHE shine in summer trials

The new PANACHE Petunias from Hort Couture were a big hit in summer trials in MI and WV this summer. From Kerley Plants in the UK, we are very pleased to bring this superior line of genetics to the market. The Kerley family is best known for Priscilla, a gorgeous double petunia that has been a staple of the Proven Winner program for many hears. Another recent introduction is the popular Bermuda Beach variety also from PW.

PANACHE Petunias exhibited sturdy plants with good vigor while maintaining excellent compact habit in pots, baskets and plantings. The flowers are large with excellent ruffling and the colors are simply spectacular. Both trialing sites have seen great weather tolerance to the blooms and the varieties are very early blooming.

If you are looking for a great line of vegetative petunias that are EXCLUSIVE to the independent garden retailer, look no further than the PANACHE Petunias from Hort Couture.

I welcome your comments about these exciting new plants or any other Hort Couture plants.

Sophisticated New Gerbera

Hort Couture has a great relationship with renown Dutch breeder Lekkerkerk. The breeding at Lekkerkerk is the hottest program on the planet for cool new gerbera for the potted crop market. You will be amazed by what you will see from this program over the next three years!

The SOPHISTICATA line is a new bi color mix that is sensational. This is an exclusive product through RAKER for 2010. Not only are the flowers hot but the plants are a joy to grow.

There are also several other genetic lines that are very exciting. The double EYECATCHERS are the easy, large flowered doubles in electric colors. Wow is all you can say about this program.

There are also very cool new single colors such as PINK PANTHER. Spider types, Mini types for 4" pots and many other products are in the line.

WE LOVE THE CRAZY DAISY- YOU WILL TOO!

Broker Message Board Now Up

We now have a message board set up for the brokers and propagators for Hort Couture to discuss issues and ideas for this exciting new program. We hope you will utilize this forum to make this a successful product line for your company!

Royal Hawaiian Colocasia are Hot

Last week we were at the TPIE Show in Ft. Lauderdale and the most asked about plant in our booth were the new Colocasias from Plant Haven call the Royal Hawaiian Collection.

This sensational collection comes from internationally
acclaimed breeder John Cho who has achieved outstanding success
with his new line of ornamental Colocasias. This series features
varieties unlike any available in today’s market.

Colocasias,native to Southeast Asia over 50,000 years ago, moved with human migrations eastward until arriving in Hawaii about 900 to 1000 AD. In Hawaii, Colocasias, known as taro (kalo in Hawaiian), became a major source of sustenance along with breadfruit and sweet potatoes. Taro is revered in Hawaiian culture

as a sacred food source. Growing taro was not merely an activity of food production but was strongly bound to native culture and beliefs about creation. Mindful of the native beliefs about
taro, ornamentals developed for the Royal Hawaiian® Colocasia program do not use Hawaiian taro cultivars and instead combine the desirable attributes from other genetic sources.

DIAMOND HEAD PINEAPPLE PRINCESS HILO BAY

The Royal Hawaiian® Colocasias have been bred to be sturdy garden performers and container specimens. Each is disease resistant with fabulous foliage and stem interest, and with their
tidy clumping habit would be a welcome addition in any garden.

Hardy to Zone 7b, these new varieties are very exciting!

Culinary Couture Seeds Ready to Ship

The new Culinary Couture Seed Collection is getting all packaged up and ready to head out to garden centers after the first of the year. We like to call this collection "Heirloom meets Gen X".

Although many of the varieties are classic old European varieties, the packaging and approach makes them seem brand new. To the young consumers that are entering your stores looking for sustainable products, they truly are new!

We have some awesome tomatoes in the seed collection. Green Zebra, Cream Sausage, Purple Russian and Pink Accordian are among our personal favorites.

There are also great melons, unique peppers and maybe the finest mixes of salad greens in the industry. The Culinary Couture mix is very chic.

With the increased interest in home gardening and sustainability, the timing of this is perfect and the packaging makes it exciting and fun. Who said gardening had to look boring!

We are looking forward to expanding our seed offering in the future to include unique flowers and other cool plants. We hope you will give the seeds a try, the minimum is low and the rack display is a good value.

We will have the display at several trade shows this winter for you to see first hand. We only have a limited number of displays for this first year so don't wait too long.

Lovin the New Stuff Video

Check out this new video featuring our newest varieties for 2009. Lots of new plants coming in the years to come that will really excite your customers. We have some amazing things in the works for the future.

The genetics that you will see from our company over the next two years will blow away the big boys. Very cool tropicals, cutting edge annuals and a perennial program that will grow leaps and bounds over the next five years.

Enjoy the video...

http://animoto.com/play/G90NON1EXG1g3xye2dn0bw

Top Twenty New Plants for 2009

Hort Couture has over 130 new plants for 2009 so picking a Top Ten list is no easy task. We have narrowed it down to twenty. That was not easy. Check out these favorites that will be "classics" for years to come. In more particular order. Try them all!

1. Acalypha 'African Sunset'

2. Alternanthera 'Sommelier Pinot Gris'

3. Coleus 'Bi Polar By Golly'

4. Coleus 'Zesty Zucchini'

5. Impatiens 'Golden Congo Cockatoo'

6. Ipomoea 'Refried Beans'

7. Lobelia 'Magadi Basket Blue'

8. Plectranthus 'Fuzzy Wuzzy'

9. Colocasia 'Blue Hawaii'

10. Caladium 'Lemon Grass'

11. Salvia 'La Crema'

12. Orchid Patio & Garden 'Cosmopolitan'

13. Ajuga 'Planet Zork'

14. Vinca 'Angel Tutu'

15. Mandevilla 'Red Fury'

16. Cordyline 'Caruba Black'

17. Phormium 'Pink Panther'

18. Coleus 'Juicy Lucy'

19. Cordyline 'Mocha Latte'

20. Cuphea 'Purple Nurple'

Unique varieties that will shine in the mixed container. Make Hort Couture you choice for the beset new varieties for Spring 2009. Call you local grower for availability. Its time to plan your Spring. Don't wait to see what is available in season, work with your local growers to plan for the best Spring ever!