Platycodon
grandiflorus Astra Pink and Blue w/double
Pot-plant, bedding plant or perennial. The Platycodon grandiflora
Astra series bred by Dæhnfeldt has many alternative uses.
In the Astra series Dæhnfeldt introduces two new varieties: Astra
Pink and Astra Blue w/double – the latter with double flowers.
Besides these, the series offers Astra Blue with single flowers.
The two blue Astras are welcome additions to the bedding plant
assortment, as the number of blue-flowering varieties are limited.
The two new Astras have both been awarded a Fleuroselect Quality
Mark for their excellent performance in the 1999 in- and outdoor
Fleuroselect trials in 11 European countries. Fleuroselect is an
independent organisation, which tests new seed-propagated varieties in
Europe.
Astra has 5-7 cm. large star-shaped flowers and a healthy dark
green foliage. The plant has excellent branching ability and develops
numerous buds allowing it to flower continously for many months. The
Astras develop few blind plants making the production cost effective
for the end grower.
Grow the Astras in 9-11 cm. pots with one plant per pot. However,
use two plants per pot when growing Astra Pink.
Under North European conditions, it can only be recommended to grow
the Astras during the summer (sowing from March and onwards) as the
production of Astra requires high light levels. Production during the
summer is no problem as Astra is heat tolerant. Fertilize well to
obtain dark green and rigid shoots.
Planted outside, Astra thrives well in sun or part shade. Use Astra
in garden beds or patio containers.
Please contact Dæhnfeldt to request our new product sheet with
cultural guidance.
Festival Gerbera Yellow semi-double and other new Festivals
Festival Yellow semi-double is an introduction in the Festival
gerbera series, that will create attention at both grower and consumer
level. It is yellow, it is semi-double, it is large-flowered and it
produces many flowering stems per pot ! Besides this variety,
Dæhnfeldt introduces Festival Yellow imp., which compared to the
previous Festival Yellow has a shorter production time which fits the
series.
Other new interesting and unique colours are Festival Cherry w/eye
and Festival Peach w/eye.
Use Festival gerberas as pot-plants or as bedding plants in
containers on the patio. Mix them in strong sparkling colours or plant
the Festivals in matched shades. Remove withered flowers and fertilize
regularly - this will ensure a continual flowering throughout the
summer.
Phlox drummondii Diamond series
Another exciting introduction from Dæhnfeldt is the Phlox
drummondii series Diamond. The Diamonds solves the problem number one
that growers face when growing Phlox: Weak roots. The Diamond series
has truly strong roots and a very vigorous performance. In outdoor
trials in Europe and South Africa the Diamonds outperformed any other
Phlox series on the market. While other series were struggling to
survive heavy rain or strong heat, the Diamonds continued to grow and
form dense flowering carpets. And the Diamonds continued to flower
long after the other varieties had died.
Besides a vigorous and bushy growth habit, the Diamond series
offers a beautiful colour display of seven bright, shiny colours:
White w/carmine eye, Pink, Coral, Rose w/lilac eye, Red, Carmine and
Blue w/dark eye. Try out a product that makes a big difference in
Phlox: The Diamond series. The series is available from harvest Autumn
2000.
Begonia tuberosa Fortune Golden-Shades and Apricot-orange Shades
Dæhnfeldt’s tuberous Begonia Fortune series was – as in
previous years – highly complemented as a true improvement over
Nonstop. An improvement that might boost the tuberous market. The
Fortunes offer many advantages to the grower and the retailer.
Compared to the Nonstops the Fortunes have smaller, but more flowers.
This makes the shipability of the Fortunes much better: Loosing one or
two flowers during shipment is no problem.
The Fortunes can be produced about 2 weeks faster than the Nonstop
and without the use of growth regulator. Because the Fortunes have a
compact habit, more plants can be grown per square meter and the
series can be produced in packs and pots.
Two new colours from Dæhnfeldt’s breeding attracted great
attention: Fortune Golden Shades and Fortune Apricot-Orange Shades.
Impatiens walleriana Carnival Neon Rose and Carnival Lavender
Blue
In the Carnival Impatiens series, Dæhnfeldt introduces two new
colours: Lavender Blue and Neon Rose. As the name of the latter
implies Neon Rose has a luminous eye-catching colour. With the
introduction of these colours the series comprises no less than 18
colours.
Kalanchoë blossfeldiana Revolution series
Dæhnfeldt has intensified breeding activities in Kalanchoë. The
initial result of this is the first colours in a new series called
Revolution: Revolution White w/rose, Revolution Light Apricot and
Revolution Apricot. The Revolution series is truly a revolution of
Kalanchoë as we know it. Until now, large-flowering varieties meant
having to cope with large plants. Growing Revolutions makes it
possible to combine big flowers with a compact habit. The Revolution
series is available as clean material from Dan-Elite. Please contact
Dan-Elite directly, phone: +45 7594 4711.