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At this week’s Four Oaks Trade Show, Ball Colegrave varieties received both New Plant Awards:
Best Nursery Stock Plant Introduction - Lavandula ‘Blue Spear’
Best Bedding and Pot Plant Introduction - Petunia ‘Glacier Sky’
Just a few weeks earlier, both these varieties were selected by trade and consumer visitors as their favourite varieties out of over 2,000 varieties on display at the 2019 Summer Showcase.
Lavandula ‘Blue Spear’
The showiest English Lavender you can grow and sell with its large intense bluish-purple flower spikes and outstanding neat upright shape.
The well-branched, bushy plants are easy to grow. Their very tidy shape, early flowering and uniformity make them ideal for pot tight production in 10.5cm pots upto 1 or 2 litre pots with strong colour impact at point of sale.
Being grown from seed and a first year flowering variety, crops of Blue Spear are particularly economical to produce and can be started in the Spring without the necessity of overwintering or heavy fungicidal programmes. Seed can be advantageous over vegetative varieties in reducing the risk of importing diseases such as Xyllela from overseas production sites.
Blue Spear is particularly ideal for patio containers, garden beds, rock gardens, cut flowers, dried flowers, is highly attractive to pollinating insects and of course carries that special ‘feel-good’ Lavender fragrance. This hardy variety is ideal for a full sun location, providing lasting pleasure and scent over a very long season. Garden height; 28 - 33cm and spread; 23 - 28cm.
Available as Seed or Plugs. Ball 40 tray (weeks 15, 18, 24), Ball 104 tray (weeks 10, 12, 14, 16, 18) and Ball 84 tray (weeks 6, 24).
Petunia ‘Glacier Sky’
GlacierSky is a Petunia sensation with it’s a striking and unique colour patterning; large violet flowers with a distinct ‘ice effect’ edging, decorated by white speckles. The uniqueness of the variety is also revealed in the high weather resistance, semi-trailing and strong branching habit, which in combination with a stable colour pattern and a great shelf life makes this a real ‘standout’ variety.
This is a ‘must have’ plant variety for impulse colour sales at Retail in 10.5-13cm pots and ready planted baskets. In the garden, GlacierSky loves a sunny location on the patios or balcony in containers, baskets and window boxes.
Available as a Ball 84 plug tray weeks 8 – 20
For a full assortment of plug varieties, please see the 2020 Plant Catalogue and 2020 Lasting Beauty Perennial Catalogue.
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