When I was out at the California Spring Trials (CAST) last week, I saw an amazing assortment of Gerbera daisies (Gerbera sp.) that were absolutely stunning.  The Gerbera daisy, also called Transvaal and Barberton daisy, was discovered in 1884 near Barberton, South Africa, by Scotsman Robert Jameson. The distribution of the genus Gerbera is native to tropical regions of South America, Africa and Asia.  While the flower’s scientific name, Gerbera jamesonii being the most commonly cultivated, recollects the name of its founder, the meaning of its common name draws from German naturalist Traugott Gerber. Breeding programs that began in England in 1890 enhanced the flower’s quality and color variations.  Now there are also hybrids and thousands of cultivars.  The Gerbera daisy is the fifth most used cut flower in the world and out in the garden or container, will attract bees and butterflies. Preferring moist but well drained soils in full sun, this plant will thrive in containers but may languish in overly damp soils and is not a fan of the most intense summer heat.  Provide some late afternoon shade in hot climates and do a bit of research on how to best care for your daisies.  While I’ve growth Gerbera daisies in the past, I don’t think I’ve given them the attention they deserve but after seeing the selections featured here, my attention has been captured!  Directly above is the selection ‘Majorette Bright White with Dark Eye’.  At the very top of the blog is the selection Patio Gerbera Painted Desert®.  Enjoy the show.

‘Majorette Red Dark Eye’ (above)

‘Majorette Yellow Dark Eye’ (above and below)

‘Majorette Sunset Orange’ (above)

‘Majorette Pink Halo’ (above)

‘Majorette Blazing Eyes’ (above)

Bengal™ Rose with Eye (above)

Bengal™ White with Eye (above)

Cartwheel® Strawberry Twist

Cartwheel® Chardonnay (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Memories (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Sunset (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Fiesta (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Love (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Smile (above)

Garvinea® Classic Femmy (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Frosting (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Spice (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Caroline (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Surprise (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Sixteen (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Honey (above)

Garvinea® Sweet Glow (above)

Patio Gerbera Pinnacles® (above)

Patio Gerbera Karoo® (above)

Patio Gerbera Capitol Reef® (above)

Patio Gerbera Bighorn® (above)

Patio Gerbera Fundy® (above)

Patio Gerbera Serengeti® (above)

Patio Gerbera Great Smoky Mountains® (above)

Patio Gerbera Kruger® (above)

Patio Gerbera Glacier® (above)

Patio Gerbera Sedona® (above)

Patio Gerbera Orange County® (above)

Patio Gerbera Volcanoes® (above)

Patio Gerbera Painted Desert® (above)

I remember first using Bidens, also called beggar ticks and burr marigolds, over 25 yeas ago and appreciated it’s drought tolerance and heavy flower production (good for pollinators) despite its pretty rangy and billowing habit.  The common names refer to the seed architecture and it’s tendency to stick or cling to fur or clothing, thereby assuring dispersal to a new habitat.  I only knew this plant as having typical composite, yellow blooms at the time and was impressed with it’s utilitarian use in the border, container and hanging basket.  The tumbling nature of this plant gave it value as a “filler” in many compositions but the plant was primarily just a solid performer with nothing too flashy about it.  Closely related to Coreopsis (tickseed), this genus has a wide native range with many species although the most commonly utilized species is ferulifolia and associated hybrids.  The typical height for this plant is around 12″ although the spread could be substantial and ultimately reach close to 36″ with older selections.  All that has changed over the last five years and most significantly in the past year or two.  Note the selection Pretty In Pink™ above and you get a hint of the excitement that surrounds recent breeding efforts with Bidens for a broader color range, interesting patterns, double forms and more compact form.

I just returned from a trip to the 2019 California Pack Trials (CAST) where I noted many new selections of Bidens that I hadn’t seen yet.  About five years ago I started seeing some selections with hints of orange and red but what I saw recently blew my mind!  I knew there were some white and red selections out there but I’ve been most impressed with some of the bicolor selections and the breeding for more compact plants (shorter internodes) has greatly expanded the potential of this plant from being a simple role player to a high performing focal point!  I think these new colors go beyond making Bidens just a novelty as the intensity of coloration is quite amazing with some selections having the additional attributes of extremely large flowers, heavier bud count and those with multiple colors, again, really stand out.  Simply scan through these selections in this blog.  These are just the varieties I photographed at CAST although I have some nice photos of other selections over the last couple of years.  Bidens seems to have solidified it’s future in our gardens with exciting new opportunities for gardeners.

‘White Delight’ (above)

Cupcake™  Strawberry (above)

Golden Empire™ (above and below)

Blazing™ Embers (above)

Yellow Splash™ (above)

Mexican Gold™ Jumbo (above)

Goldilocks Rocks® Improved (above and below)

Campfire^® Flame

Taka Tuka® ‘White Yellow Center’ (above)

Taka Tuka® ‘Red Yellow Center’ (above)

Taka Tuka® ‘Orange Yellow Center’ (above)

‘Port Royal Double’ (above)

‘Sir Francis’ (above)

Taka Tuka® ‘Red Glow’ (above and below)

Bidens galore ( two above and below) – Taka Tuka® Series

‘Bellamy White’ (above)

Bee Happy™ Red Improved (‘Baleehedi’) – above

Bee Happy™ Orange (‘Baleenan’) – above

Namid™ Compact Yellow – above

Namid™ Early Yellow (‘KLEBF11764’) – above

‘Sweety’ (above)

‘Popstar Red’ (above and below)

‘Bee White’ (above)

‘Bidy Boom Bonfire’ (above)

Technically Day 5 of my involvement with the California Spring Trials (CAST) was yesterday with visits to two sites.  I’m back home now after a brutal series of airport/plane mishaps but wont soon forget the adventures I shared with Diane, Gail, Mark, Steve and Jeff.  I’m still a bit goofy with the time change and some jet lag so will let the photos speak for themselves.  I ended up with over 4,000 photos that I’ll sort at some point in the future.  Our last day (really just a half day with a quick trip to the San Jose Airport for our departures) involved seeing some great plants and despite the chance of rain during most of the entire trip, we ended up with sprinkles only on the trip to the airport.  I met some nice folks, saw old friends and made new ones on our trip.  Thanks to Diane of AAS/NGB for inviting me along!  Nice shot above of Funky® Light Pink begonia (Begonia x hybrida).

four of the eight colors in the Tagetes Super Hero™ Series (Benary)

Argyranthemum Aramis® Semi Double Lemon (above)

Bidens Taka Tuka® ‘Red Yellow Center’ (above)

Verbena ‘Samira Deep Red Star’ (above)

Verbena ‘Samira Burgundy Wing’ (above)

Verbena ‘Samira Up Magenta Splash’ (above)

Thunbergia alata Sunny™ Suzy Amber Stripes (above)

loved this planted table and bowls!

neat planted bird bath

xHeucherella ‘Peach Tea’ (above)

Artemisia MAKANA™ Silver (above)

Penstemon DAKOTA™ Burgundy (above)

Ajuga ‘Blueberry Muffin’ (above)

Begonia SILVER™ Lace (above)

Heuchera FOREVER™ Red (above)

Senecio Angel Wings® (‘Senaw’) – above

fun displays (above and below)

Sedum Oriental Dancer® (above)

Heuchera ‘Topaz Jazz’ (above)

Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’ (not new but always cool!) – above

Euphorbia Miner’s Merlot™ (spurge) – above

Echinacea ‘Delicious Candy’ (above)

The last full day of our travels around the California Spring Trials was well rewarded at three sites where we enjoyed seeing plenty of color and some fun new selections.  Directly above is Bidens ‘Golden Empire’ which looked gret today.  The day originally had the forecast of rain but we lucked out with sunshine and a relatively warm day out in the gardens.  Our travels took us to multiple destinations where we received excellent tours and top notch hospitality.  We have two more sites in the morning then everyone heads back to their respective homes with flights from San Jose, CA.  We had some nice bonding activities tonight and throughout this group travel and I look forward to tomorrow!

Ageratum AGUILERA™ Dark Pink (above)

Argyranthemum ANGELIC™ Sweets (above)

Diascia Trinity™ Sunset (above)

Petunia Ray™ Pistachio Cream (above)

Jamesbrittania Goldstar™ (above)

Bidens Blazing™ Embers (above)

Bidens Yellow Splash™ (above)

Sunfinity™ sunflower (Helianthus hybrida) – above and below

Dahlia Happy Days™ Purple (above)

Gerbera Cartwheel® Strawberry Twist (above)

Begonia boliviensis Bossa Nova® Night Fever Papaya (above)

Petunia Skybox™ Rose Star (above)

Calibrachoa Callie® Eclipse Lilac – above

Tagetes erecta ‘Endurance Sunset Gold’ (African marigold) – above

Calibrachoa Superbells® Blackcurrant Punch™ (above)

Verbena Superbena Sparkling® Amethyst Improved

Solenostemon scutellaroioides ColorBlaze® Wicked Witch™(coleus) – above

‘Queen of Hearts’ false-forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla) – perennial

Athyrium niponicum ‘Crested Surf’ (crested Japanese painted fern) – above

Day three of my excursion to the California Spring Trials (CAST) was jam packed full of fun stops and lots of plants like the Evening Scentsation™ petunia (Petunia) seen above at Takii America, Inc.  This is one we’ve grown and enjoyed for vigor, color and scent!  It’s also an All-America Selections (AAS) winner!  Our group of Diane, Gail, Steve, Mark, Jeff and I enjoyed great weather and the hospitality of folks at each location meeting with us and giving us a tour.  The photo at the very top is an experimental kale (Brassica oleracea) used for cutting (seen at Takii America) and was amazing to see for it’s size and color.  There was no shortage of fun things to photograph and observe.  Fading as I type so more tomorrow after CAST – Day 4 is complete!

Diane Blazek (AAS/NGB) and Tim Hodson (Editorial director at GPN, Lawn & Garden Retailer and Big Grower magazines)

‘Pink Panther’ foxglove (Digitalis x hybrida) – perennial

awesome kale basket!

insert your own caption here…

wheelbarrow of kale at Takii America (above)

Don’t ask…long story…but funny

Gail (left) from AAS/NGB and her daughter Allison (Takii America)

Petunia hybrida SuperCal^® Premium Caramel Yellow (xPetchoa) – above

Petunia hybrida SuperCal® Premium French Vanilla (xPetchoa) – above

Brassica ‘Miz America’ (mustard) – above

our crew with Bob Croft (foreground) from SAKATA this morning

Gerbera ‘Majorette Bright White w Dark Eye’ (above)

always love the floating flowers!

Viking™ Series (awesome!) above

Impatiens hawkeri SunPatiens® XL Tropical White (above)

Impatiens hawkeri SunPatiens® Compact Royal Magenta (‘SAKIMP029’) – above

cool planter of pansies!

Brassica ‘Nagoya White’ (kale) – above

one of MANY cool arrangements I saw today

Coleus PartyTime™ ‘Reggae Salmon’ (above)

Coleus PartyTime™ ‘Red Bolero’ (above)

Begonia Viking™ XL Red on Chocolate (above)

mix of poppy anemones (Anemone coronaria) at SAKATA – above

‘Fire Fresh’ Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) – above

Dahlia MEDIO FUN ‘Orange Flame’ (above)

Pericallis SENETTI® ‘Magenta Bicolor’ (above)

Begonia DREAMS BK Collection ‘Chloe Coral Pink’ (above)

Dahlia MAGGIORE ‘Fire’ (above)

Camouflage™ Variegated Japanese Aralia (Fatsia japonica ‘Variegata’)

‘Ghostly Princess’ French lavender (Lavandula pedunculata) – above

Dianthus hybrida DIANA ‘Loving White’ (above)

Barry Ruta (far left) with our crew seeing Hem Genetics plants

Verbena rigida ‘Dazzling Nights’ (above)

Coleus ‘Pineapplette’ (above)