All-New, All-Seed, All-Proven
How Plug & Play Perennial Combos Deliver from the Greenhouse to the Home Garden
By Mark Gross, Account Manager, PanAmerican Seed
With the popularity of mixed annual containers over the last few years, it was only a matter of time until the success of that gardening segment was applied to perennial combos.However, with the uniqueness and flower timing of perennials versus annuals, PanAmerican Seed knew that a lot of work would be needed if they were to match the flower power and retail “wow” factor of an annual combo container.
The perennial combo idea, and subsequent trialing work to bring the concept to market, began roughly four years ago atthe PanAmerican Seedresearch facility in Elburn, Ill.,as well as the Kieft Seed research facility in Venhuizen, The Netherlands. Each variety that’s considered for the Plug & Play Perennial combo program is first evaluated in outdoor summer container trials; potential components are assessed for habit, vigor, flowering window and overall appeal. The candidate varieties are subject to intense scrutiny, and each cultivar is judged on its own merit. Meticulous notes are kept; this information is vital to selecting the individual ingredients for each perennial combo recipe.
Each combo’s key to success is that the components will all come into flower at the same time, from the same transplant date—even if each requires a different sow date. In fact, if you’re ordering Plug & Play Perennial components in plug form, be sure to let your Griffin sales representative or customer service representative know. The Griffin team can relay the message to your plug vendor, to ensure the sowings for your order are timed correctly. Of course, visual appeal is critically important. Only first-year flowering, mid-season perennials are considered for use in the Plug & Play Perennial combo collection.
Once all internal trailing is finalized, every potential introduction heads out to a commercial greenhouse and to real-life gardens, in multiple regions across North America, for further trialing. The result is the assurance that every one of the nine-plus Plug & Play Perennial combos available today is proven to deliver unstoppable performance from the grower’s bench to the retail store to the consumer’s garden.
Good for growers: Easy, economical production
Each Plug & Play Perennial combo is created withbest-in-class seed perennials from PanAmerican Seed andKieft Seed. Several of the recipes include known-by-name varieties like Early Sunrise coreopsis andEllagance Deep Purple lavender, plus assorted All-America Selections perennials like ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ and PowWow Wild Berry Echinacea. Thanks to the high-quality, cost-effectiveseed inputs and programmable finish times, growers are in complete control of when to sow, grow and ship to hit specific store set dates. Combo recipes and culture support complete the package.
Good for retailers: Big shelf appeal = big sales
The Plug & Play Perennial lineup includes options that rangefrom late spring through summer and fall sales, letting garden centers offer a perennial combo for their entire selling season.All of them showcase on-trend colors, elegant textures and varieties that consumers know.Perennial Plug & Play combos are the perfect magnet to attract repeat shoppers.
Good for today’s shopper: Easy, grab ’n go gardens in choices for spring, summer and fall
The balanced, attractive Plug & Play Perennial combos available will enhance every shopper’s décor—from subtle color groupings, to bold and explosive color and texture mixes. The common theme that runs across them all is lots of instant, long-lasting, multi-color blooms; easy garden care; and satisfying, season-long results.
The Plug Play Perennial combo program is only one part of the entire Plug & Play assortment. PanAmerican Seed raised the curtain on itsfullPlug & Play combo program at the Cultivate 2016 show to wide acclaim. The lineup includes Value, Better and Premium assortments grown from Fuseablesprecision multi-pellets, as well as a wide array of trialed and proven recipes for combos created with annuals and perennials.
Plug Play combo inputs are available now from Griffin. For product assortment and growing information, visit panamseed.com/PlugandPlayand then contact your Griffin sales representative to place your order.