What's New at the Ranch

Press Releases, 2001-2002
Greenhouse Grower Magazine, Variety Showcase (Feb/March) - Jack Williams, The Flower Fields
New Theme Gardens at The Flower Fields teach all about color
New Varieties from The Flower Fields are a color sight
Follow the Scent of Sachet, new Nemesia from The Flower Fields
Big News in Bacopa

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Greenhouse Grower Magazine, Variety Showcase (Feb/March) -
Jack Williams, The Flower Fields

Osteospermum has become a standard for early spring sales, especially where growers are trying to beat the high cost of heating using cool temperature crops. The incredible range of color and flower form available with this species makes it possible to offer large, showy plants for early spring sales. And, with the continued efforts in plant breeding and selection, garden performance and heat tolerance gets better each year.

Growing Osteospermum can be broken down to five easy steps; by following these guidelines growers should have good results.

1. Establish young cuttings under moderate conditions (60-65º F temperatures).
2. Pinch after 2-3 weeks, leaving 6+ nodes per plant.
3. After pinching, move the crop to the brightest conditions possible with cool temperatures. A 45-55º F night temperature for 4 weeks is required to initiate flowering, after which 50-55º F night temperatures are ideal. Osteospermum tolerate cooler growing conditions, but average temperatures below 50º F will delay the time to flowering.
4. Use chemical growth regulators to control height. Sprays of B-Nine® at 2500 ppm early in the development cycle have worked well, as have drenches and sprays of Cycocel® (1500 ppm). Avoid treatments once flower buds are visible.
5. Inspect plants frequently for insects, such as aphids or thrips, or diseases such as botrytis that can attack this crop. When detected, treat with the appropriate pesticide.

Osteospermum can be grown in a variety of containers, baskets or novelty forms. Typical crop time, from start to sale using rooted cuttings, is 12-15 weeks. With the wide choice of cultivars, including some with variegated foliage, growers can create blooming plants that provide an exceptional color show in gardens or patio containers.

B-Nine® is a registered trademark of Uniroyal Company, Inc.
Cycocel® is a registered trademark of American Cyanamid Company

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New Theme Gardens at The Flower Fields® Teach All About Color

CARLSBAD, Calif.– Step through the gates at The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch and you’ll immediately be welcomed by a lavish display of colorful annuals and perennials from The Flower Fields® line of flowering garden plants. The annuals, from the Paul Ecke Ranch of Encinitas, Calif., and perennials, from Yoder Brothers, Inc. of Barberton, Ohio, are a new addition to the site known for its massive displays of colorful Ranunculus.

From this popular tourist destination in southern California’s San Diego County to over 300 varieties of beautiful garden plants available at garden centers across North America, The Flower Fields is all about color. The new Color Wheel Garden is a great place to start. A massive display (just under 4,000 square feet), The Color Wheel shows off a wide color spectrum that only a combination of annuals, perennials and decorative foliage can produce. The circular garden is a living illustration of basic color principles including how to use contrasting and complementary colors to produce effects from subtle to dramatic.

Also new at The Flower Fields site this year are color theme gardens—Sun, Shade, Cottage, Cutting and Fragrance—that are as instructive as they are beautiful. Each garden is designed to illustrate how color is used to underscore specific applications. 

The color of sun is clear and crisp in The Flower Fields Sun Garden. From rainbow borders of sweetly scented petunias and perky ‘Golden Buttons’™ Chrysocephalum to tall and full ‘Comet™ White’ and ‘Comet™ Pink’ Argyranthemum frutescens and versatile Osteospermum ecklonis, you’ll see sun-loving color for gardens and containers from spring through fall. 

Need a break from the California sunshine? Wander over to the Shade Garden. Here, the color of shade is soft pink with complementary blues and purples and contrasting accents of green. In the filtered light of the Shade Garden, you’ll learn about foliage with color variations (and variegations) as lovely as any flower. Tall, daisy-like Argyranthemums stand guard over silvery Stachy, Lamium and deep bronze Heuchera. Not one to be upstaged, flowering Viola cornuta ‘Purple Showers’ entertains in small groups amid its larger companions.

Follow your whimsy to the Cottage Garden. Its colors are bold, in playful combinations with different textures and heights. Contributing both flower and foliage interest are Osteospermum, Argyranthemum, Petunia, Nemesia, Bacopa and Lamium. Small clumpings and large plantings accented with interesting garden ornaments make The Cottage Garden a cheerful and informal place to relax for a moment.

Love fresh flowers but hate to dead head? The Cutting Garden is a must on your tour. Nature’s been kind to give us many plants that not only look great in the house but also live and bloom longer the more you cut them. Indulge yourself in The Flower Fields perennial side with Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Coreopsis, Salvia, Scabiosa, Monarda with annuals Florabella Outback Paper Daisies and Lavender for good measure.

If you suddenly notice a wonderful scent in the air, you’ve reached the Fragrance Garden. Here you can enjoy not only a feast of color for the eye but also the smell of nature’s finest perfumes. New Nemesias (Peach and Lavender Sachet) have been turning heads at garden shows across the country. Other favorite fragrances include Dianthus, Lavender, Petunias, Helichrysum and Galium.

With five new theme gardens and a living Color Wheel, The Flower Fields is all about color more than ever before, a place of beauty and a place to learn about how garden beauty is made.

For more information on The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch, contact info@theflowerfields.com.

For information on The Flower Fields flowering garden plants, contact Donna Greenbush, 800-468-3253, ext. 4082, dgreenbush@eckeranch.com;
or Christine Kelleher, 800-321-9573, ext. 512, ckelleher@inetmail.att.net.

For both visitor and garden plant information, log on to www.theflowerfields.com.

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New Varieties from The Flower Fields® are a Colorful Sight

ENCINITAS, Calif., and BARBERTON, Ohio -- The Flower Fields® is the first major brand to deliver an extensive line of both annuals and perennials—offering more than 300 varieties for year-round color. The Flower Fields varieties include vegetative annuals from The Paul Ecke Ranch of Encinitas, Calif., and perennials, spring garden mums and dwarf dahlias from Yoder Brothers, Inc. of Barberton, Ohio. They can be found at retail garden centers nationwide. Following are new annuals from The Flower Fields.

‘Comet™ Pink’ and ‘Comet™ White’
Argyranthemum frutescens

Comet™ Pink is of special note due to its ability to flower in the summer heat, unlike other pink argyranthemum varieties in the past.

The daisy-like flowers of this popular plant are set closely against finely cut blue-green foliage. Free branching plant habit makes this an easy-to-grow crop good for early spring and fall sales. As an added bonus, the dill-like foliage provides lovely garden texture throughout the summer when the plant is not in bloom.
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Height: up to 28”
Soil: Well-drained, moderately fertile
Water: Moist
AHS Heat Zone: 12-1
USDA Hardiness: 10-11

New Bacopa Blues
Sutera cordata

‘Blue Showers’ and ‘Candy Floss™ Blue’ are two new bacopas that beautifully brighten mixed containers, showy baskets and pots. Well-branched stems, spreading habit and vigorous growth add to the appeal. Height is approximately 3 inches. With its more mounded habit and overall show in baskets, the stunning rich blue-toned Candy Floss™ Blue could quickly become the Basket Bacopa.
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Height: 3”
Soil: Well-drained, moderately fertile
Water: Moist
AHS Heat Zone: 12-1
USDA Hardiness: 9-10

Chandelier™ Snapdragons
Anthirriunum hybrid

Two new colors--‘Pearl White Chandelier’ and ‘Yellow Chandelier’-- up the Chandelier color range to seven luscious shades. Soft gray to green foliage provides a perfect accent. Trailing plants with showy, fragrant flowers all along the stem create rounded balls of color in baskets, window boxes and patio pots. These are continuous bloomers with superior summer performance. 6-10 inches in height.
Light: Full sun
Height: 6-10”
Soil: Well-drained, moderately fertile
Water: Allow to dry slightly
AHS Heat Zone: 6-1
USDA Hardiness: 9-10

What is that wonderful scent?
Nemesia Sachets™!

The Flower Fields has added to the color range of Nemesia X hybrida with new ‘Blueberry Sachet,’ ‘Peach Sachet’ ‘Vanilla Sachet’ and ‘Lavender Sachet.’ Its compact habit is ideal for small pots and accent color…color that lasts all summer. But despite all its beauty, it is the fragrance of Nemesia Sachets that turns heads so quickly and so often.
Light: Partial shade or morning sun 
Height: 16-18”
Spread: 10-12”
Soil: Well-drained
Water: Moist
AHS Heat Zone: 9-1
USDA Hardiness: 0

‘Sun Chimes™ Coral’
Diascia X hybrida

The Flower Fields new Sun Chimes™ Coral diascia matches up nicely with today’s color trends. It is also earlier flowering (approximately three weeks) and more compact than other diascia varieties. Sun Chimes diascia flowers continuously from spring to fall and works well in many different applications, from 4” baskets to garden plantings.
Light: Partial shade or morning sun
Height: 12”
Spread: 10-12”
Soil: Well-drained
Water: Moist
AHS Heat Zone: 9-1
USDA Hardiness: 11

‘Florabella Lemon™’
Joins Outback Paper Daisy Series

Bracteantha (formerly called Helichrysum) is a species to watch, making more and more impact in the market with better color range and good growth habit just right in height and not overly compact.

An addition to the popular Florabella™ series of Outback Paper Daisies (Bracteantha bracteata), Florabella Lemon displays large, lemon-yellow flowers on its full, upright growing plant habit with medium green foliage. Outback Paper Daisies are ideal for patio pots and garden plantings. Thriving in warmth and humidity, Florabellas (also in white, pink and gold) add color and texture to combinations and landscapes.
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Height: To 24”
Spread: To 24”
Soil: Well-drained
Water: Allow to dry between irrigations
AHS Heat Zone: 12-2 
USDA Hardiness: 10-11

‘Candy Stripe Duet™’
Portulaca grandiflora

White with a yellow center and fringed with red, Candy Stripe is a new bicolor portulaca with a color and pattern combination new to the marketplace. 

Portulaca has long been a great summer plant that thrives in heat and humidity or dry conditions. It is ideal for hanging baskets as it takes the occasional neglect of infrequent watering.
Light: Full sun
Height: 3”
Soil: Well-drained, moderately fertile
Water: Dry
AHS Heat Zone: 12-4
USDA Hardiness: 11

‘Paradise® Candy Kiss’
Kientzler New Guinea Impatiens

Bold and beautiful, The Flower Fields new Candy Kiss Impatiens X hybrida is a great new addition for baskets, pots and garden settings. This proven performer is early to flower. Try it in a windowbox.
Light: Partial shade
Height: To 15”
Soil: Keep moist
Water: Water thoroughly and frequently to prevent drying out.
AHS Heat Zone: 12-3

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Follow the scent of Sachet, new Nemesia from The Flower Fields

The Flower Fields® new Sachet™ series (Nemesia X hybrida) features wonderfully fragrant flowers that have been turning heads at industry shows and demonstration gardens. The plant’s compact habit is ideal for small pots, colorbowls, mixed containers, and hanging baskets. Color lasts all summer, from spring through fall. 

Four soft colors complement wonderful scents: ‘Blueberry Sachet™,’ ‘Peach Sachet™,’ ‘Vanilla Sachet™,’ and ‘Lavender Sachet™.’ The contrasting and complementary colors of this quartet work well with many other shades in The Flower Fields collection of over 300 cultivars of annuals and perennials.

Planted in well-drained soil and kept moist, Sachet Nemesia will reach a height of 16-18 inches and spread from 10-12 inches. Light requirements are partial shade or morning sun. USDA Hardiness zone 0. 

Rooting time is 4 weeks. Crop time (in 4” pots) is 10-12 weeks from transplant of rooted cuttings.

For more information, contact The Flower Fields at 800-468-3253 or visit www.theflowerfields.com.

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Big News in Bacopa from The Flower Fields

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- The Flower Fields® has expanded its already comprehensive Bacopa (Sutera cordata) program with six new varieties for the 2001 season.

Bacopa ‘Bridal Showers’™ and ‘Bacopa Blue Showers’™ bring a white and true blue to the Showers series with the same strong garden performance of the popular two-year old ‘Lavender Showers’™. All of The Flower Fields Showers are very free flowering from spring through fall and are excellent in mixed containers. 

With its more mounded habit and overall show in baskets, watch for the stunning rich blue-toned ‘Candy Floss™ Blue’ to quickly become the Basket Bacopa.

Holding its own in such strong company is a new Bacopa type, the ‘Penny Candy’™ series. Differing from the familiar Sutera cordata, Penny Candy is a Sutera hybrid selected for its large flowers and tight trailing habit, producing a carpet of color. The trio of new must-try colors includes ‘Penny Candy Pink,’ ‘Penny Candy Rose’ and ‘Penny Candy Violet.’

The Flower Fields markets over 300 cultivars of flowering garden plants. It is the first major brand to combine both annuals and perennials providing a wide range of color and year-round garden interest. The program offers growers extensive marketing support including point-of-sale and promotional programs for retail. The Flower Fields products include vegetative annuals from The Paul Ecke Ranch of Encinitas, Calif. and perennials, spring garden mums and dwarf dahlias from Yoder Brothers, Inc. of Barberton, OH. 

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