|
One of this year’s big industry stories has to be the launch of Petunia ‘Black Velvet.'
The world’s first ever black Petunia was first shown to the UK trade this summer. The interest of Nurseries and Garden Centres has been encouragingly strong. But never did anyone realise the buzz this breeding break-through would create with the media and subsequent public excitement.
Calls kept coming through to our office, but in just one day Petunia ‘Black Velvet’ appeared in the Daily Express, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and The Times. Even Chris Evans and Moira Stewart talked about it on Radio 2, so did Annie Othen on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire. Then that evening the story hit Channel 4 News!
So what is the story? ...
The colour black is very rare in the plant world and most black plants are simply dark. True black would be rather difficult to place in the garden in any quantity, but they are immensely beautiful and therefore very appealing.
It took four years for Ball flower breeder Jianping Ren to develop the variety that she says was no easy task. “The black colour did not exist in petunias before, so it has to come from the right recombination of a novel colour mutant and multiple regular colour genetic backgrounds. It is difficult and very different from breeding true blue flowers because at least there are some blue flowers you can start with,” she says. “It’s unique and unusual, and opens the door for more new colours.”
Dark flowers and foliage make great accents in combinations and gardens, allowing their surrounding companions to really stand out. Try Petunia ‘Black Velvet’ with White, Yellow, Orange, Red, Pink flowers; in fact almost anything goes with black!
 ‘Black Velvet’ is a perfect fit for premium baskets and containers, this combo-friendly Petunia partners well with almost any other colour because as any fashion conscious shopper knows …….black goes with anything! These upright and mounded plants are early to flower, have a tightly branched habit and are filled with colour all season long. Height and spread: 8 to 12” (20 to 30 cm).
Look out for these plants in the spring in packs and pots in Garden Centres nationwide and ready planted patio tubs to simply pick up and drop onto your Patio this Summer. Plants will also be available through most mail order companies.
{Trade information: Petunia ‘Black Velvet’ is available in a Ball 84 plug tray weeks 6 -20. A high impact Ball label is supplied with your plugs and a poster is available to download and print off to A3 size to help support retail sales }
|