What We’re Growing Now (And What’s Coming Next)

Spring may be winding down. But the next season is already starting.

Sowing:

• ✓ Zinnias
• ✓ Marigolds

Propagating:

• ✓ Monarch Magic Ageratum
• ✓ SuperCal Petchoas

Potting:

• ✓ First round of garden mums

These crops will form the backbone of late-summer and fall color at the garden centers we supply.

One of the breeding breakthroughs I’ve been most excited about is Sunbeckia — a new generation of rudbeckia bred for genuine garden performance.

Features:

• ✓ Huge flowers (larger than traditional rudbeckia)
• ✓ Real heat tolerance
• ✓ Long bloom window from summer right into fall
• ✓ Excellent landscape performance — the plants stay tidy and productive

Expected at retail: early August.

Years ago, growers sold mums in early August by using a technique called shading — artificially exposing plants to shorter days earlier in the season.

Mums are triggered to flower by long nights. By reducing light exposure with black-cloth tents, growers can convince the plants that autumn is arriving earlier than it actually is. The result: earlier-flowering mums.

The practice still exists, but customer demand has shifted toward more traditional late-August and September timing — so most growers, including us, have scaled the shading back.

The flowers may be sold. But greenhouse production never really stops. Right now, the work happening here is what will become your fall color in 8–10 weeks.

Reference: Purdue University Extension, Penn State Extension, Ball Seed industry reports — Indiana gardening resources