Now that the two Impatiens Downy Mildew-resistant series have been officially introduced to the grower market, trials sites around the country have used this past summer to truly see how they perform in their region. We asked a handful of trials managers (including three from outside of the U.S.) to give us their objective take on how Beacon and Imara XDR fared in their field tests. Colorado State University—Fort Collins, Colorado Trials Manager: Sean Markovic Planted: All impatiens in our shade area (60% shade) were planted June 5 (Week 23). Overall performance/Differences and similarities: All impatiens performed well overall. The Beacon series was larger than the Imara series. The flowering of both series was impressive with high ratings across all varieties. Flower color rating system used is 1 to 5, with 5 being totally covered with blooms. All were scored in the range of 3 to 5. These were taken seven times July through September. Weather conditions: Weather in Colorado was cool and rainy until mid-June and then hot and dry with one hail incident (July 5) that didn’t affect the impatiens because they were under the shade structure for protection. Final ranking: We had our evaluation day on August 6, with 160 company representatives, green industry members and master gardeners evaluating each variety, getting about 23 evaluators’ ratings. The numbers ranged from 2 to 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being highest ranking. Overall, these were average rankings for all of our trial entries (1,068 total). As the coordinator, I’ve seen these plants grow from greenhouse to flower color ratings. The Beacon series grows taller and looks very impressive. It had no downy mildew or other disease present during the summer. The Imara series was just as showy in flower power, but had a smaller habit that really made it look inferior to Beacon until late August when the tight habit and extra blooms made it an outstanding display. No disease was present with Imara

Weed management in ornamentals presents many challenges, including crop diversity, limited or no postemergence herbicide options, sensitive crops, and the fact that the nursery environment is perfect for many weeds to thrive.

Five nursery growers have collaborated to develop a trials program exclusively for their core products—perennials and woody ornamentals. Here are the ones they liked the best this year.

Crop culture on some new intros and updates on current favorites.

Knowing how your substrate absorbs and uses water will help you grow better crops.

North Carolina State University conducted a survey to learn about the challenges and needs for the growing cut flower segment of our industry.

Diamides is a unique class of chemistry that offers an alternative for growers looking for newer, non-neonicotinoid chemistries to add into their programs.