Proven Winners ColorChoice to Offer Ornamental Trees

Jennifer Zurko

Spring Meadow Nursery, the manager of Proven Winners ColorChoice flowering shrubs, will be adding ornamental trees to its lineup of woody plants in the 2019 growing season. To assist with marketing, Spring Meadow is partnering with the horticulture firm UpShoot, owned and run by the longtime industry professional Maria Zampini, who grew up in the tree business and learned from the best—her late father Jim Zampini spent a lifetime breeding, selecting and introducing trees.   

The new Proven Winners ColorChoice ornamental tree program will begin with seven varieties selected for good scale, form and multi-season interest geared toward garden centers, homeowners and residential landscapers:

• Crabapples Lollipop Malus and Show Time Malus
• Pink Snow Showers Prunus and Weeping Extraordinaire Prunus
• Avalanche Asian birch (Betula x)
• Golden Shadows pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
• Crusader hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli)

“We will continue to grow a wide selection of varieties that offer different color, habit, features, seasonality and adaptability to different sites—all that are worthy of the Proven Winners brand,” said Maria. “Proven Winners already has a great network of growers, but any tree grower can participate by purchasing liners. We are working with some excellent bare root liner producers and propagators.”

Growers, propagators and retailers interested in offering Proven Winners ColorChoice trees should contact Maria directly. Nurseries that are licensed to propagate and sell some or all of the varieties include Blue Heron Farm, Bountiful Farms, Hans Nelson & Sons Nursery Inc., John Holmlund Nursery, Robinson Nursery, J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co., Sester Farms, Inc., Spring Meadow Nursery, and Willoway Nurseries Inc., with more nurseries signing on this season.

For more information about shrub or ornamental tree varieties, visit SpringMeadowNursery.com. GT