Following the Europe-wide trial initiated by Fleuroselect to celebrate ‘2018, Year of the Marigold’, both consumers and experts have cast their vote. Consumers choose French Marigold Vanilla Cream. Experts went for Bali Yellow.
As part of the prestigious People’s Choice Awarding scheme, visitors to the Royal Horticultural Society flagship garden Wisley in the UK were asked to vote for their favourite marigold. All 148 entries thrived in the hot, dry summer with the winner – lemon-coloured Vanilla Cream entered by Floranova/ Mr. Fothergill’s/ Thompson & Morgan – revealing a preference for unconventional varieties.
Second and third were Durango Bee (PanAmerican Seed/ Thompson & Morgan) and Pots of Gold (Thompson & Morgan). Zenith Red (Floranova) and Durango Flame (PanAmerican Seed) took the fourth and fifth place.
Sabatino Urzo, Trials Manager at the Royal Horticultural Society, comments: “The People’s Choice Award is an opportunity for visitors to tell us their plant preference, with the results hinting at what we might see growing in gardens in the coming years.”
A similar marigold trial was set up at the Cotswold Wildlife Park, a very popular destination for family day trips in the south of England. A panel of six professionals visited the marigold display five times in 9 weeks and judged the plants on garden performance and overall appearance. Following varieties proved to be outstanding:
Africans: Bali Yellow (AmeriSeed), Bali Gold (AmeriSeed), Inca II Gold (Syngenta Flowers), Inca II Orange (Syngenta Flowers), Perfection Orange (Syngenta Flowers)
Triploïden: Zenith Red (Floranova).
French: Naughty Marietta (Thompson&Morgan), Red Cherry (Mr. Fothergill’s), Favourite Mix (Mr. Fothergill’s), Konstance (Thompson&Morgan), Super Hero Orange Flame (Benary)
The expert jury consisted of Andrew Bennett, Janice Shipp, Harriet Rycroft, Andrew Spires, Kay Shih and Peter Freeman.
About ‘2018, Year of the Marigold’
Within the framework of the ‘2018, Year of the Marigold’ marketing campaign, Fleuroselect, the international organisation for pot and bedding plant breeders, has initiated five extensive marigold trials. In addition to RHS Wisley and the Cotswold Wildlife Park, marigold displays were also planted in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris (FR), the Ega-Park in Erfurt (GE) and at the Tegeasc Research Institute in Dublin (IR). No less than 148 varieties were planted out. The aim of the campaign is to inspire the public on the beauty and diversity of marigolds and to increase the sales of existing varieties.
