Laurentia 'Avant-garde Blue' and 'Avant-garde Pink' impressed the Fleuroselect judges by their earliness and their vigorous flowering. Emerging as the top-scorers in the Fleuroselect trials, both these F1 hybrids have certainly earned their 2007 Gold Medals. The appeal of 'Avant-garde Blue and Pink' lies in their vitality and their long flowering season. They also have excellent basal branching and form a splendid bushy plant of 25 -30 cm in height and 30 -35 cm in width. The striking star-formed flowers delightfully cover the whole plant.

In Detail

Laurentia is not one of the best known bedding plants. This may all change with the introduction of Laurentia 'Avant-garde Blue' and 'Avant-garde Pink'. Each of these F1 hybrids was awarded with a 2007 Gold Medal. In comparison to all other entries sent in for trials, 'Avant-garde Blue' scored the highest number of points from the Fleuroselect judges. The introduction of these F1's gives Laurentia a giant leap forwards. Once upon a time, about fourteen or fifteen years ago, Laurentia 'Blue Stars' was introduced to the market. While it did sell well in countries such as Japan; sales in Europe and the United States were a lot less. The hybridisation took years of hard work and the results are certainly good, as proven by the two Gold Medals. 'Avant-garde Blue' and 'Avant-garde Pink' are outstanding because of their vigorous growing habit and long flowering period. They also have good basal branching. Combine this to their compactness and the result is a beautiful bushy plant of between 25 to 30 cm high and 30 to 35 cm wide. The remarkable star shaped flowers cover the whole plant. Another noteworthy characteristic of these Gold Medal winners is the excellent ability to cope with heat. It is a foregone conclusion that these F1s will become the new norm for Laurentia in Japan. This very same heat resistant quality makes this special bedding plant extremely suitable for the Southern states of the United States such as California and also for countries around the Mediterranean in Southern Europe. 'Avant-garde Blue' and 'Avant-garde Pink' do well in various different pot sizes, ranging from 10.5 cm to 1 litres or 1 gallon pots. The star-shaped flowers of these Laurentia will be the centre of everybody's attention when displayed on plant benches in the retail trade. Laurentia may still be a relatively insignificant product in many parts of the world, however 'Avant-garde Blue' and 'Avant-garde Pink' with all their positive qualities may soon bring a considerable change to that.