Fleuroselect has announced its latest Gold Medal winners! Each of these breeding breakthroughs obtained an outstanding score in innovation, beauty and garden performance in the Fleuroselect annual trial.

Dahlia pinnata
Black Forest Ruby
Takii Europe

Dahlias have become increasingly popular over the past few years due to their stunning variety, impressive flower shapes and captivating colours. Fully in line with the current movement, Takii Europe introduces Black Forest Ruby, a dazzling Dahlia from seed. This breeding breakthrough displays stunning single to double flowers which radiate in all shades of red, ranging from scarlet to wine, and contrast beautifully to the dark pinnata leaves.

Black Forest Ruby is an excellent choice for a combo container and thrives in sunny beds. Growers will find that this new Dahlia is easy to produce and results in highly uniform plants. Retailers will marvel over the attractive flower-leaf colour combination which stands out on the benches. 

Consumers will welcome the outstanding garden performance as Black Forest Ruby flowers continuously from summer over autumn until the first frost. Displaying captivating colour contrasts, Black Forest Ruby is a very welcome addition to the current Dahlia seed assortment. The Fleuroselect jury praised its visually exceptional red flowers against the dark foliage on full, uniform plants and saw high potential for growers, retailers, and consumers. 

Salvia splendens
Estella Coral
Van Hemert & Co.

One of the current gardening trends is the shift towards less formality, aiming for a more naturalistic look with a milder colour palette. The latest Salvia splendens Estella Coral from Van Hemert & Co fully fits within this movement and is a breeding breakthrough in many ways. This plant innovation shows a fully new habit compared to the known splendens types. Estella Coral is bigger, bushier, well-branched and therefore suitable for wildlife-inspired gardening, large patio containers or landscaping where vigour is required.

In addition to its innovative plant shape, also the flower colour is completely new in this bushy salvia type from seed. Estella Coral’s large, rose flower spikes bloom all season long, providing splendid colour and texture in the garden. Growers and gardeners will be delighted to discover that Estella Coral flowers one week earlier compared to the standard splendens varieties. Grown or planted in a sunny spot and well-drained soil, Estella Coral will produce heaps of flowers and attract several types of pollinators.

Together with red, white and purple, Estella Coral is part of a series opening new markets for Salvia splendens. In addition to the innovative plant habit and earliness, rose also is a breakthrough in terms of colour in this bushy splendens type. Therefore, the Fleuroselect jury decided to award this variety with the coveted Gold Medal.