Tesselaar Announces 2011 Plant Introductions: Bonfire^® Choc Pink & Choc Red

Download the news release in Microsoft Word format: Tesselaar News Release - 2011 Plant Intros 2010-09-20 [updated 2011-04-06].

September 20, 2010 — Two exciting new chocolate-leaved versions of the popular Bonfire begonia series Choc Pink and Choc Red will make their debut this coming spring from Tesselaar Plants, all in keeping with the Australian plant developer’s commitment to easy-care, eco-friendly and exceptionally well-tested plants.

The company is also excited to announce that Tropicanna Black, a beautiful but so far elusive member of the fabulously-foliaged Tropicanna canna collection, will be widely available to gardeners next season.

“All these plants reflect our desire to help more people — their experience level aside — grow beautiful, distinctive gardens with confidence and success,” says Anthony Tesselaar, president and co-founder of Tesselaar Plants.

“Not only do we pride ourselves on finding garden plants that are more brilliant in color and form than what anyone else can grow, we’re extremely discriminating in what gets commercialized,” he explains. “Every plant we offer goes through rigorous testing – 1,465 steps in all – before we bring it to market. Otherwise, gardeners buy a pretty plant that doesn’t hold up to its promises, and this affects their budget, their free time and ultimately their confidence.”

Tesselaar Plants’ new introductions will arrive this coming spring at big-box retailers and independent garden centers across the United States. Fact sheets and high-resolution images for each plant can be found at http://newsroom.tesselaar.com/plants.

Bonfire Begonia series – Choc Pink & Choc Red

The wildly popular Bonfire begonia series now includes the high-impact Choc Pink and Choc Red varieties featuring dark "chocolate" foliage.  Developed by by New Zealand Plant and Food Research and managed by Tesselaar Plants, Choc Pink and Choc Red are now sold through the Ball Horticultural Company network as part of the Selecta First Class catalogue of products.

In addition to dramatic, serrated, dark "chocolate" foliage (in Choc Red’s case, highlighted by a matching red margin), Choc Red and Choc Pink offer a full, upright to mounding habit that’s perfect for the landscape as well as containers and hanging baskets. Both plants also feature an eye-catching profusion of exotic bright blooms (red-orange or blush pink) that contrast dramatically against chocolate/plum foliage. The blooms, which cover up to half of the plant, continue to delight from late spring to late fall.

Low-maintenance and easy-care plants, Choc Red and Choc Pink can be grown in full sun or partial shade and aren’t afraid of summer rains or drier summer conditions.And like the original Bonfire begonia series, these delicious, new chocolate varieties handle heat, humidity and drought much better than other begonia varieties.

What they’re saying about it

“Bonfire has proven to be a highly marketable plant and has enjoyed excellent sales,” said plant guru Allan Armitage at the 2010 California Pack Trials. “Selecta has brought dark foliage to the Bonfires with pink flowers (Choc Pink) and red flowers (Choc Red). It’s big, bold and bodacious.”

Design ideas

Choc Red and Choc Pink are ideal where masses of color are required with little or no care. And, just as with the original Bonfire, these shade lovers can brighten any dark area.

“I've found that the Bonfire and Bonfire Choc varieties look most provocative when paired or grouped with deep burgundies, true purples and/or silver foliage,” says Sabina Reiner, brand manager for Selecta First Class.

More design ideas for the Bonfire Chocolate varieties are featured by Dave Epstein, host of the weekly how-to video website Growing Wisdom, in a new video to be released soon.  Stay tuned to our newsroom for the link this video http://newsroom.tesselaar.com.

Tropicanna Black

With its purplish-black leaves and coral-colored blooms, Tropicanna Black is one more colorful way to add a tropical touch to your backyard “staycation.” Like the original, rainbow-striped, tangerine-bloomed Tropicanna and the yellow-striped, gold/orange-bloomed Tropicanna Gold, Tropicanna Black not only works well in landscapes, beds and borders, but since it’s a water plant, it’s ideal for water gardens, bogs and ponds. In containers, it’s also the perfect “thriller” in any “thriller-filler-spiller” approach to mixed planters.

“Although Tropicanna Black has been on the market for a number of years, some propagation issues prevented us from distributing it widely,” explains Anthony Tesselaar. “So realistically, this is the first year it will be nationally available.”

What’s more, Tropicanna Black (along with the original Tropicanna and Tropicanna Gold), will also be available in a wider range of sizes which makes them suitable for inclusion in mixed container plantings.

Design Ideas

Tropicanna Black is the perfect foliage partner to its two sisters, Tropicanna and Tropicanna Gold. It’s also dramatic when planted with lime greens, yellows and purples. Tropicanna Black even works beautifully with many of the same plants grouped with the original (rainbow-striped, tangerine-bloomed) Tropicanna canna and the yellow-striped, gold-bloomed Tropicanna Gold. In his “Planting Canna Tropicanna in Containers video,” for instance, Growing Wisdom’s Dave Epstein planted these big-leaved, tropical beauties along with Purple Lady iresine (iresine herbstii) and Limelight licorice plant (helichrysum petiolare). You can see this video on a number of websites, including GrowingWisdom.com, YouTube and 5min.com.