A new variety of zinnia, 『Profusion Red』, which has been developed by Sakata Seed Corporation, received the All-America Selections(AAS) winner award in US and the Fleuroselect (FS) gold medal (the highest award for breakthrough breeding) in Europe.
AAS and FS are two of the world's major flower competitions, and it is a great honour that one variety wins both of these two awards. Seeds of this variety will be sold worldwide starting 2017, including Japan, North America, and Europe.
For both awards, 『Profusion Red』 was highly praised for the brilliant red color of its flowers. Zinnia is a staple for flower beds, but no variety of zinnia hybrida has a red color as brilliant as Red. The red color of this variety resists fading, and its flowers keep their beautiful color even in the middle of summer. It is also resistant to diseases and has excellent ramification and hill spread, making it a plant with superior garden performance for flower beds. The variety can be utilized in a wide range of applications, from home gardening to large-scale operations such as flower beds in parks and public facilities and even theme parks.
This variety will become a part of the 『Profusion』 series lineup, which includes the world's first commercialized interspecific hybrid zinnia variety, created back in 1999. This series, which combines the beauty of flowers and ease of growing, has received praise from all over the world and has greatly increased the usability of zinnia as a garden flower. The 『Profusion Cherry』,『Profusion Double Hot Cherry』,『Profusion White』 are former AAS winners and FS Gold Medal Winners.
Note
All-America Selections is a non-profit organization founded in 1932 and aims to select and spread new and superior varieties of flowers and vegetables, as well as to protect the rights of breeders.
It acts with the purpose of introducing and spreading new flower varieties to the flower beds of average gardeners in the US and Canada. It is the most prestigious organization in the horticulture industry, and major global companies dealing in flower seeds and seedlings vie with each other to enter their newly bred varieties. Growing tests are conducted in several dozen locations in North America, such as universities, botanical gardens, and companies dealing in seeds and seedlings. The varieties showing excellent results from the growing tests become award-winning varieties. It is also called the Flower Olympics in Japan. There are four categories: flowers, bedding plants, cool season bedding plants, and vegetables.
Fleuroselect is an ornamental plant examination board founded in 1970 which examines submitted varieties for novelty and practicality in thirty trial grounds in various locations in Europe to decide the medal-winning varieties. The varieties are judged anonymously.
The conditions for entry are strict, and therefore companies only submit varieties that they have selected carefully and are confident in. It is said that a medal from Fleuroselect is not only an honor to the developer of the variety, but also has a great effect on the commercial aspect of popularizing new varieties.
Interspecific hybrid: first filial generation descended from parents of different species of the same genus.