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PRESS RELEASEContact Jo
Roberson
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Home-> Press Releases-> 1 July 1998
When Patriot™ Rainbow(PP#9837), the first compact Lantana, won the 1994 Florastar award, the horticultural world took notice. For many years lantanas (Lantana camera cultivars) had been well known in the south, while virtually unknown to northern gardeners. With the introduction of Patriot™ Rainbow and other improved cultivars, a virtual Lantana fever has swept north, adding whole new regions of Lantana fans and increasing the demand for new colors and improved forms. Many new colors and cultivars have been introduced in recent years, but until now new colors in the popular compact form have proved to be elusive.
Dr. Jack Roberson, hybridizer of the Patriot™ lantanas including the award-winning Patriot™ Rainbow (PP#9837), has labored for more than five years to produce a Lantana with the desirable compact form of Rainbow but in an exciting new color or range of colors. Patriot™ Cowboy (ppaf) succeeds on both counts -- it sports the same mounding, compact form as Rainbow, but with a sizzling new orange coloration. Unlike the large, sprawling form of most lantanas, that can reach three feet or more, Cowboy matures into a dense 1 foot X 1 foot mound, perfect for the front of the border or for edging paths.
Unlike traditional lantanas which require continual pinching to promote bloom and control size, Cowboy requires little or no pinching. The tight orange buds open briefly to a period of bright sunshine yellow before exploding into vivid orange florets. Cowboy blooms profusely and continuously from May until frost, reaching a peak of color in the fall. In addition to the trim, compact form and heavy blooming, Cowboy has the added benefit of being very slow to set seed. While Cowboy is a mounding Lantana, rather than the common weeping trailing varieties, it is an ideal choice for containers and window boxes, especially when combined with trailing ivy or vinca. Create a hot color accent by adding a selection of bright yellow flowers, or cool off the display by adding compact white Shasta daisies or a silvery licorice plant.
The selection of the name "Cowboy" for this unique cultivar has a special meaning for hybridizer Dr. Jack Roberson. A graduate of Oklahoma State University's School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Roberson dedicated his new Lantana to the OSU Cowboys. He has donated 200 Patriot™ Cowboy (ppaf) lantanas to be incorporated into a garden area surrounding a new brick patio and "Walk of Honor" outside the OSU School of Veterinary Medicine. This exciting new Lantana will be introduced to the retail market in the year 2000.
Newly shipped lantanas, if not already in bloom, will begin to bloom within 2-3 weeks of planting and flowers will continue to appear until frost. The Patriots™ are typically profuse bloomers and should provide continual summer color. Should stressful conditions or seed setting cause the bloom cycle to wane, deadhead the plants, prune and lightly fertilize. In 3-4 weeks new blossoms will appear, with an impact comparable to the first heavy bloom in spring. In addition to encouraging heavy bloom, this will also keep the plants looking tidy.
In addition to Patriot™ Cowboy(ppaf), look for others in this top-selling line: they are available in a wide range of colors and in growth forms of weeping, mounding, or compact mounding. The cultivars currently available are: Patriot™ Cherry (PP# 10,854), (red/yellow/red, mounding). Patriot™ Hot Country (ppaf) (hot fuschia raspberry, vigorous mounding). Patriot™ Hallelujah (ppaf) (gold to salmon, semi-weeping, semi-mounding). Patriot™ Desert Sunset (PP#10,156), (yellow/melon/pink, mounding). Patriot™ Dove Wings (ppaf), (white, weeping). Patriot™ Firewagon (orange-red, mounding). Patriot™ Sunburst (ppaf), (yellow, weeping) and the award winning Patriot™ Rainbow (PP#9837), (yellow/orange pink, ultra-compact mounding). Lantanas in the Patriot™ series are protected by patents and trademarks.
Although supplies of Patriot™ Cowboy (ppaf3 should be sufficient to cover demand, lantanas in the Patriot™ series are proven sellers and this long-awaited new cultivar is expected to sell quickly. For further information, contact Jo Roberson at American Daylily & Perennials, (816) 224-2852. To check on plant availability contact American Daylily & Perennials or any of their licensees.
American Daylily & Perennials, Grain Valley, MO Ph# (800) 770-2777
H.M. Buckley & Sons, Springfield, IL. Ph# (217) 546-2211
H.M. Buckley & Sons, Naples, FL. Ph# (941) 597-1123
Frisby Greenhouse, Vinita, OK. Ph# (918) 256-7492
Greenleaf Enterprises, Lancaster, PA. Ph # (800) 233-0285
Henry's Plant Farrn, Snohomish, WA. Ph# (425) 337-8120
Lakeview Gardens, Waynesville, NC. Ph# (828) 456-6845
Meadow View Growers, Inc., New Carlisle, OH. Ph# (800) 276-6841
Robrick Nursery, Hawthorne, FL. Ph# (352)481-3998
Pleasant View Gardens, Loudon, NH., Ph# (603) 435-8361
Timbuk Farms, Inc., Granville, OH. Ph# (740) 587-2178
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