A tough year but quality shines through

摘要

Since 2010, the numbers of pansy and viola varieties at the annual Meadow Croft Pansy and Viola Festival have been falling fast. Three years ago there were nine hundred-plus, just as in 2009 and 2008. In 2011 the tally fell sharply to just under sevenhundred. In 2012 the figure was closer to six hundred, and this year it was 519 reports John Sutton. Neither public and grower interest nor quality has shared in the decline, though. With both an autumn and a spring sales period, these massively popularplants command as much attention as ever. Mercifully for growers they remain low energy-input plants. And as for quality, Michael Smith is a man in a unique position to know. He is partner with his father in the long established family nursery businessin Battlesbridge, Essex, and in nearby Meadow Croft Garden Centre. He is the driving force behind its annual Pansy and Viola Festival held in March. Seed was sent in by ten companies for this year's Festival, and he said that the quality of almost all the series was 'really, really good'. He believes that the ten years of the Festival, have seen big progress in quality overall, especially with improved uniformity in flowering time across the colour range in each series. The last ten years have also seenbig commercial changes among the leading breeders. PanAmerican Seeds has acquired Kieft, Syngenta has acquired Goldsmith, and Takii now owns Sahin: all six companies have a proud record of breeding pansies or violas or both.