The Passion of White

Vinca Titan Pure White is our #1 Vinca

Last year, we noticed that the white mums sold out first. Then, we saw that the white poinsettias also sold out first. These sales caught our eye, so we pulled some data to look into it. What we suspected turned out to be true – white is now the new black. Here are some reasons why we think white is surging back into prominence. We also found that, although the totals may change, the sales of white material is always important.

We also decided to create a White Directory this year, organizing the relevant cultivars by their dominant season, to help you in your creative planning. Most of our customers are color conscious to some degree, and we want to point to our pretty deep commitment to white material regardless of its fashion status.

Begonia ‘Cocktail Whiskey’ 

Color trends just don't blow in out of the blue. Social changes like that don't change that fast – they have more of an ebb and flow dynamic. They also leave their mark on things like shipping data because a measure of sales is a measure of popularity. For example, our 2017 list of Top Cultivars has a lot more white than it did in 2013, and a lot of the repeating whites jumped up in their rankings.

These are all large, important crops that ship in large numbers, so you can see that a market shift has occurred in the last five years. We also see the breeders jumping their game to a higher level with better whites that last longer.

Petunia Supertunia White

We have heard other growers complain that “white doesn’t sell” or they purposely cut back the numbers on the whites. We have certainly seen the fate of white wax and wane over the decades. However, our buyers have shown us that white has always been important. Long time readers might remember one of the first articles we wrote for Field Notes back in 2011. Called “White Gardens” (Click here to go to the article), it still remains one of the best-read articles of our seven-year run. Color is clearly important to our buyers. If you care about the difference between clear white and cream white, you are probably a Difenbacher buyer.

THE WHITE DIRECTORY FOR 2017

Generally speaking, color is an important part of our buyer’s decision. Fortunately, when we did our research on this article, we found a large amount of white within the mid-range and specialty material as well as the dominate crops. We saved our notes and organized them to create a reference list of 49 crops for both retail and landscape designers.

Dianthus Floral Lace White

EARLY WHITES

These whites are cool to cold tolerant. They thrive in the nippy night air of Early Spring. Set them out with pansies or shortly thereafter.

• Alyssum Crystal Clear White
• Dianthus Floral Lace White
• Lobelia Early Springs White
• Lobularia White Stream
• Pansy Delta Premium Pure White
• Viola Sorbet White Jump-Up

 Calibrachoa Cabaret White

SPRING WHITES

Plant these crops at the beginning of spring for best effect. They will usually bloom furiously until the summer heat kicks in.

• Bacopa MegaCopa White
• Calibrachoa Cabaret White
• Snapdragon Crackle & Pop White
• Snapdragon Speedy Sonnet White
• Streptocarpus White Ice
• Torenia Catalina White Linen
• Verbena EnduraScape White blush
• Verbena Lascar White
• Verbena Tuscany White

 
Ivy Geranium Fantasia White

SUMMER WHITES

These whites stoke their growth as the heat build in. You can plant these in late spring to establish them, but do especially well throughout the summer.

• Angelonia Angel Mist Spreading White
• Angelonia Archangel White
• Angelonia Serena White
• Cosmos Sonata White
• Geranium Multibloom White
• Ivy Geranium Caliente White
• Ivy Geranium Calliope Medium White
• Ivy Geranium Contessa White
• Ivy Geranium Temprano White
• Ivy Geranium Fantasia White
• Lantana Landmark White
• Lantana Lucky White
• Pentas Butterfly White
• Pentas Graffiti White
• Zonal Geranium Rocky Mountain White
• Zinnia Zahara White

 
Lantana Lucky White

ALL SEASON WHITES

Flexible, durable, dependable. If you need something that is not fussy about the season or the soil, these plants are performers.

• Begonia Bada Bing White (small green leaf)
• Begonia Bada Boom White (small bronze leaf)
• Begonia Cocktail Whiskey (medium bronze leaf)
• Begonia Super Olympia White (medium green leaf)
• Begonia Tophat White (green leaf)
• Begonia Winged Baby Wing White
• Euphorbia Glitz White
• Euphorbia Diamond Frost
• Impatiens Accent White
• Impateins Super Elfin XP White
• Impatiens Bounce White (hybrid)
• Impatiens Xtreme White
• Impatiens Sunpatiens Compact White
• Impatiens Sunpatiens Spreading White
• New Guinea Celebration White
• New Guinea Divine White
• New Guinea Harmony Pure White
• New Guinea Magnum Clear White
• New Guinea Magnum White
• Nicotiana Saratoga White
• Petunia Madness White
• Petunia Spreading Easy Wave White
• Petunia Vegetative Headliner White
• Petunia Vegetative Supertunia White
• Plectranthus Coleoides White Surf
• Salvia Vista White
• Scaevola Whirlwind White
• Vinca Cora Cascade White Polka Dot
• Vinca Mediterranean White
• Vinca Titan Pure White