Auckland, New Zealand
October 20, 2014

Gardeners around the world will soon be able to plant compact pink gentians in their backyards for the first time.

Traditionally only available in blue, the new pink “Little Pinkie” gentians have been developed by breeders at Plant & Food Research. The plant is compact and multi-branched, making it suitable for patio or landscape planting. “Little Pinkie” is now available to gardeners in the UK and Europe, with sales in the USA and New Zealand expected in the next year.

“The plant and flower export industry is worth US$20 billion globally,” says Keith Funnell, the Programme Leader for Ornamental Crops at Plant & Food Research. “Home gardeners like to add variety to their gardens and hardy species like gentians, which grow naturally across temperate regions, are appealing.”

“Little Pinkie” was developed as part of the ornamental breeding programme at Plant & Food Research, in association with Rhindo NZ Development and Southland Flowers. The variety is being marketed under license by Green Harvest Pacific and was recently launched at Plantarium, one of the largest nursery trade fairs in the world, held annually in the Netherlands.

Website: http://www.plantandfood.co.nz

Published: October 30, 2014