Congratulations to the following Landscape Ontario members who share the honour of producing the best nursery stock in Ontario as judged by a panel of experts at this year’s Industry Auction at Sheridan Nurseries in Georgetown, Ont., on Aug. 14.
2013 GROWERS’ AWARD WINNERS
| Category | Plants | Winner | Judges’ comments |
| Category 1: Evergreens – Field Grown Upright and Spreading | Picea pungens ‘Neon Blue’ | Mori Nurseries | These striking neon blue spruce had great uniformity in product, and correct and proper labelling, and would be excellent additions to a retail line-up of top-notch product. |
| Category 2: Evergreens – Container Grown Upright and Spreading | Assorted evergreens | Willowbrook Nurseries | This entry displayed a good variety of colour and texture and the overall quality was excellent. A superior combination of retail-ready plants. |
| Category 3: Broadleaf Evergreens | Assorted evergreens | Canadale Nurseries | The judges were impressed with the obvious consistency of the colour, form and overall quality of these perfect broadleaf specimens. |
| Category 4: Deciduous Shrubs | Assorted shrubs | Mori Nurseries | Unusual selection of plants; great quality, well labelled, artistic presentation. Well done. |
| Category 5: Deciduous Ornamental Trees 300 cm or Less | Liriodendron | Willowbrook Nurseries | Excellent colour for Liriodendron! Good colour is a reflection of their well-developed root system with lots of fibre to ease transplant stress. |
| Category 6: Deciduous Ornamental Trees Top Grafted/Worked | Hydrangea paniculata ‘Phantom’ TF | Connon Nurseries NVK Holdings | Above and beyond the obvious impact of the spectacular blooms, these Phantom tree form hydrangeas had superior characteristics and qualities in all other criteria. For a garden centre these would be easy money. |
| Category 7: Caliper Trees | Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’ | Braun Nursery | The only ones in the lot labelled, but lacked zone and size. Uniform, pruned well, great visual appearance. |
| Category 8: Vines and Groundcovers JUDGES’ CHOICE |
Assorted groundcovers | Willowbrook Nurseries | Overall impact is tremendous. This skid is retail ready! Colour is outstanding and diversity of colour and texture is very striking. The judges wanted to take this lot home! |
| Category 9: Perennials | Assorted perennials | Mori Nurseries | This lot is an instant perennial garden for the small yard. A perfect complement to any new home and is sure to increase property value. |
| Category 10: Unusual and Rare Plants | Thuja occidentalis ‘Filiformis’ | Mori Nurseries | Many years of effort put into growing these ornamental plants. Gorgeous texture; rarely seen in displayed size – well labelled. |
| Category 11: Design on a Skid | Assorted plant material | Sheridan Nurseries – Georgetown | This is a random collection of ornamentals that reminded the judges how natural landscapes sometimes can form. This collection of plants brings elements of nutritional, recreational and medicinal elements in the garden. |
Winners from the Garden Centre program and the Construction, Maintenance and Design program will be announced during special ceremonies in conjunction with Congress ’14 at the Toronto Congress Centre.
