What’s in a name
This is one of my favorite times of the year; we’re starting to receive next year’s catalogs with new plants for 2021. When we start to think about growing new plants and to look at new plant introductions, our first impressions of a new variety are often formed when we read the cultivar name. The name can indicate something about flower color, size, or growth habit, or, many times, it may not tell us anything at all about the appearance of the plant. Naming and branding can be very powerful tools when it comes to promoting and selling plants, and can also be the cause of confusion at times.
One method of branding that I think is very effective is the development of the plant series. There are the Echinacea Sombrero® series, the Phlox Candy Store® series, and the Hibiscus Summerific® series, just to name a few of my personal favorites. If you find a series of plants that you like, it can be exciting when a new variety is introduced. I think that’s one of the reasons why creating a series of plants is such an effective form of marketing: it entices consumers to add in new varieties as they become available so they can complete the collection. I also think Proven Winners has done a great job with naming; when you hear cultivar names like Hosta ‘Wheee!’, Nepeta ‘Cat’s Pajamas’, and Salvia ‘Violet Riot’, you can’t help but want to learn more.
Although it’s fun to check out new and upcoming introductions, there can also be a lot of power in name recognition with varieties that have been used for many years. For example, we grew Red Sunset® Maple for well over a decade, and when we shifted to growing the improved Redpointe® Maple, asking customers to make the transition was somewhat difficult. Similarly, we decided to start growing the Rapido series of Campanula a few years ago, which is an improvement over the older Clips series, but many of our customers were more familiar with the Clips series and were not ready to make the switch right away.
It can also be difficult when plant names change. We fell in love with Echinacea Lakota™ Santa Fe a few years ago and promoted it to our customers. When the name changed to Lakota™ Fire, we had to start the process over and explain to everyone that it was the same plant with a different name. This can also happen when plants are reclassified for taxonomic reasons (like Aster to Symphyotrichum or Cimicifuga to Actaea). Sometimes it’s easier to reference these plants by the traditional name just to avoid confusion (we continue to label asters under the genus Aster, for example).
I think there are times when a name may seem appropriate or straightforward when the plant is in development, but may cause considerable confusion when it hits the market. Last year, we ran into some trouble caused by naming and branding when it came to one of our favorite plants, Hydrangea Invincibelle Limetta®. Although the name and messaging suggest primarily lime green flowers, the flowers are pure white after they open and they remain white for a long time. We felt there were some misperceptions about the difference between Limetta® and Wee White® hydrangeas, and we spent a lot of time taking pictures of the flowers and driving samples to our customers to show them how amazing the plants looked in real life. Similarly, when we started growing Armstrong Gold® Maple, we were expecting brilliant gold fall color. But, here in the Midwest, we have only ever seen it exhibit insignificant yellow fall color at best. We later found out that “Gold” is in reference to the fact that this variety was bred for improved form, and doesn’t pertain to the fall color at all. Likewise, a customer who goes to the garden center and sees Perovskia ‘Little Spire’ on the table could be expecting a dwarf plant for their garden, and may be in for a surprise when they find that it can grow up to 3’ tall.
And then, other times, names can be downright thought-provoking. Is Coreopsis ‘Jethro Tull’ named after the 70’s classic rock band, or the 18 th Century inventor of the seed drill? Why is Allium ‘Millenium’ spelled with only one “n”? I have these questions every time I look at these plants. It’s interesting how, once we get used to a plant, we hardly think about the name. But the naming and branding efforts that go into new plant development really do have a significant impact on our initial interest in them and the reception they get when they first hit the market.
