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Garden trend for 2019: Get real, says Burpee chairman

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 11, 2019

George Ball, chairman of Burpee Seeds, says authenticity is the trend in gardening. (Photo: Dean Fosdick of Associated Press, courtesy Burpee)

Relevance appeals to millennials as well as boomers – as does fun

Burpee Seeds’ George Ball, the man who keeps a 143-year-old brand relevant, sees 2019 as a year of opportunity for the gardening industry.

“This is a decisive period of time,” Ball said in a phone interview. “It’s critical, both in terms of demographics and technology.”

Ball bases his prediction on two major gardening audiences: boomers and millennials.

“Our big challenge: One is fading out while the other is fading in,” he observed.

Right now, those trends are converging in a way where gardening appeals to both groups.

“In gardening, we’ve reached an absolute sweet spot,” said Ball, 67. “It’s time to really go forward and go for us aging baby boomers – I’m one. But even more crucial, we need to go for the up-and-coming gardeners, the millennials.”

In the digital age, gardeners of all ages can be overwhelmed by information, he added. Some topics -- chemical use, plant breeding, changing weather – add to uncertainty.

What people forget is gardening should be fun.

“In gardening, the B.S. is over; that’s what will be different this year,” he said. “Go back to traditional plant breeding, seeds that grow and gardens that work. Gardening is about playing. That’s why we garden.”

Boomers and millennials equally like to play, Ball added. But the key to reaching both audiences comes down to relevance.

Burpee's tomato seeds include a Baby Boomer

cherry variety. It's the red cherry lower right. (Photo:

Kathy Morrison)

“Baby boomers grew up inventing relevance,” he said. “That’s been passed on to millennials. They think they live, breathe, eat relevance.”

As Burpee’s ambassador as well as chairman, Ball finds himself surrounded by millennial gardeners in their 20s and early 30s. The question he gets asked often: “Are you real?”

“There’s this whole authenticity thing,” he said. “But gardening is about as real as it gets.”

He gets questions about GMOs. (Burpee doesn't sell any GMOs and breeds its plants the old-fashioned way.) Heirlooms vs. hybrids? (“Some heirlooms are really great, but others are not starters,” Ball said.)

“I’m a plant scientist,” he said. “Traditional plant breeding is just coaxing out of the gene pool what wants to get out.”

Sometimes it’s golden orange cherry tomatoes that taste like honey drops (called Honeycomb). Others, it’s wine-purple speckled striped petunias (Starry Sky). They’re among dozens of introductions in Burpee’s new 2019 catalog ( www.burpee.com ). More on those new plants and many more next week.

Meanwhile, Ball urges gardeners – and garden companies – to see the real fun in gardening.

“I felt last year was a sea change,” he said. “We got away from the B.S. The trend now is to keep it real.”

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Keywords:

hybrids seeds gardening heirlooms Sacramento planting seed catalogs plants Burpee Seeds garden trends GMOs

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Garden checklist for week of May 3

Make the most of pleasant spring weather – and get to work.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

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