Talking Tropica Mandevilla & Dipladenia with Maria Bolinger

Ball FloraPlant released the Tropica collection of mandevilla and dipladenia at 2024 California Spring Trials with more than 15 colors carefully sorted into five collections. The flowering tropical plant category is booming with consumer demand and Tropicas seem to be entering the market at the right time. Host Bill Calkins is joined by BallFloraplant’s Southeast and Southwest regional territory manager, Maria Bolinger for a fun discussion about what makes Tropica different and why it’s cutting-edge breeding and carefully curated collections creates opportunities for growers producing tropicals to meet market demand.

 

The Tropica assortment includes a range of colors (solid, as well as unique) with different profiles and habits selected to fit into a variety of container types and landscapes. There are compact, bush types (Tropica Modesto collection); medium-vigor bush profiles (Tropica Medio); medium-vining (Tropica Grande); large vining (Tropica Grandiosa) and a collection of novelty types (Tropica Unico). Maria explains the best uses for each and how to select and grow them for maximum retail appeal and optimal sell through. She also shares some of her favorites and how to use them in jaw-dropping combinations.

 

Maria and Bill have been friends and coworkers for years, so you can expect a fun and dynamic discussion. Be sure to listen all the way to the end of this episode for tons of retail ideas and help putting together the best assortment possible.

 

RESOURCES:

 

Ball FloraPlant Website: https://www.ballfloraplant.com/

 

Tropica Collection & Grower Specs: https://www.ballfloraplant.com/pdf/Tropica-Mandevilla-SellSheet-BallFloraPlant-2024.pdf

 

Ball FloraPlant at California Spring Trials 2024 (video): https://youtu.be/7J8tPDV-Aio?si=TPqPZ-e7H0Mgd0wi