September 15, 2013
LO Growers Awards of Excellence winners 2013
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.
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.
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. |