Meet Sweden’s 2021 Pelargonium of the Year 

ENKHUIZEN, Netherlands: The panel of expert judges has voted and Sweden’s 2021 Pelargonium of the Year is Pelargonium zonale ‘Rosebud Astrid’ which features clusters of fully and wheater proof double flowers.

Marketing agency Blomsterfrämjandet from Sweden is pleased to announce that this year it will promote Syngenta’s pelargonium zonale ‘Rosebud Astrid’ as the 2021 Pelargonium of the Year because of its easy care and elegant blooms. According to Blomsterfrämjandet, sponsored by Syngenta, Mester Gron Horn Hems and Plantagen amongst others,  the double flowered variety outshined all other nominated varieties this year.

The agency’s “pelargonium of the year” promotion is ready to help growers, garden retailers (both on-line and brick-and-mortar) and garden communicators encourage consumers to discover and embrace excitingly new pelargonium varieties with excellent garden performance.

Each year a panel of expert judges, representing different segments of the industry selects the winning variety which must be superior in terms of visual appeal, pest and disease resistance, distinctness and uniformity in plant habit.

According to the judges, ‘Rosebud Astrid’ “has double flowers that shimmer in different shades of pink and apricot. The leaves are a fresh green with a broad, undulating, chocolate-brown zonal marking. In addition to a beautiful appearance, the variety has fantastic growing qualities: the geranium delivers floral splendour both indoors and outdoors, withstands rain and debris and offers unlikely flowering all summer long.”

Rosebud Astrid has white to pale blush pink petals with creamy white edges, followed by romantic pink and then a deep, pale apricot. The colour can vary depending on location, for example the flowers take on a more apricot color indoors and more pink outdoors.

Anders Haglund, grower at Torsång Handelsträdgård in Dalarna had the privilege of growing the variety last year and comments, “ I must say that it is one of the best Pelargoniums of the Year we have ever had ‘Astrid’ has a fantastic flower, is stable in cultivation and really good at home with the end customer. I have had it out on the steps at home myself and it is very hardy. Many geraniums with double flowers are at risk of rain damage, but ‘Astrid’ is holding up very well. This variety has a chance of becoming a real favourite.”

For next year, growers can order Rosebud Astrid at their local Syngenta Flowers sales representative. The variety is for retail still available in Norway, Sweden, Finland and France.