Grow Pansies & Violas Like a PRO with Dr. Brian Krug

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Syngenta Flowers technical lead Dr. Brian Krug joins host Bill Calkins to discuss two new series—Pansy Delta Pro and Viola Penny Pro—sharing tips and tricks for maximizing production of these breakthrough new varieties. The Delta Pro pansy series was released a couple years ago as a comprehensive upgrade to Delta, an industry leader for more than 30 years and Penny Pro violas are new for 2025. When such iconic series are completely retooled, it shows that the breeders have been hard at work and truly identified improvements that can be brought to growers and end users.

Brian explains exactly why both Delta Pro and Penny Pro offer major benefits for growers, including Delta’s super-short timing window (all colors bloom within 10 days!), reduced need for PGRs and huge 3-inch blooms; and Penny’s flower power, non-stretching habit and vigorous root system.

After taking you through the key features, Dr. Krug dives deep into best practices when propagating and finishing both Delta Pro and Penny Pro. Although your production of these new series will look a lot like typical pansy and viola plans, there are a few nuances to note. Breeding for compact habit in production dictates lower PGR needs and the tight bloom window for Delta Pro means you don’t have to stagger these pansies to ship the full color range in flower. Brian also shares some tips and tricks learned throughout the years working with pansy and viola growers that will no doubt benefit your team. NOTE: Delta Pro was bred for Spring OR Fall production, which is fantastic, and Brian touches on this in his presentation, as well as some regionally-specific advice to help growers across all of North America.

RESOURCES:

Delta Pro—Produced for Precision: https://www.syngentaflowers-us.com/deltapro

Penny Pro—Produced for Performance: https://www.syngentaflowers-us.com/pennypro

Syngenta Technical Library: https://www.syngentaflowers-us.com/techlibrary/search/techlibrary

WATCH Delta Pro Grow—Comparison Trial Time Lapse Video: https://youtu.be/PnChUHNehcE?si=NVe-8QVNQe0XmZ_Z