Branching out

In commercial horticulture, five years represents a single production cycle for a slow-growing oak or a long-term trial for a new cultivar. For the Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Tree program, however, that half-decade marks the ascent of a diverse collection that aims to redefine how the industry markets woody ornamentals.

Now entering its sixth growing season, the Proven Winners’ program is hitting its stride. Two of the strongest points in its favor are the power of “the white pot” brand and a meticulously curated grower network. Led by program manager Maria Zampini, a fourth-generation nursery pro, the initiative has successfully navigated the unique logistical hurdles of tree production to secure a dominant position in the independent garden center (IGC) and landscape design markets.

“When you consider [the tree program] really launched out to the public within the last five years, it’s come a long way in a short period of time,” Zampini says.

Indeed, that success is reflected in its rapid program expansion. Today, the Proven Winners ColorChoice brochure features a host of distinct genetics, representing arguably the most diverse range of genera in any branded tree program. That growth remains aggressive, with six to ten additional varieties in the production buildup stage and numerous others undergoing rigorous trials.

The marketing gap

Before 2019, introducing new varieties often hit a horticultural dead end. Grower Josh Robinson recalls the frustration of discovering a standout seedling in the greenhouse, perhaps a Redbud displaying faster growth or an unusual hue, only to see it wither commercially.

“Historically, we’d send samples to customers. They’d grow them and say, ‘This is a great tree,’” says the co-owner and sales manager at Robinson Nursery, McMinnville, Oregon, a licensed grower and Proven Winners’ Gold Key partner, producing specialized ornamental trees like the Weeping Extraordinaire Cherry, as well as propagating and supplying the program’s branded trees. “But three years later, when [the tree] reached a saleable size, [the feedback] was always: ‘We love it, but nobody is asking for it.’”

According to Robinson, nurseries are experts at cultivation, not consumer persuasion. “We are not a marketing company,” he says. “We didn’t know how to get a homeowner or a landscape architect excited about a tree for our customer’s customer.”

Zampini says the Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Tree program first took root back at the 2018 Gold Key meeting. Held annually at Spring Meadow Nursery’s Grand Haven, Michigan, facility, the conclave is a top-tier, two-day planning and strategy event for shrub growers.

“The [tree] program came about in part because the growers were asking for it,” Zampini says. “They wanted the tree program.”

Spring Meadow’s leadership recognized this could do for trees what Proven Winners had already achieved with hydrangeas and spireas. After some internal discussion, they approached Proven Winners’ corporate team to secure the rights to bring the tree program to market. Meanwhile, Zampini was tapped to co-develop and launch the new Proven Winners’ brand as the tree program manager. Zampini, the president of horticultural marketing firm UpShoot LLC, previously ran the family’s business, Lake County Nursery in Perry, Ohio.

Zampini explains that Proven Winners’ selection criteria prioritizes high ornamental value, emphasizing standout floral displays or other unique aesthetic traits. While initial development focused on genetic lines with broad geographic adaptability to ensure success across diverse climates, the strategy is evolving.

As the grower network expands and matures, the Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Tree program is shifting toward more regional specialization. Zampini says this includes an active search for hardier genetics to satisfy demand in colder zones, as well as a focus on selected native species, a hot-button trend with consumers interested in sustainable landscapes.

“We have the most diverse set of genus when it comes to trees in a branded program,” Zampini says. “We have a good, solid group of trees. Not all of them are flowering trees, but they all have some level of ornamental value, which is one of the criteria we’re looking for.

“When starting the program, we were looking for what genetics could fill the biggest swath across the United States?” she adds. “What things can go north to south, east to west, so that you can get the most pickup?”

Growing growers

The evolution of the tree-growing network was fueled by early interest from industry leaders, even before the tree program’s official announcement.

Many growers sought out the fledgling tree program due to the successes they’d experienced with Proven Winners’ shrub program. Both programs share core similarities, including rigorous long-term trialing to identify superior genetics, disease resistance and reliable performance, all criteria that produce higher-quality, market-ready materials and consistent end-user success.

This interest proved pivotal. According to Zampini, she could move beyond traditional sales pitches with growers and encourage prospective partners to engage in peer-to-peer dialogue with established advocates, such as Robinson or his brother, Chris, at Robinson’s Nursery, or Jesse Nelson, the general manager at the family-owned Hans Nelson & Sons Nursery in Boring, Oregon.

“They were advocates,” Zampini says of the growers’ strategic influence. “So, when I was reaching out to someone who I thought should consider coming on board as a grower, that enabled me to say, ‘Don’t take my word for it. Call and talk to Chris at Robinson’s.’ They could hear it from somebody else other than me, one-on-one, who’d been in the program doing shrubs and was supportive of the program.”

For growers, the Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Tree program represents a departure from traditional shrub production, primarily due to the extended timelines and complex biological barriers inherent to nursery tree production.

While a saleable shrub reaches market within two years, Robinson explains that a commercial-grade tree requires a rigorous four- to five-year cycle. This multi-stage process begins with seed germination and seedling cultivation, followed by field planting. In the second year, the tree is budded and eventually cut back, allowing it to grow up as a “whip” in the third year before finally establishing its branch structure by the fourth or fifth year, he says.

Beyond the time spent in the field, Robinson says the need for established stock plants to provide grafting material adds another layer of delay, making it difficult to scale production rapidly as one can with perennials.

“And you also have to reproduce the tree,” Robinson adds. “You have to have a stock plant that you cut branches off to get the buds to reproduce it … that takes quite a bit of time to get a tree to the point where it can even be produced on a mass production scale.”

While the first years were the program’s infancy, growth was strategically accelerated by leveraging established genetics and industry relationships. This included incorporating successful breeding work from LCN Selections – launched by Zampini’s father, Jim, in 1977 – alongside existing inventory from Spring Meadow. This diverse, ready-to-produce lineup featured names like Lollipop and Show Time crabapples, Pink Snow Showers and Weeping Extraordinaire flowering cherries, Avalanche birch, Golden Shadows dogwood and Crusader hawthorn.

This head start allowed the team to bypass the slow process of building a catalog from scratch, offering a comprehensive selection of trees from the outset. Because many of these genetics were already in commercial production, the team could transition existing licenses directly into the new program, Zampini says. Growers like Robinson Nursery and Hans Nelson, already familiar with the plant material, were effectively brought on board, providing a robust operational base.

This provided a turnkey opportunity for growers, positioning the program as a comprehensive solution for differentiating their businesses within the ornamental tree category. Today, this network has evolved to include a wide spectrum of industry partners, from bare-root producers to those specializing in liners and finished plants.

Zampini describes the relationship between the program and its partners as deeply collaborative. “Robinson [Nursery], for instance, has put their own genetics into the program with the Midnight Express [redbud],” she says of 2024’s Tree of the Year.

Furthermore, the program invests in long-term industry development through educational outreach. For the past three years, the Proven Winners tree line has been a key component of the National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC), a prestigious event that introduces these genetics to the next generation of landscape professionals from across the country.

This commitment to visibility extends to the consumer level, with growers and the brand team collaborating to showcase trees at high-profile venues such as the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival and the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Completing the circle

Nurseryman Tom Demaline says the tree program effectively completed Proven Winners’ product circle, bridging the gap between annuals, perennials and shrubs, and giving consumers a branded, comprehensive solution.

“[Proven Winners] was seeking growers who could maintain its high standard for quality for the whole palette of Proven Winners’ trees, just as they have with their shrub line,” says Demaline, the president of the family-owned Willoway Nurseries in Avon, Ohio, and a Gold Key partner. Willoway has produced and supplied Proven Winners’ branded plants to IGCs and landscape contractors for more than 20 years and has been involved with the tree program since its inception.

The selection of woody plant material from the Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Tree program addresses the constraints of modern residential design. Demaline says the program prioritizes smaller-stature, flowering trees. These unique specimens offer significant spring color and market differentiation, appealing to homeowners and landscape designers seeking high-impact, manageable focal points.

“Branded programs carry a lot of weight with end consumer decision making,” Demaline says. “That’s why [the Proven Winners] program and its success is so important, especially for tree producers.”

For growers considering a partnership, Demaline highlights a “chicken or the egg” production dilemma rooted in the long-term nature of arboriculture. Because the industry relies heavily on West Coast growers who must navigate a rigorous multi-year lead time, supply remains tight and highly sensitive to speculation.

“Growing trees is a little more challenging than growing a shrub or a perennial, but it’s not hard,” he says. “But to grow a good quality tree, it needs to be an area of focus. It can’t be an afterthought. You’ve got to suit up to play the game. And while the support is there, it still needs to be an area of focus [with the grower].”

Now entering its sixth growing season, the Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Tree program has reached a critical inflection point. In addition to growing and strengthening the supply chain, a persistent hurdle has been ensuring the program remains top of mind with sales and with consumers.

To address this, Zampini says they’ve doubled down on their marketing support. This includes developing targeted communication tools, such as curated lists of top-performing trees for upcoming seasons. These resources are designed to provide sales teams with an effective “elevator pitch,” allowing them to present a versatile collection of genetics tailored to specific customer needs while maintaining the broader Proven Winners portfolio as a secondary resource.

“You know your customers,” she says. “Pick the three [tree types] you want to talk to them about, but have in your back pocket the list of all the other Proven Winners trees so that you’re creating more of a collection.”

Robinson is one of the program’s most vocal cheerleaders. He’s energized by a market where liner supply is finally meeting market demand, and exciting new tree genetics are on the horizon. While keeping specifics close to his field vest, he predicts the program’s tree portfolio could double or even triple within the next five years. He attributes this to breeders – both independent and university-based – partnering with Proven Winners as they realize the program’s efficacy. To Robinson, this shift is proof that the industry’s slow-to-adapt nature is giving way to a more effective model, one that promises varieties with more distinct traits than anything seen on the market today.

“If I had to play this movie forward and predict the future, if you walked into a random garden center two years ago, you may have seen a Proven Winners’ tree,” Robinson says. “I would say in the next two years it’s probably going to be a staple in garden centers to where they have their Proven Winners’ display with all the shrubs, and now there’s trees involved in that display. So, it may have been slow, but it’s happening.”

Mike Zawacki is a Cleveland-based journalist and frequent contributor who has covered various aspects of the green, horticultural, sports turf, and irrigation industries for the last 20 years.