It was William Shakespeare who, in the 1590s, wrote the words: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
According to the fathers of Romeo and Juliet, a name means a great deal.
A name also means much in the turfgrass world, where it is not every day that a product's moniker is changed after it is released. The University of Georgia recently changed the name of its SeaBreeze variety of vegetative seashore paspalum turfgrass to SeaScape. The name change was prompted when officials at Georgia learned that their new variety of paspalum, released almost two years ago, shared the same name (albeit without an uppercase "B") with a variety of creeping fescue from Pure Seed of Canby, Oregon.
Pure Seed's Seabreeze was initially launched in 1992, with its successor, Seabreeze GT, coming on the market in 2003. The University of Georgia release came in January 2023.
Georgia turf breeders chose the SeaBreeze label to continue the university's tradition of naming its salt-tolerant paspalum varieties with the "Sea" prefix paired with a word that invokes images of waterfront golf courses and lawns. Earlier releases have labels such as SeaIsle 1, SeaIsle 2000, SeaIsle Supreme and SeaStar.
The newly rebranded SeaScape is a vegetative seashore paspalum cultivar tested in NTEP trials at a variety of locations under the experimental name UGP 73. It stood out, breeders say, for traits such as excellent turf quality under a range of mowing heights as well as improved drought and salt tolerance.
From 2011 to 2013, UGP 73 was the top-performing entry in overall turf quality out of 80 entries in the initial two-year SCRI drought trials.
Some of the characteristics of SeaScape include:
- Exceptional vigor
- Improved drought tolerance
- Incredible color
- Great turf quality and density
- Superior shade tolerance
- Medium to fine leaf texture
- Good resistance to dollar spot disease, (Clarireedia sp.)
- High-quality sod with good tensile strength
Adding to the confusion around the duplication of brand labels is that names of seeded and vegetative are protected by different groups with mutually exclusive databases. Seeded variety names are protected under PVP (Plant Variety Protection), and vegetatively propagated varieties are typically protected through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It is not uncommon for names used in different market segments to be similar or the same without causing confusion. Although a cool-season seeded fine fescue is not likely to be confused with a warm-season vegetatively propagated seashore paspalum, Pure Seed had protected the variety name Seabreeze GT under PVP prior to the University of Georgia acquiring name protection under trademark.
The team at Pure Seed and turfgrass breeders at Georgia have a longstanding collaborative relationship that made navigating through the confusion and ensuing name change go smoothly.
"Pure Seed values its long-standing partnership with the University of Georgia, and their history of successful collaboration on numerous variety developments," said Crystal Rose-Fricker, president of Pure Seed and Pure-Seed Testing Inc. "While we recognize the importance of distinct product names for effective marketing, we believe that open dialogue and cooperation are essential to resolving any naming conflicts."
The University of Georgia changed the name of its SeaBreeze seashore paspalum to SeaScape after breeders there learned that their new turfgrass variety shared the same name with a creeping fescue from Pure Seed of Canby, Oregon.
Pure Seed and Pure-Seed Testing were founded by Rose-Fricker's late father, Bill Rose. The companies have developed and partnered in the development of hundreds of turf cultivars.
When it was brought to the attention of breeders at Georgia, they immediately began seeking a new name.
"SeaScape was an excellent alternative name for our new grass variety," said UGA’s Paul Raymer, Ph.D., who developed the cultivar. "It contains the word 'Sea' and by adding 'Scape' as the suffix, it makes you think of the word 'landscape.' As SeaScape is ideal for use on golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns and other recreational venues, it was a perfect solution, and everything turned out just fine."
SeaScape has been licensed domestically to Creekside Growers of Arcadia, Florida and Sun Turf of Fort Pierce, Florida and internationally to Semillas Fito in Spain to market the turf throughout southern Europe and northern Africa.
SeaScape produced in the U.S. in Florida is available for sale, and European production is expected to be ready for sale in 2025.