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AAS Announces 2007 Winners
by Hilda M. Morrill
The mission statement of the All-America Selections (AAS) is to promote new garden seed varieties with superior garden performance, as judged in impartial trials.
Before an AAS Winner is introduced, it is tested at independent test sites across North America. These test sites are called “Trial Sites.” Each trial ground has at least one official AAS judge who supervises the trial and evaluates the different entries.
Typically the judge is a horticultural professional and the site is part of a seed company’s trial grounds, a university or other horticultural institution.
Some Trial Grounds also have adjacent “Display Gardens,” providing the public an opportunity to view the new AAS winners in an attractive well-maintained setting. Such is the case at Elm Bank, the home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley, where flowers and bedding plants are trialed, judged, and displayed for the public to enjoy.
Other Massachusetts Display Gardens are: in Newton at the Newton Centre Green (flowers only); in Amherst at the University of Massachusetts (flowers and vegetables); and in Stockbridge at the Berkshire Botanical Garden (flowers and vegetables).
The four 2007 AAS Winners are: Celosia ‘Fresh Look Gold’; Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’; Vinca ‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’; and the Pepper ‘Holy Molé’.
Celosia ‘Fresh Look Gold’ plants look as fresh in September as when planted in the spring. Their bright golden plumes remain colorful all season long, not “browning” as they mature. Since the plumes remain attractive, there is no reason to deadhead and no pest problems are expected, needing little maintenance. It is a carefree annual for sunny formal or informal gardens and has proven to be heat, humidity and rain tolerant. Plants will grow to a height of one foot. This celosia is one of the best annuals for season-long performance.
Petunia F1 ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’ – Iridescent pink blooms are the unique feature of this vigorous trailing petunia. The 2.5-inch flowers are pink, shading to creamy white in the center, with a yellow throat. These three colors on a bloom are called a “morn” type. The hybrid plants flower continuously and are capable of growing three feet in sunny locations. This “spreading” quality helps choke out most weeds without pruning or deadheading. Plants attain a height of only 4 to 6 inches.
‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’ is the first vinca with a burgundy halo surrounding a large white center. This bicolor bloom is a vivid contrast, exceptionally visible in an annual garden. Early and continuously flowering with a well-balanced plant form, it has proven heat and drought tolerant. In a full-sun garden location, the mature plants will reach a foot tall and wide without pinching. Because it needs less water than other annuals, planting in containers means fewer trips with the hose to water.
‘Holy Molé’ is the first hybrid pasilla-type pepper, which is used to make the famous molé sauce. It showed improved vigor, earliness and considerably higher yield than the comparisons in side-by-side trials. A reason for the higher yield is the virus resistances bred into the variety. The immature green peppers are 7 to 9 inches long and can be harvested in about 85 days from transplanting. If fruit is left on the plant, they will mature to a dark chocolate color. Mature plants are 3 feet tall—a perfect size for patio containers. ‘Holy Molé’ is easily grown in a sunny location and thrives on summer heat.
All-America Selections will celebrate its 75th Diamond Anniversary in 2007. For more information, visit
www.all-americaselections.org.
(With thanks to Nona Koivula, Executive Director of All-America Selections, for the AAS background information and images.)
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