Posted by Jim Klett, CSU Extension Specialist
The Results of the 2015 “Best Of” Annual Flower Trials have been
chosen. In 2015 we had approximately 800
different varieties of annual flowers entered into the trials from 31 companies
world-wide. Entries were judged on
August 3rd followed by a September 11th second evaluation
of top ranked annuals in the different classes.
To be included in the “Best Of” category we had to have at least 10
entries in those specific genera.
Following are the winners in the “Best of Show”, “Best New Variety”,
“Best Novelty” and some other genera that performed exceptionally well. A complete listing of all the winners is at www.flowertrials.colostate.edu.
You will definitely want to grow and utilize a lot of these in your
2016 landscapes.
Best of Show - Sun New Guinea Impatiens
‘Sunpatiens® Spreading Tropical Orange’ from Sakata
This winner was near perfection in every way. Electric orange flowers were vivid and had a
great contrast against the beautiful foliage.
Plants maintained a high level of flower power all season. It had impressive vigor while the growth
habit was very uniform. Foliage was very
attractive all by itself with a dark green edge and bright yellow center. Plants grew well in full sun but are also
adaptable to light shade.
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| Sunpatiens Spreading Tropical Orange |
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| Gorgeous orange flowers! |
Best Novelty – Celosia ‘Dragon's Breath’ from Sakata
This plant garnered a lot of praise even before it started flowering
for its beautiful burgundy colored foliage.
Flowers formed late but were definitely worth the wait as they had a
two-toned combination of burgundy and hints of fluorescent purple that seemed
to glow. The vigorous plants had good
garden presence all season. It would
make a great textural accent for combination plantings.
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| Dragon's Breath celosia |
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| Fiery! |
Extreme flower power was combined with an intense raspberry color
for an impressive flower display. The
unique raspberry flower color was also noted for a nice cream colored eye for a
slight two-toned effect which was very attractive. Overall it had a very uniform growth habit
which held its shape and the plants maintained a clean appearance all
season. Bees loved it and it also had a
nice, sweet fragrance.
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| Raspberry Stream alyssum |
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| Perfectly mounded and smells great too! |
Best Angelonia - ‘Archangel Dark Rose’ from Ball FloraPlant
This plant makes a great item for the landscape with dense,
compact branching and abundant flowering.
Flowers had large florets and a unique “antique rose” color that
produced a lot of flower power.
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| Archangel Dark Rose Angelonia |
Best Begonia semperflorens - 'Whopper Red Green Leaf' from Ball Ingenuity
Beauty is combined with adaptability which makes this plant a
great choice for many different landscape situations. Plants were vigorous with vibrant green
foliage and had abundant red flowers which created a stunning image of
vitality. Sun and shade tolerant, these
plants are also adaptable for high altitude gardens and a good shade
alternative to the recent downy mildew problem on seed impatiens.
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| Whopper Red Green Leaf begonia |
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| Clear red flowers |
Best Calibrachoa - ‘Superbells® Evening Star’ from Proven Winners
Plants were grown in a container and besides being a massive ball
of flowers and color it was also noted for unique flower color that would shimmer
in the sunlight. Flower color seemed to
be made up of three different shades of purple with a dark eye. The growth habit was very uniform and the
flowers also were noted for opening up earlier in the day than many other
Calibrachoa.
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| Superbells Evening Star calibrachoa |
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| Superbells Evening Star flowers |
Are these plants available in seed?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Maureen Van Ness
Gardeners at Cattail Crossing, Pueblo West, CO
Hi Maureen,
ReplyDeleteSome of the plants are grown from seed and others are vegetative. You can find out the specifics of the plants you like at www.flowertrials.colostate.edu.
Nice garden for our natural
ReplyDeleteSeptember is the month to begin cleaning up in the greenhouse and get ready for both the winter ahead furthermore for the following year. And also cleaning up biting the dust annuals and cleaning spent perennials, there is additionally spreading to be done to guarantee you have a greater amount of those plants you cherish for one year from now. So before you take your secateurs out into the greenhouse pause for a minute or two to check this short indication of a portion of the crucial employments to be doing in the blossom garden amid August.
ReplyDelete