Some Superior Annuals from 2023

 

Some Superior Annuals from 2023

Colorado State University

J.E. Klett

 

The following annuals are some of the top picks from both public and industry evaluations.

The public evaluations were held on August 5, 2023 and industry evaluations were held on August 8^th, 2023.

Official winners will be posted in late September on our website: https/www.flowertrials.colostate.edu

 

Begonia Hybrid ‘Stonehenge Rose Bronze Leaf’ from Benary®

This plant can go everywhere- sun, shade, ground, and containers! It has performed really well and will just keep getting bigger and better until a killing frost. In addition, the breeder is planning to release more of these into the Stonehedge series but with different color onto the market in the next couple of years!

Centaurea ‘FanciFillers Chrome Fountain’ from Westhoff

The silvery-white foliage makes a dramatic statement all by itself but combines well with many other plants. Heat loving, drought tolerant has an impressive uniform and mounding growth habit. It makes a great thriller in potted or hanging combos as well as a subtle touch in ground displays.

Coleus ‘Flame Thrower Sriracha’ from Ball FloraPlant

Dark red leaves are highlighted with a pop of lime green edging that help create a great looking plant. The overall look is enhanced by its very uniform growth habit. It had almost no flowering which is desirable for Coleus since it is primarily grown for its colorful foliage. It thrives in sun and shade.

Dahlia ‘Dahlegria® Apricot Tricolor’ from Syngenta

This Dahlia was a strong favorite due to its impressive combination of dark foliage and large, colorful flowers. Blooms had a unique blend of three colors that really stood out against the very dark leaves. The single petalled flowers were also a magnet for pollinators. The attractive plants had a nice upright growth habit and size that would work well in both the landscape as well as a container.

Lantana ‘Passion Fruit’ from Ball FloraPlant

Selected for a combination of prolific flowering and great multicolored flower with tropical fruit colors, it is also known for having consistent flowering through the season and not cycling in and out of bloom. Dark green foliage really helps the flower colors “pop”. The uniform habit makes a great groundcover for the garden. Plants are very tolerant of heat and drought.

Ptilotus ‘Joey’® from Benary®

Few flowers in the garden have a form as unique as this one. The large conical spikes of feathery flowers have a great lavender color and are very long lasting. The original species comes from central Australia and have thick silver green foliage which helps make it very tolerant of drought and heat.

Rudbeckia ‘Sunbeckia® Luna’ from Flamingo Holland/Bull Breeding

Few plants have the flower power like this one which caught the eyes of almost everyone, even from across the garden. The large flowers are very showy by themselves, but the sheer number of blooms is also very impressive as the foliage is virtually obscured by yellow blooms. The flowers are long lasting for a great display lasting late into the season. Sunbeckia ‘Ophelia’ had the same ranking and had impressive flowers but with a green eye.

Salvia ‘Black and Bloom’ from Ball FloraPlant

Deep blue flowers and a black stem made a great visual combination which was extremely popular. Plants were noted for a larger flower and darker stems than similar varieties. The breeder noted that it was developed to thrive in drought and heat as well as humidity.

Salvia ‘Mystic Spires’ from Ball FloraPlant

This was a standout with its ever blooming, well branched plant and prolific flowering. Its massive and sturdy stems add great substance to the garden. The hummingbirds are nearly constant every hour of the day. They are easy to grow, reliable for color and have moderate drought tolerance (but preform best with fertilizer and regular watering).

 

You should plan to plant some of these “best of’s” next year in your gardens. They should perform well along Front Range of Colorado and elsewhere.

2018 “Best Of Winners” from CSU Annual Flower Trials

Posted by:  Jim Klett, Professor, Department of Horticulture and L.A., Colorado State University

The following are some of our “Best Of” winners from the 2018 trials.  The complete list with photos can be found on our website flowertrials.colostate.edu. 

Best of Show – Salvia ‘Big Blue’ from PanAmerican Seed 

A later bloomer that is worth the wait was impressive with large flower spikes that are showy in the garden as well as making a good cut flower.  Plants had dark green foliage, strong upright growth habit, excellent branching and very uniform overall.  A strong favorite with bees as well as humans.

Best Novelty - Artemisia ‘MAKANA™ Silver’ from TerraNova

This fine textured foliage plant makes a great complement to many other plants in a classic border.  The beautiful silver foliage is dense on vigorous and very compact and uniform plants.    It would look great in both a container as well as ground.  It makes a good filler plant as well adding a strong textural element to any garden.

Best New Variety – Rudbeckia ‘Rising Sun® AS Chestnut Gold’ from Green Fuse Botanicals

Huge flowers covered this plant all season creating impressive flower power.  Besides the prolific flowering, the intense coloring of the flowers make this a definite “55 MPH plant”.  It is impossible not to be impressed even from a brief glance at a great distance. 

                         

Begonia semperflorens (Shade) - 'Megawatt™ Pink Bronze Leaf’ from PanAmerican Seed

The vigorous plants were characterized by their large leaves, strong stems and large flowers.  The bright pink flowers were very floriferous and had excellent contrast with the dark foliage.  Blooms were self-cleaning so the plants always looked fresh.

Celosia – ‘Kelos® Fire Scarlet’ from Beekenkamp

The attractive dark foliage was impressive all by itself but the abundant petite flowers were bright and made a great contrast with the foliage.  Plants are vigorous and have good garden performance.

Coleus – ‘FlameThrower™ Serrano’ from Ball FloraPlant

The attractive dark red foliage had a bright green edge that created a lot of contrast and a bold look.  Leaf shape was also unique and added interest.  Plants did not flower and kept a very uniform appearance all season.

Combination – ‘Kwik Kombos™ Fire and Ice™ Mix’ from Syngenta

Plants created a ball of flowers in a container that had a very high “Wow!” factor.  Colors were vibrant and made an excellent mix.  It was noted that very few combos work with different genera but this is the exception as the bidens, petunia and lobelia were equally represented and none dominated the other.

Dahlia – ‘Temptation Orange’ from Dümmen Orange

The intense dark foliage makes the color of the clear orange flowers really pop out.  The contrast was especially good in full sun and flower color doesn’t fade.  Dark foliage also hides dead heads and requires less maintenance.  Growth habit was very uniform.

Geranium (Zonal) – ‘Brocade Cherry Night’ from Dümmen Orange

Plants were unique with foliage that has a very large zonation with a rich chocolate color.  The dark foliage makes for high contrast with the bright rose-colored flowers.  The tight double flowers have a bit of a multiflora look to them.  Overall the plants were very uniform.

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New Guinea Impatiens – ‘Sun Harmony™ Blushing Orchid’ from Danzinger

Plants were both vigorous and very floriferous and made a very colorful container.  The large flowers held up to the sun and had added interest due to the light lavender striping in the petals.  Growth habit was very uniform.

Osteospermum ‘Osticade™ Lemon’ from Danziger

Abundant clear yellow flowers were unusually large and had a deep yellow eye for added interest.  Blooms were consistent all season long and very showy with uniform plants with clean foliage.

Petunia (Spreading) – ‘Supertunia Vista® Bubblegum’ from Proven Winners

This is a multi-year winner from many past trials and is considered to be possibly the best petunia in the last 10 years.  It always has a dependable show of prolific pink flowers with exceptional vigor.

Verbena – ‘Lanai® Upright Twister Watercolor’ from Syngenta

Abundant flowering covered the canopy almost all season with attractive shades of soft lavender that was attractive even as the blooms faded.  Plants had a long lasting flower display and seemed to “bury its dead” blooms under new ones.  Uniform growth habit and lack of any sign of mildew also made this plant a winner.

Vinca – ‘Tattoo™ Papaya’ from PanAmerican Seed

Very unique flower color and abundant blooms were very impressive.  Flowers had a very unusual and beautiful “inky” blush pattern that helped earn the first part of the name, “Tattoo”.  Plants had an upright growth habit and can grow well in full sun or part shade.

Colorado State University Announces 2017 “Top Performing Perennials”

Posted by James E. Klett, 

Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University

The following six perennials were recently selected by the Perennial Trial Garden sub-committee as being superior after 3 years of growth and winters.  Plan to utilize these in your designs and home gardens in 2018. I think you will be happy with the results.

Kahori® Border Pink from Bartels

(Dianthus ‘Kahori’)

Noted as an impressive advancement in breeding, evaluators described this as the new standard for Dianthus.  The vibrant pink flowers cover the plants at peak bloom and create a mat of stunning color.  This entry is superior for an extremely long period of bloom and exceptional uniformity.  It has proven to be reliably winter hardy and would look great in a rock garden or crevice garden.  It looks great in ground beds and would make a beautiful border, but is a great choice to use in containers since it is always in bloom.  This selection remains very compact and has great heat tolerance during the peak of summer temperatures.  It was very attractive even during its first year in the garden and has only gotten better each year since it was planted.

Winterbells® Helleborus from Hilverdakooij

(Helleborus Interspecific 'JWLS')

This winner was selected in part for its unique ability to bloom over the entire spring and summer.  It adds a touch of elegance to the garden with delicate nodding bells, glossy dark green foliage and a very attractive dense, compact growth habit.  Narrow, graceful foliage can be evergreen if planted in a protected location and is relatively low maintenance.  The subtly beautiful bell shaped flowers provide a long season of interest as they emerge a dusty pink, becoming pale yellow, white, and then light green by summer.  Besides making a great groundcover, the flowers are useful for cut flower production throughout the year.

 

 PHENOMENAL™ Lavender from Cultivaris

(Lavandula x intermedia ‘Niko’^PP24193)

The abundant, tall graceful flower stalks are held high above the foliage for maximum display.  Besides being very uniform, all plants had excellent cold hardiness.  It was noted that they would do best if grown on the drier side to avoid lodging of the flower stalks.  Pollinators are very attracted to this plant and it has a high oil content that makes is very attractive to commercial production as well as providing the classic lavender fragrance to the garden.

 

Flame® Blue Phlox from Bartels

(Phlox paniculata Flame^® Blue)

Abundant blue and white flowers are held upright on sturdy stems that never lodged despite overhead irrigation used in the garden.  Flower color is a subtle blue that is strongest in early summer and again late in the season as the temperature cools.  It was a relatively early bloomer starting in mid-July and could continue through October if deadheaded.  Self-branching plants had a very full and uniform growth habit as well as superior resistance to powdery mildew.

 

 

Ronica™ Dark Pink Veronica from Danziger

(Veronica Ronica™ Dark Pink)

Big, fat and sassy flower spikes put on an eye-catching show of vibrant pink flowers.  Plants keep a very formal appearance with great uniformity and glossy emerald green foliage that really sets off the pink flowers.  Bloom period was very long especially if deadheaded.  Had superior resistance to powdery mildew compared to other entries growing in the trial.  Growth habit was very full and dense.

 

Class of 2016 - “Too Good to Wait” Award

The Perennial Trial Garden Sub-committee likes to award the ‘Top Performer’ designation to superior plants that have been in the ground 2 winters and 3 growing seasons. This category is to acknowledge an upcoming plant that has been in the ground one winter and two growing seasons and shows excellent performance thus far in the trial. The following plant impressed the Perennial Trial Garden Sub-committee so much that they designated the category name: “Too Good to Wait Performer”.

 

KISMET™ Intense Orange Coneflower from Terra Nova Nurseries

(Echinacea 'TNECHKIO'^PPAF)

The sheer mass of vibrant flowers draws people all the way from across the street.  Prolific flowers form a solid canopy of blooms over the plants which makes this variety a great choice for the home gardener or landscaper looking for a showstopper.  The intense orange color almost seems to glow at its peak.  Flower color fades to an attractive shade of pale yellow to maintain a long season of bloom.  Foliage is also very unique and attractive early in the season.  Plants have a very uniform growth habit and good branching.  The KISMET™ series also features colors of raspberry, red and yellow.

2017 ‘Best Of’s’ from Colorado State University Annual Flower Trials

Posted by Dr. Jim Klett, Professor and Extension Landscape Horticulturist, Colorado State University.

In the 2017 Annual Flower Trials we had over 850 different varieties entered from 22 participating companies. Initial evaluations were held on August 1, 2017 with close to 150 industry and advanced master gardeners participating. The second evaluation was held on September 8, 2017 with the Trial Garden Advisory Committee. It was a difficult task to come up with our “Best of Show in the Garden” for 2017 along with best new variety and best novelty plants. The winners include:

Best of Show: Calibrachoa CHAMELEON® Indian Summer Improved from Westhoff

The eye catching varying shades of red, rose, pink and yellow flowers on vigorous plants with exceptional flower power resulted in this Calibrachoa being granted the Top Honor in the 2017 trials. The flower of the CHAMELEON® series are selected for their ability to change color as environmental conditions change, which is evident with this selection. Plants maintained a uniform growth habit that enveloped the containers as a ball of flowers.

Best Novelty: Millet ‘Copper Prince’ from Pan American Seed

This plant is a great selection for the series and textures in a garden. The stout, large, fuzzy dark rose/bronze panicles rise high above the plant. The foliage has wide blocks with a uniform caramel/ copper color throughout the summer. This plant will create a very dramatic look in a landscape or large container.

Best New Variety: Lantana Luscious Royale Cosmo from Proven Winners

Plants were very uniform with a rounded habit and strong flowering all over. Flowers had a unique color and sat on top of the foliage. It is considered by some to be a new standard for the industry.

Some Other Outstanding Plants from the 2017 Trials:

Bidens ‘Blazing™ Fire’ from Danzinger-

The fiery orange, yellow and red flowers were very prolific and spectacular. The dense mounding habit enveloped the containers as a ball of flowers. Flowers opened up darker and faded to a nice yellow.

Calendula ‘Lady Godiva™ Orange’ form Proven Winners

New breeding has created this entry with superior heat tolerance and growth habit. The beautiful double flowers were a bright, cherry oranges with shades of apricot. Plant has great heat tolerance with flowers looking great late into August.

Dianthus ‘Rocking’™ Red from Pan American/ Keift Seed-

Rich, deep red flowers were prolific on the plants with strong stems creating an upright growth habit. The vivid flowers pop out against dark green foliage. This was a low maintenance plants that did not require deadheading to maintain a neat appearance.

Cool Season Trial Garden Winners

Posted by James E. Klett, Professor and Extension Landscape Horticulturist

The 2016-17 Colorado State University Cool Season Trials are completed and the winners have been announced.  In this trial we evaluated 119 different varieties of pansies and Violas for their performance in the fall of 2016 and winter and spring of 2017.  We evaluated them on April 19, 2017 and sixteen varieties were given high honors.  Overall, the Cool Season Trial was probably the best one we had in the past ten years.  Plants were planted in October 2017, watered and fertilized initially and hand watered throughout the winter when temperatures were above 40° F and when there was no snow cover.  The plants still look excellent and we will keep them in the trials till after Memorial Day 2017.  We then will remove them since we need the space for our annual flower trials.

Five of the outstanding varieties in this trial include:

Best of Show Pansy – ‘Cool Wave Morpho’ from Pan American Seed

This pansy stole the show in our trial with vibrant flower colors which were a striking contrast between blue and yellow and were held up high for easy viewing.  The flowers were numerous totally covering the plant which attributed to the larger spreading growth habit.  The entire Cool Wave Series was noted to have exceptional vigor and flower power but ‘Cool Wave Morpho’ was considered the best of the series.

Best Yellow Pansy – ‘Matrix Yellow’ Improved by Pan American Seed

The huge flowers alone draws attention to this plant.  The clear yellow flower creates this plant.  The clear yellow flower creates an array of bright and sunny looking flowers.  This pansy would brighten up any landscape in the winter and early spring.

Best Purple Pansy – ‘Inspire Plus Denim’ by Benary

This pansy had a unique flower color which was shades of blue and purple on sturdy stems with excellent green foliage.  This pansy had an attractive face with eyes adding character to upward facing flowers.

Best of Show Viola – ‘Endurio Blue Yellow with Purple Wing’ by Syngenta

The spreading growth habit makes this viola very attractive for borders and nostalgic looking flowers that bring back the idea of old-school violas.  The eye catching blue yellow with purple wing flower color is guaranteed to make everyone feel happy.  It was also designated as the “Best Novelty” Viola.

Best White Viola – ‘Admire White’ by Benary

This viola demonstrates a uniform and tidy growth habit with a petite flower size.  Flower are a pure white and very floriferous.

These are just five of the fifteen winners and a complete listing can be viewed on flowertrials.colostate.edu and click on the Cool Season Trial tab.

You will want to include some of these varieties as you plan your cool season garden for the 2017-18 season.