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.

Alternative Shrubs

Posted by James E. Klett,

Professor and Extension Landscape Horticulturist, Colorado State University

Planning to do some landscape renovation during 2017?  Possibly you may want to remove some overgrown shrubs or some that lack good ornamental features in many different seasons.  Now in mid-winter is a great time to do some research on some alternative woody plants that may give beauty to your landscape for many years in the future.

Two plants you may want to consider for early to mid-spring flower color could include Cornus mas (Cornelian Cherry Dogwood) and Malus ‘Coralcole’ (Coralburst® Crabapple).  Cornelian Cherry Dogwood can be grown as a small tree or large shrub, reaching 12-15 feet in height.  The yellow flowers in March are a first sign of spring.  It is pH adaptable and has attractive summer foliage with prominent veination.  The red fruit (a drupe) is produced in July to August but is often sparse due to early flowering and spring frosts.  It prefers some additional moisture and adapts to part-shade and is cold hardy to USDA hardiness Zone 4.  

Cornus mas (Cornelian Cherry Dogwood)

For a little later spring flower color you may want to consider Malus ‘Coralcole (Coralburst® Crabapple).  This clone of crabapple is available as a low graft, which is shrub-like or on a 4 foot graft (small tree).  The rose-pink buds becoming pink flowers give a “two tone” appearance.  The tree has a rounded habit that gets to about 12 feet tall to 12-15 feet wide.  This clone has good disease resistance and prefers a sunny location and likes some additional moisture.  It develops very few fruits which makes it a good patio tree.  It is cold hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 4-7.

Malus ‘Coralcole (Coralburst® Crabapple)

Another late spring early summer shrub that one might consider is Buddleia alternifolia ‘Argentea’ (Silver Fountain Butterfly Bush).  The fountain-like growth habit with silver grey leaves and lilac-purple flowers in May to June makes this an outstanding large shrub.  The plant blooms on previous season’s growth, so prune after blooming.  It prefers a well drained soil and sunny location and is more xeric.  It is cold hardy to USDA hardiness Zones 5-7. 

Buddleia alternifolia ‘Argentea’ (Silver Fountain Butterfly Bush)

For a little later blooming larger multi-stem shrub maturing to about 15-20 feet one could consider Syringa pekinensis (Pekin Lilac).  This lilac has an upright arcing habit which can get more open with age.  It has showy white-yellowish flowers in May into June and adaptable to our alkaline clay soils.  The brown bark exfoliates and flakes as sheets off adding winter interest.  It prefers a sunny location and more xeric once established.  It is cold hardy to USDA hardiness zone 4-7.

Syringa pekinensis (Pekin Lilac) and exfoliating bark.

These are just 4 shrubs one may want to consider when renovating a landscape or planting a new one in the Spring of 2017.  For more information on these four plants, you can go to www.landscapeplants.agsci.colostate.edu.

2015 “Best Of” Annuals from the CSU Flower Trial Garden

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 3^rd followed by a September 11^th 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. 

 

Sunpatiens Spreading Tropical Orange

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.    

Dragon's Breath celosia

Fiery!

 Best New Variety - Lobularia ‘Raspberry Stream’ from Danziger

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.    

Raspberry Stream alyssum

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. 

 

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.    

Whopper Red Green Leaf begonia

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.

Superbells Evening Star calibrachoa

Superbells Evening Star flowers