Plan a Garden Full of Winners

Another group of tested and trialed garden plants have proven themselves winners in the All-America Selections (AAS) program. The twelve 2022 winners include four flowers and eight new vegetables for home gardens. Two flowers were even AAS Gold Medal Award winners this year, an honor reserved for a breeding breakthrough.

Begonia Viking™ Explorer Rose won over judges with its graceful draping habit and numerous rose-colored blossoms. It earned a gold medal for being uniquely well suited for containers and baskets. Imagine the vigor of a Dragon Wing begonia with a compact habit and more flowers. Judges were impressed with its flower power.

Begonia ‘Viking™ Explorer Rose’.

Begonia ‘Viking™ Explorer Rose’.
Image credit: All-America Selections

You may have seen the other gold medal winner, Petunia Bees Knees, on the market this past season already. Its unique deep yellow blooms and outstanding habit makes it a petunia unlike any we’ve seen thus far. True, there are other yellow petunias, but none as bright and floriferous as Bees Knees. One judge noted the plant is self-cleaning, too. It drops the spent blooms, reducing disease and improving the plant’s appearance.

Petunia ‘Bee’s Knees’.

Petunia ‘Bee’s Knees’.
Image credit: All-America Selections

Be on the lookout for the other 2022 winners. Some of the standouts that were nationally proven or scored high in the southeast include:

  • Eggplant Icicle F1 is a long white eggplant with fewer spines and a prolific yield.
  • Lettuce Bauer is a compact and deeper green oakleaf lettuce.
  • Pepper Dragonfly F1 is a fleshier, deep purple bell pepper than comparisons currently on the market.
  • Sunflower Concert Bell F1 has unique clusters of blooms on each stem, resulting in a bouquet from one cut.
  • Tomato Pink Delicious is sweeter, more uniform, more disease tolerant, and has a higher yield than similar pink tomatoes.
Tomato ‘Pink Delicious’.

Tomato ‘Pink Delicious’.
Image credit: All-America Selections

If you visit the All-America Selections website, you can learn all about the blind trialing process, trial sites, and even the judges. There are even Display Gardens you can visit to see recent winners in person, including the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

There are many additional All-America Selections winners to explore, as the organization has been conducting trials since 1932!

To read more about selecting plants for your garden, see HGIC 1258, Selecting Good Seeds or Plants.

If this document didn’t answer your questions, please contact HGIC at hgic@clemson.edu or 1-888-656-9988.

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