Four exciting new flowers have been chosen as All-America Selections (AAS) 2010, based on superior performance in test gardens throughout the country.
Gaillardia ‘Mesa Yellow’ is the first hybrid blanket flower bred for compact growth habit and prolific flowering. The early, 3-inch daisy-like flowers are excellent for cutting but will attract butterflies if left on the plants. The plants form a neat mound, reaching up to 2 feet in full sun, perfect for containers and limited-space gardens. Recommended spacing is 12-18 inches.
Snapdragon ‘Twinny Peach’ is a unique, double-flowered snapdragon in a blend of peach tones — soft shades of peach, yellow and light orange. The plant produces abundant spikes in full sun, which are excellent for cut flowers. The compact plants (to 12 inches) will continue to flower all season with good heat tolerance in the AAS Trials. Recommended plant spacing is 6 inches.
Viola ‘Endurio Sky Blue Martien’ was selected for its unique spreading/mounding and vigorous garden performance. Fall plantings will continue to bloom well past frost and will come back again for an early show of color in spring. It can also be planted in early spring and will provide a bounty of sky-blue blooms well into summer. The plants form neat spreading mounds up to 6 inches tall and 10-12 inches wide, perfect for edging garden beds, window boxes and hanging baskets. Recommended spacing is 10-12 inches.
Zinnia ‘Zahara Starlight Rose’ offers a new bicolor rose-and-white blossom and good resistance to heat, drought, leaf spot and powdery mildew. The mature plants reach about 12-14 inches tall and wide and are covered with 2.5-inch blooms all season. Recommended spacing is 10-12 inches.
AAS winners are selected from many new cultivars, based on performance in the garden, as well as in the greenhouse. Although no plant offers a guarantee of success in an individual garden, the AAS winners have proven themselves worthy over a broad range of growing conditions. Try these new selections alongside your old standbys so you’ll have a means of comparison. AAS winners should be available through local garden centers and mail-order catalogs next spring. For more information about these and previous years’ winners, point your Web browser to http://www.all-americaselections.org/.
(Photos courtesy of All-America Selections)