In today’s newsletter podcast: Diane Blazek, Executive Director of All-America Selections (AAS) and the National Garden Bureau, explains how a plant is selected to become an All-America Selection winning plant.
In Episode 243 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred Podcast, Diane goes into the details of each of the winning plants in the 2023 AAS plant competition. Give it a listen while looking at the pictures and comments. More info, plus 90 years worth of previous winners, at the AAS website.
Coleus Premium Sun Coral Candy
Foliage Color: Multi
Plant Habit: Mounded
Plant Height: 10-16 inches
Does well indoors, in a window with good natural lighting.
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“Leaves are vibrant on a very tight, densely leaved plant”
“Each plant is very uniform, with only minor fading when in full sun”
“Very nice habit, excellent color, very full, robust, and rounded”
“This is excellent for container plantings”
“Phenomenal compact growth habit with appealing foliage color”
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Colocasia ROYAL HAWAIIAN® Waikiki
Foliage Color: Deep-green glossy foliage with white markings and vivid pink veins
Plant Habit: Clump forming
Plant Height: 36 inches
Also known as Taro or Elephant’s Ear
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“Great foliage color on a compact plant”
“Color holds up well even in full sun and after a frost”
“Lush, large full leaves with great color”
“Tricolor foliage is stunning, red petioles stand out”
“A fantastic elephant ear that will add drama to the garden”
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Echinacea Artisan™ Yellow Ombre F1
Plant Habit: Bushy
Plant Height: 24-34 inches
Bloom Time: Summer to frost
Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Size: 3-4 inches
Also known as coneflower.
The designation, “F1” or “F1 Hybrid” after a plant name is - according to my Master Gardener friends - “the first generation hybrid seed or plant that occurs following the successful cross-pollination of one genetically uniform plant variety with another specific genetically uniform variety.”
If you can’t remember that, just tell anybody who asks about F1, “they found it in the back of the very first Ford pickup truck.”
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“A more saturated bright yellow flower color”
“A very nice yellow Echinacea. Consistently better than comparisons”
“Due to the saturated color of the entry, it deserves an award.”
“Flower color lasted all season”
“The foliage was cleaner and slightly larger”
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Pepper cayenne Wildcat F1
Plant Height: 36-42 inches
Fruit Color (Harvest): Green or Red
Fruit Shape: Long, curled
Fruit Size: 8-12 inches
Fruit Flavor Description: Mild pungency 500-1500 Scoville units
Number Of Fruits Per Plant: 20-25
Can be grown in an 8 or 15-gallon container.
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“The entry fruits were large, about 8″ long, and mostly straight”
“Lots of fruit production”
“Entry did have HUGE fruits compared to the comparisons, which made harvest easier (easy to see a 6″ bright red pepper!)”
“Good flavor and a moderate heat level make this a multi-purpose pepper for your garden”
“The sheer size of these peppers is astonishing. They are literally almost 100% larger than the others, volumetrically speaking. Insanity”
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Pepper jalapeno San Joaquin F1
Plant Height: 30 inches
Fruit Color (Harvest): Green-red
Fruit Size: 4 inches
Fruit Flavor Description: A hint of heat at 2500-6000 Scoville units
Number Of Fruits Per Plant: 50
That “hint of heat” may be more than you might desire. Pro tip: to soothe a burning mouth, drink whole milk or eat ice cream. Water, beer, and non-fat milk won’t help.
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“Produced almost twice the peppers as the comparisons”
“Large, thick-walled fruits, well shaded by leaf canopy reducing fruit deformities”
“Nice compact plant with heavy yields. Large fruit would make excellent stuffers”
“Loved this variety’s mild heat and large fruits that did not crack”
“Excellent size, yield, and uniform upright growth. Very good taste”
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Leucanthemum Carpet Angel®
Plant Habit: Spreading
Plant Height: 4-6 inches
Bloom Time: All growing season
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Size: 3 inches
Leucanthemum is a new name for former members of the Chrysanthemum genus. Leucanthemums include the Shasta Daisy and the common daisy. Botanical name changes occur just to tick us off.
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“Flowers were unique shape and color”
“Plants were a nice dwarf size”
“Very good winter hardiness”
“The performance is exceptional, surviving many challenges that proved too much for the comparison”
“The habit and bloom time on this trial is much better than the comparison”
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Salvia “Blue by You”
Plant Habit: Mounded
Plant Height: 20-22 inches
Bloom Time: Late spring – Late summer
Bloom Color: Blue
Bloom Size: 10-12″ inches
A low-water use plant. Dead-head for more blooms. The bees will thank you.
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“Intensely beautiful flower color: dark purple with dark burgundy calyces”
“Individual flower size is larger than the comparison”
“Overall, a nice plant with good performance”
“Very nice salvia for the home garden”
“Flowering is consistent and superior to the comparison”
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Snapdragon DoubleShot™ Orange Bicolor F1
Plant Height: 18-20 inches
Bloom Time: Spring to light frost
Bloom Color: Orange-white
Bloom Size: 1-2 inches
Considered a cool season annual in USDA Zone 9, snapdragons don’t hit their blooming stride until mid-spring, on exactly the weekend when you want that space for all the enticing summer annuals that are available.
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
Double flowers are really nice and attractive.
Strong stems didn’t break, even in hurricane winds.
Loved the warm color and beautiful double blooms.
Blooms all summer long, even through high temperatures.
Truly stunning color, I just can’t stop admiring the subtle gradient throughout. Soft, dusky, romantic, yum!
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Squash kabocha Sweet Jade F1
Plant Habit: Vining
Plant Height: 24 inches
Fruit Color (Harvest): Jade green
Fruit Shape: Flat-round
Fruit Size: 4-5 inches
Fruit Weight: 1-2 pounds
The secret to a successful pumpkin soup recipe? Use plenty of kabocha squash.
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“Nice fruit size, good yields, and nice internal color”
“Nice single-serving fruits, high yields per plant”
“Incredible taste! Doesn’t even need butter, salt, etc.”
“Entry has strong yields, attractive shape and color, and good flesh quality and volume per fruit”
“This squash was outstanding in taste, texture, and durability”
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Tomato Zenzei F1
Plant Habit: indeterminate
Plant Height: 72 inches
Fruit Color (Harvest): Red
Fruit Shape: Oblong
Fruit Size: 4-5 inches
Fruit Weight: 3-8 ounces
Number Of Fruits Per Plant: 30-50
If this Roma variety can stave off blossom end rot, it’s got my vote!
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“Very early and high-yielding, great color”
“Very meaty and flavorful fruit”
“Nice yields, great shape, and color Overall healthy and vigorous plant with large Roma tomatoes”
“Compact and tidy plant does not impact yield negatively”
“Great plant for smaller gardens”
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Watermelon Rubyfirm F1
Plant Habit: Climbing/vining
Fruit Color (Harvest): Jubilee stripe red with red flesh
Fruit Shape: Round
Fruit Size: 6 inches
Fruit Weight: 3.3-5.5 pounds
Fruit Flavor Description: Very sweet and firm flesh
Number Of Fruits Per Plant: 2-3
Put on a juggling clinic at your summer family reunion picnic.
JUDGE'S OBSERVATIONS
“Loved the taste and the texture”
“The test variety had good disease resistance and held up through the middle up September against downy and powdery mildew”
“The flavor is quite good”
“Rind pattern is unique, attractive flesh color with good texture”
“Certainly had much less seed than comparisons.”
Thank you for listening to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast! It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. Please share it with your garden friends.
Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County.
2023 All-America Plant Selections Winners