All America Selections (AAS) is a non-profit trialing organization that tests new, never-before-sold varieties of plants for the home gardener. After a full season of anonymous trialing by volunteer horticultural professionals, only the top garden performers are given the AAS Winner award designation for their superior performance. The AAS Winner label is like a stamp of approval as their mission is to promote new garden varieties with superior garden performance.
AAS is therefore the place to go for the next best thing to guaranteed success in your garden. Once or twice each decade there is an AAS Gold Medal Award that honours a breeding breakthrough. Standard AAS National Winner designation recognizes an ornamental or edible that shows significant breeding achievements, demonstrates superior garden performance compared to other varieties available. Judges also evaluate characteristics such as earliness, taste, disease-resistance, uniqueness and more depending on the species. AAS Regional Winner designation is given to varieties that do not perform exceptionally in all regions but in specific regions of North America. certain regions are named AAS Regional Winners. The AAS Winners offer gardeners reliable new varieties of plants to grow in your garden.
The 2020 winners will be available for purchase for the 2020 gardening season as supply becomes available. The winners will be covered in detail over the next couple of weeks of articles, so if you are looking for success in your garden this year you may want to try out some of the winners of this new decade! It is sometimes difficult to get the seed desired when the winners are just announced but if you go to the All America Selections website, they list the seed houses that sell seed of the winning plants. The url is https://all-americaselections.org/buy-winners/
The first of four ornamental winners for 2020 include: Coleus Main Street Beale Street, an outstanding deep red foliage that just doesn’t fade and does not flower until very late in the season. It thrives in full sun to full shade, which makes this coleus appreciated by all. Please note that this coleus is only available in plant form – not from seed.
Echinacea Sombrero® Baja Burgundyboasts vibrant, deep violet-red blossoms and will do well in full-sun areas. It was chosen for hardiness, sturdy branching, and floriferous blooming habit. It is resistant to deer but pollinators can’t resist visiting this plant which also is amazing as a cut flower.
Nasturtium Tip Top Roseis a strong, yet compact plant with showy flowers and medium green foliage. The blooms will not fade as they age and like all nasturtiums you can enjoy adding the flowers and leaves to your salads for a fresh new look!
Rudbeckia x American Gold Rushhas bright, golden-yellow flowers with black centres which is a simply gorgeous addition to any and all gardens. The stature is slightly more compact than other varieties and it is easy to grow. The pollinators love to visit if you are growing this beautiful rudbeckia in your garden!
It is such a pleasure to share these AAS Winners with all of you. Following with the traditions over the past few decades of writing this column, it is a superb way to welcome in January. Before we know it, we will be noticing the days getting longer and that means that soon it will be spring. Happy New Year and may you and yours enjoy health and happiness for this new decade.
Hanbidge is a horticulturist with the School of Horticulture and can be reached at 306-931-GROW(4769); by email at growyourfuture@gmail.com; facebook: @schoolofhort; twitter: @horticulturepat; instagram: patyplant or check out our website at saskhort.com
