All American Selection winners chosen for garden superiority

    How does the All American Selection winners differ from Plant Select® program? The AAS winners come from an independent testing organization which judges flowers and edible varieties in North America for garden superiority by horticulture professionals. The AAS is a nonprofit which started in 1932 for the benefit of homeowners.
    The Plant Select® program is a joint venture between Colorado State University Extension and Denver Botanic Gardens.  According to Plant Select® website, “Plant Select® is the country’s leading brand of plants designed to thrive in high plains and intermountain regions, offering plants that provide more beauty with less work so gardeners of all levels can achieve smart, stunning and successful gardens using fewer resources and with a more positive environmental impact.”
    Plants are tested over seven years and some of the requirements toward final selection include tolerance to drought and temperature extremes in gardens in Colorado. Some plants selected for receiving the Plant Select® label may also be natives of Colorado. It is not a national program or a national judging organization.
     AAS winners can still do well within Colorado gardens. Garden superiority includes things such as heat tolerance, wind tolerance, disease and pest resistance, and prolific flowering. Unlike the Plant Select® program, AAS tests more annuals and vegetables. In 2015, AAS started testing perennial flowers. In 2019, they will start an herbaceous perennial category. As with Plant Select® program, AAS has had demonstration gardens in various locations throughout the United States.
    AAS winners for 2018 are listed as follows:
     —Canna South Pacific Orange F1. This canna can be used in a container or in the landscape because of its compact growth habit. It blooms all summer in full sun. It is pollinator friendly and heat tolerant. It grows to a height of 52 inches with dark green upright foliage. It can also grow in a water garden.
    —Ornamental Pepper Onyx Red. This is a compact, well branched ornamental pepper with dark black foliage. These plants are vigorous and grow in full sun in borders, beds, containers or dramatically massed plantings. This plant takes light to moderate watering. It does well in spring and can bloom until frost. It is a pollinator friendly and heat tolerant plant.

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