All-American Selections New Flowers and Vegetables
for 2006
This year brought a bumper crop of 11 new All-America Selections (AAS)
garden flowers and vegetables judged to be superior based on their performance
in test gardens all over the country.
Dianthus 'Supra Purple' was selected for its early and prolific blooming
and improved heat tolerance. The 1.5-inch, fringed, purple blooms literally
cover the 12-inch plants. 'Supra Purple' also makes excellent cut flowers
and performs best in full sun.
Diascia integerrima ' Diamonte Coral Rose' was selected for early
flowering, branching habit and long bloom season. This relatively unknown
plant reaches just 8-10 inches tall with a 18-inch spreading habit, making
it ideal for container gardening or as an edging plant. Diascia is related
to snapdragons but is much larger in flower. The 1-inch blooms continue
opening all season in full sun.
Nicotiana 'Perfume Deep Purple' was selected for the delicately fragrant,
deep purple blooms. The single, 2-inch star-shaped flowers are produced
on plants reaching 20 inches tall with a spread of 15-18 inches. This
plant performs best in full sun but also adapts to part shade.
Salvia farinacea 'Evolution' was chosen for the 6-7 - nch flower spikes
that are distinctly violet, rather than the traditional blue. 'Evolution'
is a medium-height annual reaching 16-24 inches tall.
Viola cornuta 'Skippy XL Red-Gold' won over the judges on its
flower size, color and continuous bloom. The large, 1.5-inch, round flowers
are ruby red with violet-red shading below the golden-yellow face containing
penciling or whiskers. 'Skippy XL Red-Gold' promises heat tolerance combined
with winter hardiness in protected locations. The compact habit reaches
about 6 inches tall, spreading about 8 inches.
Zinnia ' Zowie ! Yellow Flame' was selected for its unique bicolor pattern.
The 3-4-inch semi-double bloom contains a scarlet/rose center with yellow
petal edges, reminiscent of a yellow flame. Expect flowering plants in
about 8-10 weeks from sowing seed. Plants will reach 24-29 inches tall,
spreading 26-27 inches in full sun.
Ornamental Pepper 'Black Pearl' produces shiny, pearl-like, black peppers
against a striking backdrop of black foliage when grown in full sun. The
vigorous, compact plants reach just 18 inches tall and are quite heat
tolerant. The peppers turn red as they mature and are edible, if you like
fiery hot!
In the vegetable department, Carrot 'Purple Haze' is the first purple
imperator-type carrot, reaching 10-12 inches long and tapering to a point.
The purple beauty is only skin deep -- the sliced, raw roots reveal a
bright-orange center and cooking will dissolve the purple color. 'Purple
Haze' can be harvested in about 70 days from sowing seed.
Cilantro ' Delfino ' is an improved selection with decorative fern-like
foliage, ready to harvest in about 4-5 weeks from seed. Mature plants
reach about 20 inches tall when grown in full sun. ' Delfino ' can also
be grown for its flavorful seed, known as coriander.
'Carmen' is an improved Italian-type sweet pepper selected for early production
of the distinctive horn-shaped peppers with wide shoulders, tapering to
a smooth point. An excellent choice for container gardening, the upright
plant reaches only 28 inches tall. Expect ripe peppers about 75 days from
transplanting.
Chile Pepper 'Mariachi' was chosen for superior fruit size, early production,
high yield and mildly hot flavor (500 to 600 Scoville heat units). The
colorful fruit ripen from yellow to red, and flavor can become more pungent
when plants are under heat or drought stress. 'Mariachi' produces an abundance
of 3-4 inch peppers beginning about 65-68 days from transplanting.
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, 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/.
11-17-05
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