Trial Garden Report: Penn State Flower Trials By Debbie Eisele

Providing valuable data and evaluation of plants during the growing season

The Penn State Flower Trials is located at the Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center (SEAREC). It serves as living laboratories and garden classrooms for horticulture, plant pathology and entomology. 

The Penn State Flower Trials help provide valuable data throughout the growing season to commercial growers and gardeners alike. The information obtained throughout the season helps growers select the best varieties for individual needs. Growers and the general public are able to enjoy the trials from June 1 through Aug. 31. 

This year, Krystal Snyder, Extension educator, horticulture at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), provided GPN with a trial garden report. The reporting period was from June 1 through July 30, 2024, and the weather was hot, sunny, dry and humid with windy conditions mixed in. 

Snyder noted that the overall top-performer was vinca ‘Soiree Double Pink Improved’ from Suntory Flowers. 

“This and the entire Soiree Double series have held up exceptionally well in our hot and windy trials,” Snyder said. 

She also noted that angelonia ‘AngelFlare Black’ from Ball FloraPlant, tecoma ‘Kalama Blood Orange’ from Selecta One and caladium ‘Rio Summer’ from Classic Caladiums gathered a lot of interest from visitors. 

As Snyder mentioned, the reporting period had hot and windy conditions and during this period, she noted that the begonia Dragon Wing series from PanAmerican Seed was the top heat and drought tolerant performer. She shared that this variety “in both sun and shade has done very well, with excellent flower power and little to no leaf spot.” 

In terms of flowering abundance, Syder said that mandevilla ‘Tropica Unico Fuchsia’ from Ball FloraPlant performed extremely well and was “covered in flowers and has multiple new buds.”

Her top pick for best bloom color was the portulaca ‘Mojave Fuchsia Improved’ from Proven Winners. Although that was her favorite color, Snyder said that her favorite variety during the reporting period was coleus ‘TerraScape Queen’ from Kientzler North America. 

“This is one of my favorites because the habit is excellent, the colors are striking and it has performed so well this season,” she said. 

Overall, the top three weather resistant performers were the Beacon Impatiens series from PanAmerican Seed, vinca (catharanthus) Nirvana XDR from Syngenta Flowers and begonia ‘Move2 Joy Hot Pink’ from Dümmen Orange. 

When asked about some quick production tips and any insect or disease pressures, Snyder shared that there were no pest or disease incidences during the period. 

“We do not use PGRs, and generally only prune when in the greenhouse. We do use Osmocote in our 5-gallon pots and have a liquid feeding program of 250-300 ppm N of 21-5-20 2-3 times a week, pH adjusted to 5.8. We monitor pH and EC with weekly pour-throughs,” she said, regarding the production facts.