Plant Trials

Visitor Favorites at Mast Young Plants

The 2020 gardening season is coming to a close, and with that many trial gardens are sharing and promoting all their full evaluations and top performers from this summer. In my last newsletter, I shared... more »

Trial Standouts at Welby Gardens

With so many events being canceled or rescheduled, I feel like I'm missing out on so much. Other than the plants in my own garden, I haven't been able to see most of the new... more »

AmericanHort, HRI Recommend Terms for Disease Resistance Claims

AmericanHort and its research foundation, the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), rely on stakeholder input to drive its focus and efforts, including the recent industry-initiated movement to standardize the terms used as marketing tags on newly... more »

Salient 2021 Annual Introductions: Southern Style

I have attended the Southern Plant Trials for well over 10 years, and I never could have imagined missing my June visit. Due to the impact of COVID-19 and travel restrictions, I decided to stay... more »

Plantpeddler Announces Top Picks from ’20 Variety Day

Plantpeddler's annual Variety Day, took place Aug. 7, in Cresco, Iowa. In addition to Variety Day, the company is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. The trials took place at the company's new site, completed the spring of 2020, and represents an investment in grower success by... more »

Registration Open for Ball Seed Customer Days

The annual Ball Seed Field Day and Landscape Day is reinvented this summer to accommodate a wider range of open dates and to welcome guests safely with adequate social distance. Ball Seed Customer Days will... more »

Captivating Color Combinations

I visited the Costa Farms spring trial in Florida during week 11 to evaluate the development and progression of annuals, perennials, and combination baskets from planting to maturity. In preceding articles I highlighted 2021 annual... more »

Exceptional 2021 Annual Introductions

Last month, I highlighted dynamic and early flowering annual introductions for 2021 from my late January visit to the Costa Farms spring trial. I returned in mid-March to evaluate additional new annual introductions following 14... more »

Update from UGA Trial Gardens

According to Brian Coker, garden manager of the Trial Gardens at the University of Georgia, they have successfully planted all trials and will begin taking ratings this week. To view ratings, go to http://ugatrial.hort.uga.edu. At... more »

Precocious Annual Introductions for 2021

The 2020 trial season begins at Costa Farms in Miami, Florida, and I visited in late January to evaluate the 2021 annual introductions. The beds were planted week 50, and I chose the adjective “precocious”... more »