Plant breeding companies worldwide send annual flower seeds and cuttings to the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) from January to March every year, to be a part of its annual flower trial. The goal is to have transplants ready for Minnesota’s growing season by the end of May in order to see how they respond to the regional weather conditions in the coming months.

These flowering annuals are grown in hanging baskets, containers and planted in landscape beds to judge performance in each application. They are on display in the 4 acre garden from June into September, with evaluations taking place multiple times during this period to gauge each variety’s performance. All annuals are assessed for vigor, uniformity of habit and flowering, color, number of flowers, overall performance, and pest and disease resistance.

The trial garden is open to the public during the season, where visitors can learn about the best varieties to grow in their gardens. It also serves as a valuable resource for the plant breeding companies, who rely on feedback from the trial to better market and improve their plant varieties.

Below are the 2022 Top 10 Performing Annuals of the WCROC flower trial. It’s important to note that the 2022 growing season was drier and warmer than usual. While plants were irrigated regularly, many showed signs of stress, slower growth rates and less flowering as these conditions continued throughout the season.