(Note: Information for this trials report was provided by Ella VanKempen, Horticulture Researcher at the West Central Research and Outreach Center at the University of Minnesota.)
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Here at the West Central Research and Outreach Center, we trialed a total of 300 annual flower cultivars, 100 new perennial varieties (on top of the 300 cultivars from previous years), 15 rose varieties, 25 shrub varieties, and four tomato varieties.
The chart below shows how the climate varied this year in comparison to our average regional climate in Minnesota. As shown, we got a ton of rainfall this year. With higher temperatures and a lot of moisture also comes humidity. This seemed to help the plants perform well in our trials as opposed to hot and dry conditions. I hardly had to use our sprinkler irrigation system because we got rain so often that the ground didn’t need additional water. However, this also promoted growth of weeds in our trial pots.
In terms of annuals, we pick out our “top ten knockouts” at the end of each growing season listed below:
- Begonia ‘Adora Velvet Red’ (Syngenta Flowers)
- Celosia ‘Bright Sparks Red Bronze Leaf’ (Syngenta Flowers)
- Coleus ‘Premium Sun Crimson Gold’ (PanAmerican Seed)
- Dahlia ’Virtuoso Pinkerific’ (Proven Winners)
- Impatiens ‘SunPatiens Vigorous Purple’ (Sakata Ornamentals)
- Kwik Kombo Picnic in the Park Mix (Syngenta Flowers)
- Lantana ‘Shamrock Rose Gold’ (Ball FloraPlant)
- Lobelia ‘Heatopia Dark Blue’ (Ball FloraPlant)
- Marigold ‘Pretty Yellow’
- Salvia ‘Sallyfun Pure White’ (Danziger)
Because our winter was so mild this past year, we were able to get plating earlier than normal. We got our annuals in starting on May 23. This allowed the plants to have a little more time to establish before our first evaluation round.
Our biggest challenge this year was the weeds. We had nice weather conditions for our flowers, but also for our weeds. It was a double0edged sword! Our crew of five to six people were hand-weeding for about six hours a day during our peak. I also combatted the undesired growth with herbicide in early August which prevented germination of more weeds. We found ways to get at them quicker than hand pulling too which included mowing, weed whipping, tilling, and chemicals.
There were plenty of annuals that could have been on our knockout list. We only chose 10, though. A few that didn’t make the list that stood out to me were:
- Canna ‘Cannova Gold Leopard’ (American Takii)
- Helianthus ‘Suncredible Yellow’ (Proven Winners)
- Petunia ‘Supertunia Tiara Blue’ (Proven Winners)
When we evaluate the flowers, we look at a number of traits. Things like vigor, flower, health, uniformity, and uniqueness all influence the rating. The flowers listed above were great in all of the categories, but didn’t make the list. Specifically, the Canna impressed us with its size and unique gold flowers. Visitors were always asking about those. The sunflower was a great addition to our garden bed, providing bushy texture and numerous, bright yellow flowers. The petunia was very unique in that the flowers each looked almost hand-painted. They also continue to flower well into September.
Find more 2024 field trials information here.
