Only four new garden plants were chosen for All-America Selections (AAS) 2007, based on superior performance in test gardens all over the country.
Celosia ‘Fresh Look Gold’ is so named for the lasting fresh look of the compact, 4-inch golden plumes on 12-inch tall plants. Fresh Look Gold has excellent heat tolerance and requires minimal maintenance to look its best all season.
Vinca ‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’ is the first bicolor vinca to combine a burgundy halo surrounding a large, white center. ‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’ also flowers early and promises good heat and drought tolerance. This sun-loving annual bedding plant has a nice, compact habit without the need for pinching, reaching about 12 inches tall and wide when mature.
Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’ boasts iridescent pink blossoms with a slight eye of creamy white and a yellow throat. Flowers freely all summer until frost on dwarf 4-6 inch plants that spread up to 3 feet.
Pepper ‘Holy Mole’ is a hybrid selection of the pungent pepper used to make mole sauce. Holy Mole is earlier, more vigorous, virus-resistant and higher yielding than more traditional pasilla-type peppers . The 7-9 inch long, 1.5 inch skinny peppers can be harvested as immature green in about 85 days from transplanting. But the more traditional harvest is the dark, chocolate-brown mature peppers with a tangy, nutty flavor. The mature plants reach 2-3 feet tall and are best grown in full sun.
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, the 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/.