All-America Selections Display
New garden plant varieties are being developed all the time. But how can you know which ones will flourish, or offer something truly different or better?
Visit the All-America Selections Display Gardens at the Humber Arboretum to get an up-close look at new plant varieties from across North America which have been deemed “best-performing” by volunteer judges from the horticultural industry.
Selecting the Best
All-America Selections (AAS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding the best-performing new garden varieties. Since 1932 this organization has evaluated cultivars (human-created plant varieties, or “cultivated varieties”) to help gardeners of all kinds make decisions about what to plant in their own gardens.
AAS has over 100 Trial Sites across North America where seeds and cuttings submitted by breeding companies are planted next to established varieties so they can be directly compared.
There are four AAS categories:
- Seed Ornamentals (grown from seed)
- Vegetative Ornamentals (grown from cuttings)
- Edible/Vegetables from Seed
- Herbaceous Perennials
What Makes a Winner?
Depending on the category, AAS judges are looking for things like better taste, longer-lasting blooms, unique colours, more flowers per plant, or improved disease resistance. The plant has to out-perform similar, existing varieties to be declared an AAS Winner.
Seeing the Results
The Humber Arboretum has been an official All-America Selections Display Garden for over two decades; now nearly 200 such gardens can be found across North America. Come to the Humber Arboretum in the late spring and summer to see some of the winning flowers and edibles from previous years.
Look for All-America Selections display signs in the flower beds just east of our main entrance along Arboretum Boulevard, and in the Humber Food Learning Garden behind the residence buildings. Then visit the AAS website to learn more about the winners, including information on how to grow them yourself.
AAS Selections in the 2024 Wall Bed Display Garden
Here are the plants from All-America Selections that will be in our wall garden for 2024. Watch for them blooming in mid-to-late summer.
Photo courtesy AAS
Begonia VikingTM Explorer Rose on Green F1
2022 AAS Ornamental Winner, Gold Medal
From the AAS website:
"Prolific rose-colored flowers stand out against the glossy green foliage and do so all season long. It has a strong tolerance to heat & many diseases, as well as both wet & dry conditions."
- Annual
- Full sun, partial sun
- Normal water needs
Celosia Flamma Orange growing in the Humber Arboretum
Celosia Flamma Orange
2022 AAS Ornamental Winner
From the AAS website:
"This compact variety has numerous branches, each with a strong flower plume, as well as secondary blooms, which give a long show of color in the garden."
- Annual
- Full sun
- Normal Water needs
Photo courtesy AAS
Celosia Burning Embers
2024 AAS Ornamental Winner
"Burning Embers is a new celosia bred for its gorgeous bronze foliage with dark pink veins that contrast nicely with the vibrant pink flower plumes. Plants are well-branched and produce more flowers over a longer bloom time."
- Annual
- Full sun
- Normal water needs
Photo courtesy AAS
Coleus Premium Sun Coral Candy
2023 Ornamental Seed Winner
From the AAS website:
"Coral Candy features unique, multicolored foliage on a uniformly compact plant. This new plant form has narrow, serrated leaves that gracefully drape down the mounded plants."
- Annual
- Sun or shade
- Normal water needs
Geranium Big EZE Pink Batik growing in the Humber Arboretum
Geranium Big EEZE Pink Batik
2024 AAS Ornamental Winner
From the AAS website:
"The Big EEZE geranium series is known for its superior container performance, medium vigor, and heat tolerance. The newest addition to the series, Pink Batik, is an AAS National Winner that is sure to impress gardeners with its unique coloration and minimal maintenance requirements."
- Annual
- Full sun, partial sun
- Normal water needs
Photo courtesy AAS
Impatiens interspecific Solarscape® XL Pink Jewel F1
2024 AAS Ornamental Winner
"Vibrant pink satiny blooms cover the mounded plants non-stop all season, adding a bright and pleasing tropical appeal to the garden."
- Annual
- Sun or shade
- Normal water needs
Photo courtesy AAS
Marigold Siam Gold F1
2024 AAS Flower Winner
From the AAS website:
"Siam Gold has beautiful, mounded foliage that produces globe-like, fully double golden flowers all season long. The large flowers are held on top of sturdy stems and above the foliage for full color visibility making a striking focal point in the garden."
- Annual
- Full sun
- Normal water needs
Photo courtesy AAS
Petchoa EnVivaTM Pink
2024 AAS Ornamental Winner
From the AAS website:
"All season long, EnViva stayed in glorious color even during the heat of the summer. Large flowers bloom from Spring through Fall in garden beds, containers, and hanging baskets. Plants are heat tolerant and flowers bounce back after rain."
- Annual
- Full sun
- Normal water needs
Photo courtesy AAS
Petunia Bee's Knees
2022 AAS Ornamental Winner, Gold Medal
From the AAS website:
"Each Bee’s Knees petunia is filled with lush blooms that put on a colorful show of deep yellow, non-fading flowers all season long. The intense yellow petunia color contrasts beautifully against the deep green leaves."
- Annual
- Full sun
- Normal water needs
Snapdragon DoubleShot Orange Bicolor F1 growing in the Humber Arboretum
Snapdragon DoubleShotTM Orange Bicolor F1
2023 AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
"DoubleShot Snapdragon Orange Bicolor is part of a new series of intermediate-height snaps perfect for the garden or as cut flowers. The stunning open-faced double flowers emerge in beautiful warm shades of orange and orange-red that transition to a dusty shade as they age."
- Annual
- Full or partial sun
- Normal water needs
Photo courtesy AAS
Sunflower Concert Bell F1
2022 AAS Ornamental Winner
"Concert Bell puts on quite a performance with a unique flower presentation of multiple clusters of 10 to 12 flowers on an erect columnar stem. Beautiful golden yellow blooms appear earlier than the comparisons. Each plant grows to a very uniform height of 5 to 6 feet and if used as a cut flower, makes an instant, ready-made bouquet from just one cut."
- Annual
- Full sun
- Water needs dry to normal
Photo courtesy AAS
Verbena bonariensis Vanity
2022 AAS Ornamental Winner
From the AAS website:
"Not only does this type of verbena create a pollinator paradise in your garden, but also the compact habit makes it sturdier and easier to maintain."
- Annual
- Full or partial sun
- Water needs dry to normal
Photo courtesy AAS
Zinnia Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor
2021 AAS Flower Winner, Gold Medal
From the AAS website:
"This gorgeous zinnia starts the season with a bold vibrant red center ring surrounded by golden-yellow outer petals. As the season progresses, the aging flowers morph into soft, beautiful shades of apricot, salmon, and dusty rose to bring a plethora of color to the garden, all from one variety!"
- Annual
- Full sun, partial sun
- Normal water needs