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.
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:
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.
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 vegetable garden and flower beds just east of our main entrance along Arboretum Boulevard, and soon in the new Humber Arboretum Micro-Farm being developed behind the residence buildings. Then visit the AAS website to learn more about the winners, including information on how to grow them yourself.
Use the preview list below for a sneak peek of some of the plants you’ll see in the garden this year, along with notes from the AAS website.
Just a few of the plants you can look forward to seeing in this year's AAS displays.
Now you can also visit Facebook to see photos of staff and work-study students planting this year's floral display.
2013 AAS Flower Winner
“Well-suited for both landscape and container use.”
Photo courtesy AAS
2015 AAS Bedding Plant Winner.
“Easy to grow and trouble-free annual.”
Photo courtesy AAS
2014 AAS Bedding Plant Winner
“…bring a touch of airy elegance to the garden.”
Photo courtesy AAS
2015 AAS Floral Winner
"A perfect solution for the time-crunched gardener or anyone looking for petunias that are carefree."
Photo - 2016 Humber Arb AAS Display
2016 AAS Flower Winner
“…a major attractor of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.”
Photo courtesy AAS