The 2019 gardening season is almost upon us. If you want to know what flowers to plant this growing season, a list of great possibilities comes from Colorado State University’s Annual Flower Trial Garden. The garden, which spans nearly three acres on the east side of the Fort Collins campus, is a Northern Colorado showpiece with a focused research and outreach purpose. Each year, the Annual Flower Trial Garden tests and analyzes the performance of more than 1,000 varieties of annual bedding plants in Colorado’s harsh growing conditions. Dozens of expert evaluators rate the plants for vigor, growth pattern, bloom and other characteristics. The trial results help home gardeners identify annual bedding plants that are most likely to succeed.
“Best of” Annual Flower Winners from the 2018 CSU Trials
Best of Show – Salvia ‘Big Blue’ from PanAmerican Seed
A later bloomer that is worth the wait was impressive with large flower spikes that are showy in the garden as well as making a good cut flower. Plants had dark green foliage, strong upright growth habit, excellent branching and very uniform overall. A strong favorite with bees as well as humans.
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