All-America Selections, North America’s oldest and most well-known non-profit plant trialing organization just announced seven new AAS Winners at the American Seed Trade Association meeting in Orlando, Florida. Each of the following new AAS Winners was trialed throughout North America by professional, independent, volunteer judges who grew them next to comparisons that are considered best-in-class.
The newest 2019 AAS Winners are:
Marigold Big Duck Orange F1 (Regional – Heartland)
Marigold Big Duck Yellow F1 (Regional – NE, Heartland, Mtn/SW, W/NW)
Marigold Garuda Deep Gold F1 (Regional – Northeast, Heartland)
Vinca MegaBloom Polka Dot F1 (Regional – Northeast, Heartland)
Zinnia Holi Scarlet F1 (National)
Potato Clancy F1 (National)
Tomato Mountain Rouge F1 (Regional – NE, Southeast, Heartland)
The AAS Winners already announced for 2019 are:
Begonia Viking XL Red on Chocolate F1 (National)
Marigold Big Duck Gold F1 (National)
Melon Orange SilverWave F1 (Regional – Northeast, Southeast)
Nasturtium Baby Rose (Regional – NE, Heartland, Mountain/SW)
Petunia WaveÒ Carmine Velour F1 (National)
Pepper Just Sweet F1 (National)
Tomato Chef’s Choice Black F1 (Regional – SE, Mtn/SW and West/NW)
Tomato Fire Fly F1 (National)
Tomato Red Torch F1 (National)
Tomato Sparky XSL F1 (Regional – Heartland)
Watermelon Cal Sweet Bush (Regional – Great Lakes)
Growers, retailers and consumers will find these AAS Winners for sale as supply becomes available through the distribution chain. Click on the breeding company link to email the breeder about ordering seed. Garden communicators are free to begin writing about these varieties now to build demand for 2019 and future years.
Each AAS Winner is marketed through social media, public relations and trade shows. AAS Winners are proudly grown in almost 200 AAS Display Gardens across North America. * AAS Display gardens can be found here. * Retailers can request an All-America Selections POP package from the AAS office. * PowerPoint presentations are available on SlideShare or on the AAS website. * Bench cards and variety markers can be downloaded from the AAS website.
Marigold Big Duck Orange F1
AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
Regional Winner (Heartland)
Big Duck Orange joins sibling Big Duck Gold in a new marigold series that continues blooming throughout the season, even longer than the comparisons. These marigolds grow vigorously creating well-branched plants with clean, deep-green foliage. Fully double and beautifully colored 4 inch orange blooms “pop” on the 15” plants and continue blooming through the end of the season. The judges raved about this variety’s vigor, flower size and superior disease, rain, heat and drought resistance long past when the comparisons succumbed. This beauty is perfect for the gardener looking for an easy-to-grow, low maintenance annual.
Bred by Ameriseed
(Click link for order contact) http://www.ameriseed.net/
AAS® Winner Data
Genus species: Tagetes erecta
Common name: Marigold
Flower color: Orange
Foliage color: Green
Flower size: 4 inches
Bloom time: Summer
Plant height: 11-15 inches
Plant habit: Bushy
Plant type: Annual
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 12 inches
Weather tolerance: Rain, heat
Closest comparisons on market: Taishan Orange F1, Moonstruck Orange F1
Marigold Big Duck Yellow F1
AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
Regional Winner (Northeast, Heartland, Mountain/Southwest, West/Northwest)
A long-lasting winner in the trial gardens! Big Duck Yellow is another marigold color in the series that has great heat and disease tolerance. The large 4” flowers are well-supported on sturdy, compact, uniformly even plants that consistently produced more flowers for a longer period than the comparisons. The fully double, bright yellow blooms are a beautiful contrast to the deep green foliage and raise their heads well above the foliage for a standout display. Big Duck Yellow marigolds are a beautiful addition to any landscape, garden or container where long lasting color is a benefit.
Bred by Ameriseed
(Click link for order contact) http://www.ameriseed.net/
AAS® Winner Data
Genus species: Tagetes erecta
Common name: Marigold
Flower color: Yellow
Foliage color: Green
Flower size: 4 inches
Bloom time: Summer
Plant height: 11-15 inches
Plant habit: Bushy
Plant type: Annual
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 12 inches
Weather tolerance: Rain, heat
Closest comparisons on market: Taishan Yellow F, Moonstruck Yellow F1, Dune Yellow F1
Marigold Garuda Deep Gold F1
AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
Regional Winner (Northeast, Heartland)
Sometimes, it’s an AAS judge who writes the best description: “Favorite performer of the trial! This marigold not only has a strong color, but while the comparison is brown and rotting [in late summer], this entry is going strong through the end of September! … it is much more resistant to disease than the comparison. Also the vigorous habit is exactly what you would want from a cut flower for season long flowers.”This marigold provides a bright regal shade of orange in an extremely vigorous, cut flower type marigold. In the garden, it had cleaner foliage and an overall larger flower size. In the vase, it is outstanding, lasting at least 10 days.
Bred by Ameriseed
(Click link for order contact) http://www.ameriseed.net/
AAS® Winner Data
Genus species: Tagetes erecta
Common name: Marigold
Flower color: Gold
Foliage color: Green
Flower size: 5 inches
Bloom time: Summer
Plant height: 2-4 feet (good for cut flower)
Plant habit: Upright, staking required
Plant type: Annual
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 18 inches
Weather tolerance: Heat
Closest comparisons on market: Garland F1
Vinca Mega Bloom Polka Dot F1
AAS 2019 Ornamental from Seed Winner
Regional Winner (Heartland, Mountain/Southwest)
The hearty Mega Bloom vinca series has been bred to withstand heat and humidity without succumbing to disease. Polka Dot excels in that area plus sports huge showy flowers on full, vigorous plants that stay tidy and compact. The leaves of Mega Bloom Polka Dot stayed a healthy green all season resulting in large healthy plants all summer until frost. Each large bloom (3-4”) has attractive overlapping petals in snowy white with a bright pink eye.
Growers will benefit from the early bloom time, compactness in the greenhouse and plant uniformity.
Bred by Ameriseed
(Click link for order contact) http://www.ameriseed.net/
AAS® Winner Data
Genus species: Catharanthus roseus
Common name: Vinca
Flower color: White with pink eye
Foliage color: Green
Flower size: 3-4 inches
Plant height: 13-15 inches
Plant habit: Upright
Plant type: Annual
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 11-14 inches
Closest comparisons on market: Titan® Polka Dot F1, Vitesse Peppermint F1
Zinnia Holi Scarlet F1
AAS 2017 Ornamental from Seed Winner
National Winner
This beautiful Winner is named after the famous Holi Festival of Colors because of its vibrant color! AAS Judges deemed this an “excellent flower” because of the bright solid color, size and number of blooms as well as the disease resistance, which was superior to the comparisons. Holi Scarlet will keep producing fresh, colorful blooms all season long, even through heat, humidity and drought. Uniform and compact mounding plants will make a stunning mass planting of vibrantly colored deep red flowers drawing in both people and pollinators.
Bred by Ameriseed
(Click link for order contact) http://www.ameriseed.net/
AAS® Winner Data
Genus species: Zinnia elegans
Common name: Zinnia
Flower color: Scarlet
Foliage color: Light Green
Flower size: 3 inches
Plant height: Compact 6-8 inches
Plant habit: Upright
Plant type: Annual
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 13-15 inches
Closest comparisons on market: Dreamland Scarlet F1, Magellan Scarlet F1
Potato Clancy F1
AAS 2019 Edible Winner
National Winner
The first potato from seed that’s an AAS Winner! The benefits of growing this tasty edible from seed are many. For home gardeners and market growers, sterile seed eliminates the potential for introducing disease to the garden. Seeds are also easier to store and can be stored longer than potato tubers. Potato Clancy produces compact and healthy dark green plants with blue flowers. Resulting spuds are a beautiful ornamental mix ranging from red to rose blush skin tones with interiors of creamy white and yellow. In terms of eating qualities, Clancy has great texture and flavor (a happy medium between that of a yellow-skinned potato and a russet), making it especially good for mashing or boiling due to its lighter texture. Bred by Bejo Seeds Inc.
(Click link for order contact) http://www.bejoseeds.com/
AAS® Winner Data
* Genus species: Solanum tuberosum
* Common name: Potato
* Fruit size: 4-5 inch round, weigh about 3-4 oz.
* Color: Rose blush to red
* Plant height: 24-36 inches
* Plant spread: 24-36 inches
* Plant habit: Mounded
* Garden location: Full sun
* Garden spacing: 9-12 inches
* Length of time to harvest: 90-110 days
Tomato Mountain Rouge F1
AAS 2019 Edible Winner
Regional Winner – (Northeast, Southeast, Heartland)
A beautiful new pink tomato in the “Mountain” series has excellent flavor and a very robust disease package of verticillium, fusarium, nematodes, and Late Blight. Gardeners will enjoy a generous harvest of large, beefsteak tomatoes weighing 12-14 oz. that have a great tomato taste with just the right balance of acid and sugar. Indeterminate plants produce heavily in just 73 days from transplant and they do especially well in cooler climates.
This fleshy tomato has minimal seeds and slices very well for true summer dining enjoyment.
Bred by Bejo Seeds Inc.
(Click link for order contact) http://www.bejoseeds.com/
AAS® Winner Data
* Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum
* Common name: Tomato
* Fruit size: 4-5 inch beefsteak fruits, weigh 12-14 oz.
* Color: Pink
* Plant height: 4-6 feet
* Plant habit: Upright, requires staking
* Garden location: Full sun
* Garden spacing: 4 feet
* Length of time to harvest: 73 days from transplanting
* Disease resistance: Late Blight, Root Knot Nematode, Verticillium, Fusarium
* Closest comparisons on market: Damsel F1, Chef’s Choice Pink F1
All-America Selections® was founded in 1932 and continues as the oldest independent testing organization in North America. Every year, new, never-before-sold in North America varieties are trialed in our Trial Grounds and professional horticulturists determine which varieties will be deemed winners based on their garden performance. AAS relies upon a public relations program to inform gardeners about AAS Winners that are announced three times each year.
