All-America Selections, North America’s most well-known and respected non-profit plant trialing organization, is pleased to announce the following new AAS Winners for the 2022 garden season. In a record-setting comeback, after a 17-year drought, the organization is now proud to have three breeding breakthrough Gold Medal Winners in just the past 12 months, demonstrating the top-quality genetics that are being submitted to the AAS Trials:
Begonia Viking Explorer Rose on Green F1
Zinnia Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor
All AAS Winners are trialed throughout North America by professional, independent, volunteer judges who grow new, never-before-sold entries next to comparisons that are considered best-in-class. Only those entries that had garden performance superior to the comparisons are granted the AAS award designation. Comparison varieties can be found on each AAS Winner webpage and in the descriptions below.
The newest AAS Winners are:
Begonia Viking Explorer Rose on Green F1 (National Gold Medal)
Pepper Dragonfly F1 (National)
Sunflower Concert Bell F1 (National)
Tomato Pink Delicious F1 (Regional)
Tomato Purple Zebra F1 (National)
Tomato Sunset Torch F1 (Regional)
Torenia Vertigo Deep Blue F1 (Regional)
The most recently announced AAS Winners from the past 12 months are:
Celosia Kelos® Candela Pink (Regional)
Echalion Crème Brulee (BGS-270) F1 (Regional)
Eggplant Icicle F1 (National)
Lettuce Bauer (National)
Leucanthemum Sweet Daisy Birdy (Regional)
Pepper Buffy F1 (National)
Pepper Pot-a-peño F1 (Regional)
Petunia Bee’s Knees (National Gold Medal)
Squash Goldilocks F1 (National)
Watermelon Century Star F1 (Regional)
Zinnia Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor (National Gold Medal)
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 below to email the breeder about ordering seed or cuttings. Garden communicators are free to begin writing about these varieties now to build demand.
NEW marketing! Newer AAS Winners are featured in custom videos in social media posts and on the AAS YouTube channel.
All AAS Winners are marketed through social media, public relations and trade shows and are proudly grown in 200+ AAS Display Gardens across North America. In addition, the AAS office creates and maintains a wide variety of marketing pieces and resources such as Printable brochures and Bench cards and variety markers.
NEW! AAS launched the Introduction Gardens program in 2021 as a way for industry to view the AAS Winners at their favorite Field Day, Grower Open House, Customer Day, etc.
The AAS website also now includes a page of Wholesale Sources to make it easier to source and purchase AAS Winners.
Begonia Viking™ Explorer Rose on Green F1
AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
Gold Medal Winner
Erase that sea-faring conqueror image and replace it with this Gold Medal winning, garden-faring beauty that performs exceptionally well and has high impact color. This trailing begonia “explores” the garden by spreading and spilling its branches over the edges of hanging baskets and containers. 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. “Stellar performance for containers” states one AAS Judge. “Good plant with season-long integrity” says another. These new Vikings are sure to be a garden favorite.
Bred by Sakata Seed Corporation
(Click link for order contact)
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Begonia x hybrid
- Common name: Begonia
- Flower color: Rose
- Foliage color: Green
- Flower size: 2.6 inches
- Bloom time: Late Spring to Fall
- Plant height: 16 inches
- Plant spread: 32 inches
- Plant habit: Spreading, trailing
- Plant type: Annual
- Garden location: Full sun, Partial sun
- Garden spacing: 32 inches
- Weather tolerance: Heat, Wind, Rain, Disease, Insect/Pest, Cold, Pollution, Drought
- Closest comparisons on market: Big Rose Green Leaf, Dragon Wing Red
AAS Edible Winner
National Winner
Dragonfly pepper plants produce beautiful purple peppers that have thick, sweet walls, unlike the thin papery walls of other purples on the market. Similar to the beloved dragonfly that flits around your garden, this pepper transforms itself from a green pepper into a purple fruit that is as delicious at the green stage of maturity as it is when fully purple and mature. Overall, a much better purple color than comparisons with above average, robust pepper flavor. Fruits are held high on the plant, keeping them from the soil. The 4-lobed fruits do not fade and if left on the vine, turn a beautiful, bright red color.
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Capsicum annuum
- Common name: Sweet Pepper
- Fruit size: 3.5 inches
- Fruit shape: Blocky Bell
- Color: Purple
- Plant height: 24-36 inches
- Plant spread: 24-36 inches
- Plant habit: Upright
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 36 inches
- Length of time to harvest: 75 days from transplant
- Closest comparisons on market: Pinot Noir F1, Islander F1
AAS Ornamental from Seed Winner
National 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. Excellent seed germination makes this beauty very easy to grow and is perfect for continuous sowing to keep blooms going through the end of summer. Concert Bell was trialed in a year of adverse weather conditions and multiple judges commented on its durability and sturdiness even through strong storms and winds.
Bred by TOHOKU SEED CO. LTD.
Distributed in North America by Seed Science Inc.
Distributed outside of North America by Fukukaen Nursery & Bulb Co.,Ltd
(Click link for order contact)
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Helianthus annuus L.
- Common name: Sunflower
- Flower color: Golden yellow
- Flower size: 5-6 inches
- Plant height: 60-70 inches
- Plant habit: Upright
- Plant type: Annual
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 13-15 inches
- Length of time to bloom: 65 days from sowing seed, 55 days from transplant
- Closest comparisons on market: Solis Gold, Soraya
AAS Edible Winner
Regional Winner (Southeast and Heartland)
With “Delicious” in its name, it has to be good! This early maturing tomato supports the trend of having heirloom look, flavor and texture with hybrid disease resistance and improved germination meaning it is much easier for home gardeners to grow. When grown next to the comparisons, this variety is definitely earlier with a higher yield and a very uniform fruit size. The beautiful big fruits do not crack as much. What really sets this variety apart is the excellent flavor and a high Brix for a sweeter than normal pink tomato. Bonus: Much better disease resistance than controls in both the Southeast and Heartland regions.
(Click link for order contact)
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum
- Common name: Tomato
- Fruit color: Pink
- Fruit size: 11-ounce beefsteak tomato
- Plant height: 6 feet, staking required
- Plant spread: 3 feet
- Plant habit: Upright, climbing
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 3 feet
- Length of time to harvest: 114 days from sowing, 84 days from transplant
- Closest comparisons on market: Brandymaster, Heirloom Marriage Big Brandy
AAS Edible Winner
National Winner
Purple Zebra tomato is a fun new addition to striped tomatoes, producing tomatoes that are rich with complex flavors and a moderately firm texture. Dark red fruits with green stripes and a deep mahogany red interior do not produce muddy coloration like other tomatoes of this type. The taste is sweet and acidic leaning to sweet. Overall, this tomato has a better taste and thinner skin than comparisons with excellent disease resistance. Judges in the know say this is a very marketable fruit for farmers’ market growers.
High disease resistance to ToMV, Verticillium Wilt Va/Vd, Fusarium Wilt Race 1, Leaf Mold A-E, Late Blight PH2/PH3 and intermediate resistance to TYLCV and TSWV.
Distributed by A. P. Whaley Seed Company
(Click link for order contact)
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum
- Common name: Tomato
- Fruit size: 2 – 2.5 inches
- Fruit weight: 3 – 4 ounces
- Fruit shape: Round
- Color: Purple with green stripes
- Plant height: 5 – 6 feet, requires staking
- Plant spread: 2 feet
- Plant habit: Upright
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 24 inches
- Length of time to harvest: 80-85 days from transplant
- Closest comparisons on market: Bronze Torch F1, Black Zebra
AAS Edible Winner
Regional Winner (Mountain/Southwest, Southeast, West/Northwest)
You might just carry a lifelong torch for this cute new tomato! Sunset Torch has strong, dramatic striping from stem to tip. This is a very vigorous grower and was the first to ripen in multiple regions. As one judge explains the appeal, “The open growth habit displays fruit that pleases the eye before reaching the mouth!” Overall better performance, less splitting, good yields, a mildly sweet, fruity flavor and disease resistance make this cutie a winner. Sunset colored fruits are produced on easy-to-harvest trusses. High disease resistance to ToMV, Verticillium Wilt Va/Vd, Fusarium Wilt Races 1 and 2 and intermediate resistance to TYLCV and TSWV
Distributed by A. P. Whaley Seed Company
(Click link for order contact)
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum
- Common name: Tomato
- Fruit size: 2 inches
- Fruit weight: 1 ounce
- Fruit shape: Small plum
- Color: Orange at stem with rosy, yellow blush
- Plant height: 5 – 6 feet, requires staking
- Plant spread: 2 feet
- Plant habit: Upright
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 24 inches
- Length of time to harvest: 75 days from transplant
- Closest comparisons on market: Blush
AAS Ornamental from Seed Winner
Regional Winner: Mountain/Southwest
Torenia Vertigo is a brand new F1 Torenia ideal for both containers and the landscape. AAS Judges were impressed with the number of flowers on each plant and the vibrant non-fading blue petals that contrast beautifully with the sky blue and yellow centers. This torenia performed exceptionally well in warmer climates such as in the Mountain/Southwest and Florida. Torenia Vertigo has a compact habit, flowers for a very long period of time and has glossy green foliage. The large blooms do not fade even when exposed to strong sunlight.
Bred by AmeriSeed International Co., Ltd.
https://www.ameriseed.net
(Click link for order contact)
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Torenia fournieri
- Common name: Wishbone flower
- Flower color: Deep blue
- Foliage color: Light green
- Flower size: 1-1.18 inches
- Plant height: 12 inches
- Plant habit: Mounded
- Plant type: Annual
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 12 inches
- Closest comparisons on market: Kaui Deep Blue, Duchess Pink
