You may remember it was a year ago that Cornell moved its annual plant trials to the Cornell Botanic Gardens on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca. The move made the trial gardens easily accessible to campus visitors and the general public with beds located right outside the Nevin Welcome Center.
Thousands of visitors, including myself and local 4-Hers and Master Gardeners, had a chance to enjoy the trial gardens, getting an up-close look at trial varieties of annual flowers being grown under conditions typically found in the home garden. One hundred and fifty cultivars were trialed in the beds, and hundreds of people were able to vote on their favorites.
Folks at the trial gardens noted that trial cultivars were planted in early June last year, and most of the plants got off to a good start. There were below-average temperatures and above-average precipitation in June and August, while July had warmer temperatures than usual with average rainfall. Cornell noted that a heatwave in July, which was followed by frequent heavy rains and cooler weather in August, resulted in Rhizoctonia in some cultivars (most notably Callistephus) and powdery mildew in many cultivars. Organizers are quick to add, however, that many varieties had a stellar showing.
You may see some of the cultivars become available this growing season and in coming seasons. Here are the Top Ten Performers from 2019: Salvia ‘Unplugged So Blue’ (Proven Winners), Helianthus ‘Suncredible Yellow’ – my favorite! (Proven Winners); Petunia ‘Supertunia Mini Vista Indigo Improved’ (Proven Winners), Calibrachoa ‘Superbells Tabletop Blue’ (Proven Winners), Verbena ‘Superbena Sparkling Amethyst Improved’ (Proven Winners), Petunia ‘ColorRush Pink’ (Ball FloraPlant), Begonia ‘BK Collection BEEL 3632’ (Beekenkamp), Zinnia ‘Zesty Scarlet’ (Ball Ingenuity), Celosia ‘Kelos Fire Purple’ (Beekenkamp) and Calibrachoa ‘Superbells Honeyberry’ (Proven Winners).
Here is a list of Consumer Favorites: Dahlia ‘Venti Red+White’ (Selecta), Salvia ‘Unplugged So Blue’ (Proven Winners), Dahlia ‘Venti Passion Fruit’ (Selecta), Dahlia ‘Maggiore Rose Bicolor’ (Beekenkamp), Coleus ‘Heartbreaker’ (Ball FloraPlant), Salvia ‘Purple & Bloom’ (Ball FloraPlant), Celosia ‘Kelos Fire Purple’ (Beekenkamp), Osteospermum ‘Sunny Harry’ (Beekenkamp), Dahlia ‘Maggiore Yellow Improved’ (Beekenkamp), and Helianthus ‘Suncredible Yellow’ – my favorite! (Proven Winners).
The purpose of the Cornell Annual Trials Program is to evaluate the performance of various annual ornamental and foliage plant cultivars under the unique environmental conditions in Ithaca, the university says. Data collected from the trials is summarized and sent back to participating breeding companies, Cornell adds, for use in determining future breeding priorities or to provide growing information to distributors in our region.
