Earlier this year, I highlighted the All-America Selections (AAS) vegetables for 2018. There is also a listing of new flowers that have been chosen. These plants have proven themselves to do well in trials across North America. The AAS winner label is like a stamp of approval.

The flower descriptions were taken from All-America Selections material.

Canna, South Pacific Orange F1 – This newest AAS Winner is compact in habit and well suited for both landscape and container use. This variety is more vigorous, more uniform, and has more basal branching than comparison cannas. It offers an outstanding bloom color in an attractive, vivid bright orange that contrasts nicely with the bright green foliage. Pollinator gardens will love this addition of an attractive canna that sports uniformly colored flowers over a long blooming period.

Cuphea, FloriGlory Diana – Cuphea, commonly known as Mexican Heather, is an ideal plant for borders, mass plantings and containers. FloriGlory Diana was highly praised by the AAS judges for its larger flowers, the impressive number of flowers and the darker, more intensely colored magenta flowers. The dark green foliage complement the flowers and really makes a statement for this new AAS winner. Gardeners will be delighted with the compact (10-12 inch) size, longer flowering time, heat and weather tolerance.

Gypsophila, Gypsy White Imported – Semi-double blossoms on this new, improved variety of gypsophila will make your garden sparkle! Not only are the flowers semi-double, but are also a bit larger in size and produce more flowers per plant, resulting in a fluffy white mound of beauty. Gypsy White Improved has better branching and a better growth habit than its predecessor, making it perfect for containers, small spaces and garden beds. A much longer bloom season and better heat tolerance than Gypsy Comact White will make this your new garden favorite.

Marigold, Super Hero Spry – Super Hero Spry is a lovely compact (10-12 inches) French marigold with dark maroon lower petals and golden yellow upper petals perched on top of the dark green foliage. The list of winning attributes continues: a more uniform and stable color pattern, earlier to bloom and no deadheading required.

Ornamental Pepper, Onyx Red – Onyx Red is one of those stunning double-take plants that steal the show! This is an unprecedented compact, well-branched ornamental pepper adorned with eye-catching dark black foliage. The contrast between the diminutive black foliage and tons of shiny red fruits is striking and makes a bold statement in the garden. Plants are vigorous, continually growing but retain their neat, compact habit, making Onyx Red a wonderful plant for beds, borders, containers and dramatic mass plantings.

Zinnia, Queeny Lime Orange – A “wow” color in an easy-to-grow zinnia is what Queeny Lime Orange brings to the garden. Sporting lovely, large, dahlia-like blooms on a sturdy, compact plant, this variety provides cut flower gardeners and growers with a wonderful hue for today’s floral trends. The unique color evolves from dark coral/peach/orange to light peach with a dark center as the flower ages. Each uniform plant produces prolific deeply fluted blooms that last about three weeks without preservatives or feed.

For a complete description of the 2018 All America Selections, visit www.all-americaselections.org.

Krista Harding is a K-State Research and Extension Agricultural agent assigned to Southwind District.  She may be reached at 620-244-3826 or [email protected]

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