All-America Selection Winners for 2018

ll-America Selections tests and introduces new flowers and vegetables each year that have done well in trials across North America. This year there were six vegetable winners and six flower winners that were national winners. 

Descriptions and images below are taken directly from All-America Selection materials. For more detailed information including how to grow, see https://all-americaselections.org/product-category/year/2018/ 

Vegetables 
Corn, Sweet American Dream
2018 Edible- Vegetable Winner

AS Judges selected American Dream as their top trial choice and it just so happens to come from the same company that introduced Honey ‘N Pearl, an AAS winner from 1988. In a tight trial, American Dream was pitted up against Honey ‘N Pearl and came through as the winner! With its excellent germination, very tender, super sweet kernels, this newbie will make a great addition to the home garden. American Dream matures slightly earlier than the comparisons and produces vigorous, healthy plants with cobs that have good tip fill of bi-colored kernels. Plants grow 6-7 feet tall and mature in 77 days after planting the seed. Perfect fresh, roasted, grilled, canned or frozen.




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Pak Choi Asian Delight F1
2018 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner​

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​Asian Delight F1 Pak Choi (or Bok Choy) is a Chinese Cabbage that outperformed the comparisons by leaps and bounds. Judge after judge noted how this Pak Choi does not bolt like the comparisons, even weeks after other varieties went to seed. That means the yield from this AAS Winner can be double or even higher than that of other Pak Choi on the market. Asian Delight forms small to mid-size (5-7 inch) heads that have a tasty, tender white rib and dark green, textured leaves. One judged seeded his trial three times and all three times Asian Delight did not bolt whereas the comparisons did. “This is the best white stem mini Pak Choi I have ever seen.” That’s quite an endorsement!





Pepper cayenne Red Ember F1
2018 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner

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Add some spice to your life with this new cayenne pepper named Red Ember F1! This new AAS pepper Winner won over judges by being earlier to mature than the comparison varieties. Early maturity is an important feature for gardeners who live in climates with a shorter growing season. Red Ember produces a large number of rounded end fruits on durable, medium-sized plants. Judges described the thick-walled fruits as spicy, but tastier than the traditional cayenne, with just enough pungency for interest. Use this new cayenne pepper for a multitude of purposes and throughout the seasons.







Pepper habanero Roulette F1
2018 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner

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Roulette F1 resembles a traditional habanero pepper in every way (fruit shape, size and color, and plant type) with one exception – No Heat! This AAS National Winner’s one-ounce fruits are red with thick walls when it matures and a nice citrusy (no heat) habanero flavor! Gardeners will be delighted with the earlier production of large, uniform fruit and a very high yield. One judge noted that each plant easily produces 10-11 fruits at one time and up to 100 per season so there are plenty to eat fresh, cook with, and enjoy! For an early fruit production of a habanero pepper that will charm even those that don’t like it hot, take your chances…Roulette is the perfect choice.






​Tomato, cocktail Red Racer F1
2018 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner

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Red Racer, a cocktail size tomato, produced small, uniform fruits with great taste in the AAS Trials. Cocktail tomatoes have a good sweet/acid balance and are a smaller variety tomato (although larger than cherry or grape tomatoes). These tomatoes are uniform in size and mature as a cluster of fruits.  The compact determinate plants produced a huge yield 7-10 days earlier than the comparisons and are ideal for small space and container gardens.  One judge summed up this winner saying “Red Racer is small in size but big in taste!” Available in both organic and conventional seeds.








Tomato Valentine F1
2018 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner

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Hands down, the judges agreed this was the most appealing grape tomato they trialed. With an appetizing deep-red color, it has a very sweet (Brix of 7-9) taste and will hold longer on the vine without cracking or losing the excellent eating quality. Valentine F1 tomato is quite prolific and will mature earlier (55 days from transplant) than the comparisons used for this entry. Gardeners should plan on staking the indeterminate vines for best results. Tomato lovers will appreciate the sweet, firm flesh that is meaty enough to resemble a Roma tomato but in a smaller, grape-type fruit. These easy-to-harvest tomatoes can take the summer heat and keep on producing!







Flowers
Canna South Pacific Orange F1
2018 AAS Flower Winner

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Sister to 2013 AAS Winner South Pacific Scarlet, 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. Bonus: this canna is grown from seed, not tuber, meaning less chance of succumbing to disease.








Cuphea FloriGlory Diana
2018 AAS Ornamental Vegetative Winner

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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, 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. With FloriGlory Diana, gardeners will be delighted with the compact (10-12 inch) size, longer flowering time, heat and weather tolerance.










Gypsophila Gypsy White Improved
2018 AAS Flower Winner

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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 Compact White will make this your new garden favorite. Overall it is a beautiful little plant with many possibilities! PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT the invasive perennial Gypsophila paniculata but instead, the non-invasive Gypsophila muralis.







​Marigold Super Hero Spry
2018 AAS Flower Winner

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When one of the discerning AAS judges says, “I’d love to have this in my yard!”, you know you have a winner! 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. These stunning blooms make any garden fit for a Super Hero!











Ornamental Pepper Onyx Red
2018 AAS Flower Winner

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Onyx Red is one of those stunning double-take plants that steal the show! This breeding work has resulted in 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.

Naturally compact plants are perfect for a potted plant program as well as for an annual bedding plan where earliness and retail readiness are important factors.







Zinnia Queeny Lime Orange
2018 AAS Flower Winner

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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 a light peach with a dark center as the flowers age. In the trial gardens, visitors loved the show-stopping color and large blooms, making it this year’s fan-favorite. This new AAS Winner is also perfect for cut flower gardens as each uniform plant produces prolific deeply fluted blooms that last about 3 weeks without preservatives or feed.





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