All-America Selections tests and introduces new flowers and vegetables each year that have done well in trials across North America. Others have done well in certain regions of the US. This year there were six vegetable winners and four flower winners that were either “National” or “Heartland” 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/2019/
Vegetables
Melon Orange SilverWave F1
2019 AAS Edible Winner
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/2019/
Vegetables
Melon Orange SilverWave F1
2019 AAS Edible Winner
Orange SilverWave is an exotic melon bred in South Korea with an extremely sweet, orange flesh and unique rind color. Many foodie gardeners are looking to grow something different to “Wow!” their guests and this melon will do just that! The attractive 5” oval melons grow on vigorous producing up to six fruits per vine. Whether grown in a large container or in-ground, it’s best to grow the vines on a trellis (bracing the melons) for better disease control. This AAS Winner is great eaten alone, in a fruit salad, wrapped with prosciutto or mixed into a smoothie or margarita.
Pepper Just Sweet F1
2019 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner
Pepper Just Sweet F1
2019 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner
A unique snacking pepper with four lobes like a larger bell pepper, only smaller. Not only are the 3 inch fruits deliciously sweet with nice thick walls but the plants are vigorous growers (up to 36 inches tall and 15 inches wide) that don’t need to be staked because they’ve been bred to have a strong bushy habit. Many judges conduct consumer taste tests and reported back that this pepper won those tests, hands down. The Just Sweet peppers are exceptionally bright, shiny and a vivid yellow color with a flavor described as sweet with aromatic accents. Great lunchbox item for kids!
Tomato Fire Fly F1
2019 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner
Tomato Fire Fly F1
2019 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner
Similar to the Goldilocks story, this adorable newcomer is not as small as a currant tomato and not as large as a cherry tomato, but is a “just right” in-between size. The fruits produced are super sweet pale white to pale yellow round fruits less than 1 inch in size and weigh about 1/2 oz. Delicate, translucent skins offer a mild acid flavor that enhances the sweet taste. They’re small juicy fruits exploding with flavor, perfect for snacking and in salads. Indeterminate plants must be staked or caged as they grow upward to 5-6 feet and have good disease resistance.
Tomato Red Torch F1
2019 AAS Edible/Vegetable Winner
Tomato Red Torch F1
2019 AAS Edible/Vegetable Winner
Red Torch is a striped oblong tomato with 1.5” long fruits that weigh about 1.5 ounces. This hybrid is a very prolific early-season producer. The combination of excellent flavor, great texture, and high yields make this hybrid better than other varieties in the trendy niche market of striped tomatoes. Plants have been bred with excellent tolerance to environmental stresses like heat and harsh growing conditions. Fruits are borne on indeterminate vines that grow 5-6’ tall and ripen 60-70 days from transplanting. Judges were pleased with both the earliness and yield of this variety in addition to the unique skin coloration.
Tomato Sparky XSL F1
2019 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner
Tomato Sparky XSL F1
2019 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner
Sparky is one of the few X-tended Shelf Life (XSL) cherry tomatoes available to home gardeners. Sparky brags about being early to mature, prolific and very flavorful. Fruits are well suited for market growers and produce a large number of usable fruits per plant. You’ll enjoy gardening with these plants that have excellent tolerance to environmental stresses like heat and harsh growing conditions. Very sweet fruits have an average Brix score of 8.5. Round fruits weigh 1 ounce and are 1 inch in diameter. Indeterminate 5-6’ plants produce fruits 60-70 days from transplant.
Flowers
Begonia Viking™ XL Red on Chocolate F1
2019 AAS Flower Winner
Flowers
Begonia Viking™ XL Red on Chocolate F1
2019 AAS Flower Winner
A brand new begonia with large, uniquely colored dark leaves has arrived! Judges were impressed with how the deep bronze/brown color remained sharp and intense throughout the season, no matter where they were located; north, south, east or west. The color tones shine through to give a stunning garden appearance. Covered with vibrant red flowers, the compact plant retains its shape well and does not become rangy. “Given the options, I would choose this variety for my landscape beds.” states a judge who plans beds for a public garden. “This year’s weather seemed unusually conducive to disease on large-leaf begonias but none of these plants were affected” states another judge. These extra-large (XL) mounded plants are perfect in both landscapes and containers.
Marigold Big Duck Gold F1
2019 AAS Flower Winner
Marigold Big Duck Gold F1
2019 AAS Flower Winner
QUACK! There’s a new marigold in the pond! Big Duck Gold sports very large golden-yellow flowers that continue blooming throughout the season, much longer than the comparisons. These marigolds begin the season putting energy into establishing a solid, healthy plant with clean, deep-green foliage. Then, when it starts blooming, watch out! Full, “plump” blooms top the 15” plants (which are slightly taller than the more compact comparison varieties) and continue blooming through the end of the season. You’ll want to use these marigolds everywhere: in beds and containers; in landscapes as mini hedges, back of the border plants, or even as a filler in new perennial beds.
Nasturtium Baby Rose
2019 AAS Flower Winner
Nasturtium Baby Rose
2019 AAS Flower Winner
Exciting news! The last nasturtium AAS Winner was back in the early days, in the 1930’s. Now it’s time to introduce a wonderful rose colored nasturtium perfect for today’s gardens. Baby Rose is a petite-flowered, mounding variety with healthy, dark foliage ideal for containers and small space gardens. AAS’ expert judges praised the uniformly compact plants that sported flowers with consistent coloration. Their compact habit means less “flower flopping” with their blooms remaining upright throughout the season. The rose color is uncommon in nasturtiums and contrasts beautifully with the dark-green foliage. Bonus: both the leaves and flowers are edible!
Petunia Wave® Carmine Velour F1
2019 AAS Flower Winner
Petunia Wave® Carmine Velour F1
2019 AAS Flower Winner
This newest color of the popular Wave® petunias was one of the highest scoring plants in the 2018 trials! AAS judges enthusiastically came up with an array of ways to describe the unique carmine rose color: “Fabulous,” “Stunning,” “Intense,” “Vibrant,” “Lively,” “Great color,” “Bright,” “Non-fading,” “Outstanding,” “My favorite,” “Bright colors regardless of clouds or sun,” “Tough competition but this entry shined through,” and so on. You get the picture; the judges loved this entry!
Large 2-2.5 inch flowers literally cover the easy-care spreading plants that rarely need deadheading because new blooms continuously pop-up and cover the spent blooms. Wave® is an excellent landscape performer and does equally as well in containers or hanging baskets as it does in the landscape.
Large 2-2.5 inch flowers literally cover the easy-care spreading plants that rarely need deadheading because new blooms continuously pop-up and cover the spent blooms. Wave® is an excellent landscape performer and does equally as well in containers or hanging baskets as it does in the landscape.
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