All-America Selection Winners for 2020

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 ten vegetable winners of which seven are tomatoes and four ornamental or flower 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/2020/ 

Vegetables 

Cucumber Green Light F1
2020 AAS Edible Winner
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This little beauty is an excellent mini cucumber, said many of the AAS Judges. The yield was higher than the comparison varieties with more attractive fruit, earlier maturity, and superior eating quality. “I would absolutely grow this in my home garden” commented one judge. Grow Green Light on stakes or poles for a productive, easy-to-harvest vertical garden that will yield 40 or more spineless fruits per plant. Pick the fruits when they’re small, between 3-4” long, and you’ll be rewarded with great tasting cucumbers, even without peeling. Succession plantings will ensure a summer-long harvest.

Fun fact: This cucumber is parthenocarpic meaning the flowers are all female and the fruits are seedless without needing to be pollinated. 

Pumpkin Blue Prince  F1
2020 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner

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“Princely” is defined as being sumptuous and splendid; this AAS Winner lives up to its name! For any edible entry to become an AAS Winner, it must outperform the comparisons and Blue Prince Pumpkin certainly scored high in the areas of maturity (earlier), yield, fruit size, and uniformity, color, taste, and texture. Vigorous trailing vines produce 7-9 pound beautiful blue flattened pumpkins with non-stringy, deep orange flesh with savory sweetness. These pumpkins are as pretty as they are delicious; after fall decorating, bake the flesh for a smooth and creamy treat. Of all the varieties trialed, Blue Prince was first to flower and fruit which is beneficial for gardeners with a shorter growing season. Plus, this winner has slightly better disease resistance than the comparisons. A judge’s testimonial: “Overall, if I was looking for a blue pumpkin to display AND eat, I’d pick this  entry every time!”


​​Tomato Apple Yellow F1
2020 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner
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If you’ve never tried an apple-shaped tomato, now is the time. This AAS Winner offers incredible garden performance, a uniquely dimpled apple-shaped fruit with a deliciously sweet citrusy taste and firm, meaty texture. Indeterminate 5’ tall vines produce abundantly in clusters, resulting in up to 1,000 fruits per plant. The fruits are an eye-catching, bright, lemon yellow color reminiscent of the “Big Apple’s” taxicab colors. Judges were excited that a non-splitting, long-holding, uniformly shaped tomato had such good eating quality. With just the right balance of sugar and acid flesh in a firm exterior, Apple Yellow would be perfect stuffed with a savory cheese for a delicious appetizer.


Tomato Buffalosun F1
2020 AAS Edible/Vegetable Winner

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All that an heirloom has to offer but better! Buffalosun shone in the trials with fruit that had a better texture than the comparisons (Margold and Striped German), a higher yield and less cracking.  This indeterminate tomato should be staked for best garden performance and you will be rewarded with fruits long into the season. The unique yellow with red/orange flame coloration is beautiful on the outside and results in a nicely marbled interior.  Good tasting sweet, tender flesh gives the look of an heirloom without the mushiness often associated with heirlooms. Buffalosun also outlasted the comparisons when disease hit in late summer, notably thanks to its late blight resistance.

Fun fact: Buffalosun exhibited good locule development. What’s a locule? That space between tomato sections where the seeds and gel are formed.

Tomato Celano F1
2020 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner
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Celano is a patio type grape tomato with a strong bushy habit. It is best grown with some support, such as a tomato cage. This semi-determinate hybrid tomato is an early producer of sweet oblong fruits weighing about 0.6 oz. each. Plants grow to 40” in height and spread to 24” and have excellent late blight tolerance. In comparing it to other grape tomatoes on the market, one judge summed it up by saying “(Celano) is sweeter, the texture is better, the color is deeper, the plants are healthier, and the yield is phenomenal.” Prova Celano oggi!









Tomato Chef’s Choice Bicolor F1
2020 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner
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The first bicolor tomato in the Chef’s Choice series is here! Indeterminate plants produce large 7-8 ounce flattened beefsteak fruits with beautiful pinkish red internal stripes within a yellow flesh. The lovely stripes  extend to the base of the outer fruit skins. These heirloom looking tomatoes are as sweet as they are beautiful with a better flavor and texture than the comparisons. Gardeners will enjoy earlier maturity and more uniform fruits that hold up all season long, producing well into September in the Heartland. As with all the colors in the Chef’s Choice series, each plant can produce about 30 fruits per season.






Tomato Crokini F1
2020 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner

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This rockin’ winner has a very sweet (Brix of 8.5), light acidic taste giving it the perfect sweet/acid balance. Pronounced like “rock” not “crook,” Crokini’s round fruits are small and firm with a crunchy texture and good flavor. This winner gets high marks for durability because fruits do not crack on the vine, yielding up to 10-12 fruits per cluster. Crokini provides a lovely burst of sweetness. Overall, the yield was better than comparisons because of the inbred Late Blight resistance well into September. The Southern AAS Judges like the better taste and texture as compared to Sweet Million. Overall, Crokini is a “cleaner” plant because it is slightly more compact than comparisons with evenly distributed fruit.







Tomato Early Resilience F1
2020 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner

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Early Resilience is a rounded Roma tomato with a deep red interior color, uniform maturity and good quality flesh for canning and cooking. Determinate, bushy plants can be staked but it is not necessary. The AAS Judges noted that this variety was very resistant to Blossom End Rot, resulting in a high yield and less fruit loss. Similar great taste as the comparisons but a much healthier plant and fruits. (See the long list of disease resistance below) Overall, this is an excellent variety that would be a home canner’s dream. This could very well replace some of the other Roma varieties as a new standard in the arena, or maybe “Colosseum” of Roma tomatoes!


Tomato Galahad F1
2020 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner
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Yes Sir! Galahad is a brave new tomato variety that has a high level of Late Blight resistance because both parents are resistant. In this case, one plus one equals a very strong two! Galahad is a high-yielding, great tasting tomato that grows on a strong sturdy plant. Judges agreed that the sweet, meaty flavor is better than that of the comparison varieties and boasts of being crack resistant. Broad shoulders (just like Sir Galahad?) and large, clean fruits grow on a highly productive, disease-resistant plant. Certainly, a variety you’ll want to use in your battle for tomato greatness.






Watermelon Mambo F1
2020 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner

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Summertime means melon time and Mambo watermelon will grow and yield well even in cool cloudy conditions! Gardeners who plant Mambo will enjoy multiple, perfectly round melons with a beautiful dark green rind and deep red flesh. The sweet crisp flesh is extremely tasty and holds well (doesn’t overripen) if you can’t harvest them right away. Each 9” fruit will weigh about 11 pounds at maturity, which is only 75 days from transplant. A smaller seed cavity means you almost get the look of a seedless melon but the superior taste of a seeded melon. The AAS Judges agree this is one of the easiest watermelons they’ve grown because of high seed germination and vigorously healthy vines.




Flowers

Coleus Main Street Beale Street
2020 AAS Ornamental Winner

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The first-ever coleus to be named an AAS Winner! Main Street Beale Street coleus is an outstanding variety exhibiting deep red foliage that holds its color extremely well in the garden. The rich color doesn’t fade, bleach or get spotty as the season moves into late summer. The lush, bushy plant grows uniformly and as a huge bonus, does not flower until very late in the season – up to 6 weeks later than the comparisons! A unique feature of this coleus is that it can be successfully grown from full sun to full shade, making it an ideal foliage item for anywhere in the garden. Growers, retailers, landscapers, and homeowners will all appreciate the beautiful color and uniform height of this coleus.

Available in plant form only.







Echinacea Sombrero Baja Burgundy
2020 AAS Herbaceous Perennial Winner

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Sombrero® Baja Burgundy will add a bold accent to sunny gardens with its vibrant, deep violet-red blossoms. The beautiful flower color is without equal among coneflowers and is perfect for cut flowers. After being trialed over three tough winters, the AAS Judges noted this standout’s hardiness, sturdy branching, and floriferous blooming habit. Birds and pollinators certainly flock to this deer-resistant beauty making it a dual-purpose plant. Gardeners will enjoy prolific blooms from mid-summer until the first frost.







Nasturtium Tip Top Rose
2020 AAS Flower Winner

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Tip Top Rose is a strong yet compact nasturtium with unique and showy rose-colored flowers showcased above medium green foliage. These 14×18” mounded plants were more floriferous than the comparisons varieties in the AAS trials, producing a bigger and better garden show. The uniquely colored flowers are a great addition to the nasturtium family especially since they don’t fade as they age. Judges described the color as “a warm, bright rose with less of the black undertones typical in nasturtium flowers.” Tip Top Rose remained healthy throughout the season. It makes a great winter annual in warmer climates and a spring annual in other areas, whether used in containers or in the landscape. The whole plant stayed uniform and healthy whereas other varieties struggled.  Bonus: This nasturtium is great for pollinator gardens and both the leaves and flowers are edible!







Rudbeckia x American Gold Rush
2020 AAS Herbaceous Perennial Winner

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​American Gold Rush’s bright, golden-yellow flowers with black centers and arched petals is a gorgeous addition to any garden. This compact, upright domed-shaped beauty has narrow 2-inch wide hairy foliage bred for its resistance to Septoria leaf spot. This hybrid shows no signs of the fungus even in wet, humid conditions. Blooming from July to September, with some color up until frost, this cultivar has smaller foliage and shorter height compared to other rudbeckia varieties. Incredibly easy to grow and pollinators love it. Destined to be the new rudbeckia staple for gardens and landscapes!

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