All-America Selection Winners for 2021

All-America Selections tests and introduces new flowers and vegetables each year that have done well in trials across North America.

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/2021/  

Vegetables
 Echalion Creme Brulee (BGS-270) F1
2021 AAS Edible - Vegetable Winner

​This echalion is the first-ever shallot to win the AAS Winner designation so it’s exciting to see such a beautiful and great tasting variety join the ranks. Growing a shallot from seed is fun and unexpectedly easy. Easy to peel, single-centered bulbs have a bright coppery pink outer skin and a pretty rosy-purple interior with thick rings. The sweet tender bulbs are earlier to mature than the comparisons and have a slight citrusy flavor when eaten raw. When caramelized, things get even better as the natural sugars are enhanced and do not leave any overpowering aftertastes. A fantastic variety for the home gardener as well as farm or fresh market growers.

---

Pepper Pot-a-peno F1
2021 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner

​Pot-a-peno is a fun new jalapeno pepper with a compact habit perfect for growing in containers and hanging baskets. Plentiful small, green jalapeño fruits have a traditional spicy zip that is great in any dish where you want a little punch of spice. Simply leave the fruit on the vine a few extra weeks and they will ripen to red for a sweet, spicy flavor. This variety is earlier to mature than other jalapenos giving you a head start on your garden’s harvest. A unique trait of Pot-a-peno is how the fruit hangs down beneath the plant making it very easy to harvest without damaging the appearance or productivity of the plant. A dense foliage canopy makes for an attractive addition to your patio or balcony garden.

---

Squash Goldilocks F1
2021 Edible – Vegetable Winner

​Once upon a time, there was an acorn squash named Goldilocks. In summer trials all across North America, the vigorous plant, high yield, disease tolerance, and rich nutty flavor of this variety had our judges saying, “Ahhh, this squash is just right!” like in the fairy tale. The bright orange fruits with uniform shape and color double as an ornamental decoration. Makes a great complement to AAS Winner Honey Bear acorn squash.

---

Flowers
Celosia Kelos® Candela Pink
2021 AAS Flower Winner

​You know it’s good when an AAS Judge calls an entry the “Energizer Bunny” that just kept blooming! Across the board, the judges loved the bright pink blooms that rose above the foliage, almost like a tall, tapered candle! Unique, showy plumes of pink flowers kept their color all season long and the judges agree that this is a perfect filler plant to add height and interest to a combination container planting. But it is also useful in mass plantings, borders, and general garden use. Another added bonus: it works as a dried flower.

Available in plant form only.

---

Leucanthemum Sweet Daisy Birdy
2021 AAS Perennial Winner

Sweet Daisy™ Birdy Leucanthemum is a beautiful perennial with robust, long-lasting blooms and carefree longevity in gardens down to zone 3. In the AAS Trials, it demonstrated excellent cold and heat tolerance and maintained a tidy, sturdy habit over the three-year trial. The cheery flowers are large and pure white in color, appearing earlier in the season than the comparison varieties. The 5″ reflexed daisy blooms feature small feathery petals around golden yellow button centers. Leucanthemums, also known as Shasta Daisies, are used for both cut flowers and garden highlights while also providing food and habitat for many kinds of pollinators. Enjoy this beauty in the garden as a medium-height bright spot (great for moonlight gardens) that will provide years of beauty with very little maintenance other than deadheading spent blooms if desired, but not necessary.

Available in plant form only.

---

Zinnia Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor
2021 AAS Flower Winner

​“JUST SO CUTE! WOW, WOW WOW!” When multiple judges write comments like that, it’s no surprise that it’s a Gold Medal Winner! Introducing…a beautiful new bicolor addition to the popular Profusion series of zinnias. This gorgeous zinnia starts the season with a bold vibrant red center ring surrounded by golden-yellow outer petals. As the season progresses, the aging flowers morph into soft, beautiful shades of apricot, salmon, and dusty rose to bring a plethora of color to the garden, all from one variety! Trial garden visitors clamored over this floriferous and compact plant during the summer trials noting how well the plant continued to bloom new flowers over old so there was never a decline in the beauty presented by Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor.

Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor is also the recipient of the Fleuroselect Gold Medal award for performance in European trials.  (Ward Upham)

---