America Selections introduces nine exciting AAS winners for the 2016 garden season

Anyone watching the movements of All-America Selections lately will notice an ever-increasing number of exciting and wonderful plants that are being named AAS Winners. This November announcement is no different with nine new plants that have been trialed by horticulture experts throughout North America and deemed worthy of the All-America Selections® brand.

All of the following new varieties were trialed during the 2015 growing season and exhibited outstanding garden performance as noted in each of the following descriptions.

This grouping of AAS Winners for 2016 includes:

With this announcement, these varieties become available for immediate sale to the commercial market. Brokers and growers can purchase these varieties immediately. Retailers and consumers will find these Winners for sale for the 2016 gardening season as supply gradually becomes available throughout the chain of distribution. Garden communicators are free to begin writing about these varieties now, in preparation for next year’s gardens.

The first group of AAS Winners for 2016 was announced this past July and are also interesting additions for the consumer’s gardens and table:

Bunching Onion Warrior (Regional Winner Southeast, Mountain/Southwest)

Mizuna Red Kingdom F1 (National Winner)

Radish Sweet Baby F1 (Regional Winner Southeast, Great Lakes)

A complete list of trial grounds and the judges behind our awards can be found here.

A complete list of all AAS Winners since 1932 can be found here. Note that this list of AAS Winners can be sorted by Flowers from Seed, Flowers from Cuttings, and Vegetables.

Striking foliage with large double blooms of cherry pink make Geranium Brocade Cherry Night an AAS Winner this year. Gardeners looking for unique and distinct foliage to accent their containers and gardens will be delighted with Brocade Cherry Night. The bronze leaves with green margins are a remarkable and unusual addition to any design. Add the double bright cherry blooms and this heat tolerant geranium is your winner for any planter, container or garden!

Bred by Dummen Orange

Genus species: Pelargonium hortorum

Common name: Geranium

Unique qualities: Novelty geranium prized for its bright foliage. The shiny bronze foliage looks great in the shade or in contrast with green leaved plants.

Flower color: Cherry Pink

Foliage color: Shiny bronze with green margin

Flower size: 5 inch 

Plant height: 16 inches

Plant type: Annual

Garden location: Full sun to shade in well drained soil

Garden spacing: 16 inches

Closest comparisons on market: Mrs. Pollack, Vancouver Centennial 



This 2016 AAS Winner, Geranium Brocade Fire, has unique bi-color foliage with a nonstop display of orange flowers that gives it an exceptional look in any garden. Geranium Brocade Fire is ideal for combination planters, landscapes and garden beds. This robust plant keeps its distinguishing foliage color and brilliant blooms throughout the hot summers then becomes a fantastic transitional flower going into fall. The orange flowers contrast with the striking foliage making this geranium a much appreciated and talked about new annual winner.

Bred by Dummen Orange

Genus species: Pelargonium hortorum

Common name: Geranium

Unique qualities: Novelty geranium prized for its bright foliage. The lime green foliage looks great in the shade or in contrast with dark leaved plants.

Flower color: Orange

Foliage color: Chartreuse and Bronze with zoning

Flower size: 5 inch 

Plant height: 16 inches

Plant type: Annual

Garden location: Full sun to shade in well drained soil

Garden spacing: 16 inches

Closest comparisons on market: Mrs. Pollack, Vancouver Centennial 

“DOUBLE YUM” was one judge’s response to our new AAS Winner Cornito Giallo F1 pepper, “The flavor on this one is totally a winner!” Starting as small green fruits, this AAS Winner develops into bright yellow jewels with a delicious sweet and fruity flavor. The peppers themselves are plentiful and durable, yet easy to eat fresh. Being an early bloomer, you will be able to enjoy these peppers throughout the growing season and well into the fall. Plant Cornito Giallo F1 in your garden this year and you can join our judges in exclaiming “YUM!”

Breed by Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Genus species: Capsicum annuum

Common name: Pepper

Fruit flavor: Sweet Italian frying pepper with outstanding flavor raw, cooked and fire-roasted

Fruit size: 6 inch x 2 inch

Fruit shape: Cone

Fruit color: Yellow

Plant color: Green

Plant type: Annual

Plant height: 24-36 inches

Plant habit: Upright

Garden location: Full sun

Garden spacing: 18 inches

Length of time to harvest: 75 days from transplant

Closest comparisons on market: Yellow Crest F1, Mama Mia Giallo F1

A wonderful sweet taste on a golden yellow pepper makes Pepper Escamillo F1, one of our 2016 AAS Winners. An early bearing pepper plant with a compact habit makes it an ideal choice for any home garden. Gardeners will be captivated with the high yield of peppers per plant and how the fruit itself is held off the ground for easy picking and less rotting. This plant is a winner with its all around qualities of excellent taste either raw, cooked or fire roasted, its compact size and high yield.

 

Bred by Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Genus species: Capsicum annuum

Common name: Pepper

Fruit flavor: Sweet Italian frying pepper with outstanding flavor raw, cooked and fire-roasted

Fruit size: 8 inches x 2.5 inches

Fruit shape: Cone

Fruit color: Yellow

Plant color: Green

Plant type: Annual

Plant height: 36 inches

Plant habit: Upright

Garden location: Full sun

Garden spacing: 18 inches

Length of time to harvest: 77 days from transplant

Closest comparisons on market: Mama Mia Giallo F1, Big Daddy F1

Love the look of white pumpkins for your fall holiday décor? Then you will love our first-ever white pumpkin AAS Regional Winner Super Moon F1. Our judges loved the nice, eye-appealing ghostly white coloration on the large, blemish-free round pumpkins. Grown for their size, up to 50 lbs, and their clean white color, these hardy plants are known for their early fruit development and vigorous growth. Their stems are tough, hardy, disease-resistant and unstoppable! When done decorating with these beauties, consider trying the yellow flesh for roasting or in your fall harvest soups.

Bred by Seeds By Design Inc.

Genus species: Cucurbita maxima

Common name: Pumpkin

Fruit flavor: Pale yellow flesh that can be eaten or baked

Fruit size: 15-18 inches 

Fruit shape: Round slightly elongated large

Fruit color: White

Plant color: Dark Green

Plant type: Annual

Plant height: 15-16 inches

Plant habit: Requires space for large trailing vines

Garden location: Full sun

Garden spacing: 2-3 feet

Length of time to harvest: 90 days from sowing seed

Closest comparisons on market: Polar Bear F1, New Moon F1

The fourth AAS Winner in the Summer Jewel™ series of popular AAS Salvia Winners is the newest in color, Summer Jewel™ Lavender. The unique flower color of dusty lavender purple is a delight in the garden and flower containers as well as a major attractor of pollinators including bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. An extra bonus is how much the Goldfinch loves these flower seeds in the fall. It’s a photo-ready moment when these complementary colors of gold and lavender connect! The early blooming, stable, compact uniform growth, and continuous flowering of this plant are additional positives to this plant.

Bred by Takii & Co. Ltd

Genus species: Salvia coccinea

Common name: Texas Sage

Unique qualities: Flowers very early and continues blooming until frost. Plants stay compact at no more than 18 inches when mature. Summer Jewel™ Lavender is the first lavender colored form of Salvia coccinea.

Flower color: Lavender

Foliage color: Green

Flower size: 0.5 inch 

Plant height: 10-18 inches

Plant type: Annual

Garden location: Full sun in well drained soil

Garden spacing: 10-12 inches

Closest comparisons on market: Summer Jewel™ Pink 

What’s not to like about our first ever AAS strawberry winner Strawberry Delizz® F1? These vigorous strawberry plants are easy to grow, from seed or transplant, and produce an abundant harvest throughout the growing season. The best part though is the wonderful sweet strawberry burst of flavor from every handpicked berry. To enjoy fresh home-grown strawberries throughout the season, even in hot summer heat, look to Strawberry Delizz® F1. These plants have a nice uniform and compact size making them perfect for containers, hanging baskets or garden plots. The hardest part of Strawberry Delizz® F1 won’t be the growing but having some strawberries left for anyone else to enjoy!

Bred by ABZ Seeds

Genus species: Fragaria x ananassa

Common name: Strawberry

Fruit flavor: Sweet, aromatic

Fruit size: 1.5 inches 

Fruit shape: Conical

Fruit color: Orange 

Plant color: Dark green

Plant type: Annual

Plant height: 14 inches

Plant habit: Compact, upright

Garden location: Full sun

Garden spacing: 20 inches

Length of time to harvest: 120 days from sowing seed, 60 days from transplant

Closest comparisons on market: Sarian, Loran

Tomato Candyland Red is the only AAS award winning currant-type tomato. Currant tomatoes are smaller in size than cherry-type and are ready to “pop” in your mouth straight from the garden. Gardeners will appreciate the dark red, sweet flavored fruit that can be enjoyed throughout the season. The tomato plant itself has a nice tidier habit than other currant-type plants with the fruit tending to form on the outside of the plant making them easier to harvest. 

Bred by PanAmerican Seed Company

Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum

Common name: Currant tomato

Fruit taste: Sweet and rich

Fruit size: 0.5 inches

Fruit shape: Round currant

Fruit color: Red

Plant height: 5-7 feet

Plant width/spread: 3-4 feet

Plant habit: Requires staking, indeterminate

Garden location: Full sun

Garden spacing: 2-4 feet

Number of fruits: Hundreds

Length of time to harvest: 95 days from seed, 55 days from transplant

Closest comparisons on market: Sweet Pea, Matt’s Wild Cherry

Looking for a uniquely colored yet delicious tomato with which to impress your foodie friends? Then look no further than this AAS Winner, Tomato Chef’s Choice Green F1. The newest addition to the Chef’s Choice series produces beautiful green colored fruits with subtle yellow stripes and a wonderful citrus-like flavor and perfect tomato texture. You’ll enjoy this disease free plant throughout the season with its dark green leaves and well-behaved form. You’ll be the envy of all your tomato loving friends!

Bred by Seeds By Design Inc.

Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum

Common name: Tomato

Fruit taste: Sweet and tangy

Fruit size: 6-7 inches

Fruit shape: Flattened deep globe

Fruit color: Green

Plant height: 4-5 feet

Plant width/spread: 24 inches

Plant habit: Indeterminate – requires staking

Garden location: Full sun

Garden spacing: 18-20 inches

Number of fruits: 30 plus

Length of time to harvest: 90 days from transplant

Closest comparisons on market: Fried Green F1, Aunt Ruby’s Green