Terra Nova Nurseries' Begonia T Rex ‘Ruby Slippers’ variety received high honors at the Annual Flower Trial Garden at Colorado State University (CSU) and Agastache Poquito Butter Yellow and Begonia Silver Treasure plants won accolades from the Trial Gardens at the University of Georgia (UGA). The trials took place during the recent growing season, spanning May to October 2019.
Terra Nova’s Begonia T Rex ‘Ruby Slippers’ was selected as “Best Novelty” in the Annual Trial at CSU based on its vigor, uniformity, floriferousness, and tolerance to environmental and biotic stresses.
“Huge red leaves have silvery edges that make a great contrast for color and texture with other plants in the garden,” wrote CSU trial garden staff in a September newsletter. “Grown primarily for the foliage, it would make a very eye-catching plant for areas with dry shade and can be used in either the ground or containers.”
CSU’s 2019 “Best of” annuals were judged by select horticulture students, faculty, industry representatives, public horticulturalists, and advanced Master Gardeners August 6, and winners were determined by the trial garden’s advisory committee September 12.
This is the second year in a row that Terra Nova has won the “Best Novelty” award at CSU’s Annual Flower Trial Garden. In 2018, Artemisia Makana Silver was recognized.
Terra Nova’s Agastache Poquito Butter Yellow received the “Classic City Award” from the Trial Gardens at UGA September 20, 2019. This prestigious award was given to the top 13 varieties in the trial gardens, as determined by the trial gardens’ staff, based on year-round performance and eye-catching beauty.
“‘Butter Yellow’ brought it’s ‘A’ game to the garden with showy strong yellow flower spikes,” according to UGA trial gardens’ staff. “While many hyssops tend to blend into their surroundings due to wispy stems and leaves, this plant did not. Despite it being the shortest of the seven cultivars we trialed this year, ‘Butter Yellow’ stood out from the rest of the cultivars due to its bold visual appeal.”
Begonia Silver Treasure represented Terra Nova in the “Best of the Best” category. UGA awarded this achievement to the varieties that outlasted and outperformed most other plants in the trials. Begonia Silver Treasure has oblique, silver leaves and soft-pink flowers, with a large, dense and shrubby habit.
The CSU Annual Flower Trial Garden evaluates the performance of different annual plant cultivars under the unique Rocky Mountain environmental and growing conditions, characterized by high altitude, intense solar radiation, drying winds, severe hailstorms, large fluctuations between day and night temperatures, and a season-long need for irrigation.
The Trial Gardens at UGA are located on the University of Georgia’s south campus in Athens, Ga. The gardens trial the newest varieties of annuals from top plant breeders from all over the world and put perennials to the test to find those that stand up to southeastern heat and humidity.
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