Photo courtesy of University of Minnesota
The following varieties were recognized as top-10 finishers in the University of Minnesota’s trial garden results. Plant descriptions are courtesy of the university.
Begonia x benariensis BIG Pink Bronze Leaf offers striking, continuous flowers which cover the plant with vibrant color throughout the summer with no deadheading. Has sturdy flower stems that hold flowers above the lush foliage. Performed equally superior in the garden as well as in a large container; well-suited for sun or shade.
Calibrachoa Cabaret Good Night Kiss has an attractive eye-catching flower pattern featuring a star center. This semi-trailing Calibrachoa has excellent garden performance and grows evenly and uniformly in a large hanging basket.
Calibrachoa Superbellsn Watermelon Punch out of the nearly 20 calibrachoa we trialed in 2019, this was our favorite. Provides continuous, abundant coral pink with black eye flowers all season long. Watermelon Punch proves to have a higher tolerance to the fungal diseases that often can affect Calibrachoa (pictured).
Coleus Heartbreaker is outstanding in both a large container and in the garden landscape. This low maintenance yet vigorous coleus doesn’t fade; it’s bright lime green and raspberry colored foliage stayed true throughout the growing season. Heartbreaker is easy to grow, very uniform in growth and performs equally well in sun or shade. It’s also a perfect complement to other plants in the landscape.
Impatiens Beacon Salmon grown from seed, this Impatiens thrived in a hanging basket in our semi-shaded area. Of the six Beacon series impatiens in our 2019 trial, this variety has more vigor than the other five. These low-maintenance plants are perfect for gardeners looking for impatiens that offer high resistance to downy mildew disease.
Marigold Big Duck Orange is an AAS winner that bloomed throughout the entire growing season. Four-inch, full double orange blooms paired with clean, deep-green foliage provided a stunning display during the summer. This marigold is perfect for the gardener looking for an easy-to-grow annual from seed.
Petunia ColorRush Pink produced a prolific number of eye-catching blooms all season-long. Its leaves remained clean and green in color throughout the season. ColorRush Pink fills a three-foot space with exceptional no-fade color, all without spreading out of control.
Petunia Supertunia Mini Vista Indigo IMP is another cultivar that does very well in both a large container and in a garden bed. Mini Vista™ Indigo was completely covered in blue-purple flowers all season long. Maintenance is easy with this annual. They are self-cleaning with no deadheading necessary.
Verbena Endurascape Pink BicolorVerbena EnduraScape Pink Bicolor is a continual long-blooming verbena that was named an AAS winner in 2017. EnduraScape Pink Bicolor makes for an exceptional edging along a walkway or border. Its soft pink blossoms are a real eye-catcher.
Zinnia Magellan Pink is a vigorous variety that had good disease tolerance during our wetter than normal 2019 growing season. Magellan Pink is a compact bushy plant, 12-18 inches high and 15-18 inches wide and is smothered all season with daisy-formed blooms. Plant in large groupings for best effect. For optimum performance, plant zinnias in a well-drained garden soil.
Click here to see the full results of the trial and view past year’s results.