Four New Varieties Earn AAS Winner Designation
All-America Selections recently announced four new AAS Winners for the 2021 garden season.
All AAS Winners are trialed throughout North America by professional, independent, volunteer judges who grow new, never-before-sold entries next to comparisons that are considered best-in-class. Only those entries that had superior garden performance better than the comparisons are granted the AAS award designation.
The newest set of AAS Winners are:
Echalion Crème Brulee (BGS-270) F1
AAS Edible Winner
Regional Winner: Southeast, Great Lakes, West/Northwest
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.
Bred by Bejo Seeds Inc. (Click link for order contact)
Leucanthemum Sweet Daisy Birdy
AAS Perennial Winner
Regional Winner: Mountain/Southwest
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.
Pepper Pot-a-peño F1
AAS Edible Winner
Regional Winner: Great Lakes and West/Northwest
Pot-a-peño 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.
Bred by PanAmerican Seed Company (Click link for order contact)
Zinnia Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor
AAS Ornamental from Seed Winner
GOLD MEDAL National Winner
“JUST SO CUTE! WOW, WOW WOW!” When multiple judges write comments like that, you know it’s a great entry! Introducing a gold-medal winning 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 bringing 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. (additional photos on next page)
Bred by Sakata Seed Corporation (Click link for order contact)
https://sakataornamentals.com/plantname/profusion
Growers, retailers and consumers will find these AAS Winners for sale as supply becomes available through the distribution chain. Click on the breeding company link below to email the breeder about ordering seed or cuttings. Garden communicators are free to begin writing about these varieties now to build demand.
NEW for 2020! Each of the newer AAS Winners are now featured in custom videos that can be found in social media posts and on the AAS YouTube channel.
All AAS Winners are marketed through social media, public relations and trade shows and are proudly grown in 190 AAS Display Gardens across North America. In addition, the AAS office creates and maintains a wide variety of marketing pieces and resources such as:
- Printable brochures can be downloaded here.
- AAS Display Gardens can be found here.
- NEW! AAS Introductions Gardens (for industry only) can be found here.
- Wholesale Sources are listed here.
- Retailers can request an All-America Selections Point-of-Purchase package from the AAS office.
- PowerPoint presentations are available on SlideShare or on the AAS website.
- Bench cards and variety markers can be downloaded from the AAS website.
Videos
