Current Breeding Trends in Flowers & Vegetables

Marketing Organization•Founded 1920•Non-profit•Year of the program

• Annual• Perennial• Edible

•New Varieties•Garden Products•Growing for Futures

Trialing Organization•Founded 1932•Non-profit•Ornamentals

• From seed• From cuttings

•Edibles•Perennials

What Does it Take to Become an AAS Winner?

 

W. Ray HastingsAAS founder

Present:

All-America Selections continues as the oldest, most established independent testing organization in North America.

The Process, part 1

Breeder: new, never-before-sold variety

Comparison Committee

To Trial Judges

Seed from other

breeders

Germination, transplant

or direct-sow

AAS office for

processing

To be continued…

AAS Trial Sites

1932 •10 Flower Trial Sites•10 Vegetable Trial Sites

2015•45 Ornamental Trial Sites•27 Vegetable/Edible Trial Sites•18 Ornamental Vegetative Trial Sites•24 Perennial Trial Sites

AAS Trial Sites

AAS Trial Judges

AAS Trial Examples

‘Shiny Boy’‘Country‘Pink Oblong’

AAS Trial Examples

The Process, part 2

Garden Trials

Scoring and

Evaluations

Accountant

AAS Office

AAS Winner Announcement

AAS Board of Directors

The Awards

Marketing and Promotion

AAS Display Gardens

Over 180 gardens, 65 of them have displayed AAS winners

more than 30 years

Current Breeding Trends in Flowers & Vegetables

What’s “IN” when it comes to ornamental & edible breeding?

Pollinator Friendly Updated Heirlooms

Perennials as Annuals Ornamental Edibles

Foodie Delights Compactness

Personal Sized Fruits Disease Resistance

Unique or New Colors Drought and/or Heat Tolerant

Cold Tolerant

 

Pollinator Friendly

Plants Are REALLY “IN”

Challenge Americans to

plant 1 million pollinator

habitats by December

2016

millionpollinatorgardens.org/

BASIL HOLY

•Also known as Tulsi, this

revered basil makes a delicious

aromatic healthful tea

•Leaves and flowers have a

strong fruity, fragrance said to

combat stress

•Plants can be grown indoors

•Ocimum sanctum

DIGITALIS FOXLIGHT RUBY GLOW

•Great focal point all summer

long in gardens and containers

•Blooms face outward on tall

spikes for better flower display

•Perennial continues blooming

all summer in sun or partial

shade

•Digitalis hybrida

LOBELIA STARSHIP SCARLET

•Summer flowering perennial

zones 6a-10b thrives in full to

partial sun

•Produces masses of showy

flowers

•Attracts hummingbirds and

bees

•Lobelia x speciosa

LUPINE AVALUNE MIX

•Sweetly scented mix of blue,

pink, white and 2 bi-colors

•Compact plants bloom in early

spring with well-packed flower

spikes

•Prized border plant for full to

part-sun gardens and mass

plantings

•Lupinus hartwegii

SALVIA BLUE MARVEL

•Perennial Zones 4-10

•Largest flowers of all Salvia

nemorosa

•Upright, colorful spikes

attract pollinators early

spring through autumn

•Salvia nemorosa

SALVIA SUMMER JEWEL PINK

•Dwarf sized compact plant

with prolific blooms throughout

the summer

•Bees, butterflies and

hummingbirds love the larger

flowers

•Salvia coccinea

SALVIA SUMMER JEWEL RED

•Dwarf sized compact plant

with prolific blooms throughout

the summer

•Bees, butterflies and

hummingbirds love the larger

flowers

•Salvia coccinea

SALVIA SUMMER JEWEL WHITE

•Dwarf sized compact plant has

a prolific bloom count

throughout the summer

•Blooms earlier than other

white salvias

•Bees, butterflies and

hummingbirds love the larger

flowers

•Salvia coccinea

Updated Heirlooms Are “IN”

PUMPKIN CINDERELLA’S CARRIAGE F1

•Winner in (SE, HL & M/SW)

•First hybrid Cinderella-type

•Robust vines produce large

25-35 pound fruits with

sweet nutty flavor

•Large trailing vine sets up

to 5-7 fruit per plant

•Powdery Mildew resistance

•Cucurbita maxima

TOMATO CHEF’S CHOICE ORANGE F1

•Hybrid derived from popular

heirloom ‘Amana Orange’

•Superior taste and texture for an

early maturing orange tomato

•Intense color does not face or

discolor when cooked

•Large 5 foot tall plants are

indeterminate

•Solanum lycopersicon

TOMATO CHEF’S CHOICE PINK F1

•Large yields of 12-14 ounce

pink beefsteak tomatoes

•Perfect acid to sugar balance

make it a must for any home

chef

•Multiple Disease resistances

•Harvest 110 days from

transplanting

•Solanum lycopersicum

TOMATO HEIRLOOMMARRIAGE GENUWINE

•Distinctive heirloom look and

flavor

•Better garden performance

•Earlier and high yields, fewer

blemishes

•Cross between heirlooms

Costoluto Genovese and

Brandywine

•Solanum lycopersicum

PUMPKIN JARRAHDALE LARGE

•Attractive extremely uniform

and large fruits

•Superb eating qualities

•Fruits weigh from 12-18

pounds

•Long shelf life

•Yield 2-3 fruits per plant

•Cucurbita maxima

Using Perennials as

Annuals is “IN”

ECHINACEA CHEYENNE SPIRIT

•Wide range of brightly

colored flowers

•Durable, drought tolerant

plants

•Wind and rain resistant

•Echinacea hybrida

GAURA SPARKLE WHITE

•Perennial with exceptionally

long period of bloom

•Perfect mass planted in sunny

landscape beds or in large

containers

•Excellent heat tolerance and

more uniform flowering habit

•Gaura lindheimeri

PENSTEMON ARABESQUE RED

•Heartland, Mountain/Southwest &

West/Northwest Winner

•Season-long repeat bloomer

•Superior garden vigor and flowering

•Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies

•Perennial USDA Zone 6-9

•Penstemon hartwegii

Ornamental Edibles Are

“IN”

ARUGULA DRAGON’S TONGUE

•Delicious, bold, spicy flavor for

salads, stir-fries, pasta dishes,

pizzas and more

•Beautiful scalloped leaves with

striking red veins and midrib

•Full-sized leaves in about 6

weeks

•Ideal for containers

•Diplotaxis tenuifolia

BASIL DOLCE FRESCA

•Sweet tender leaves with

great Mediterranean taste

•Maintains an attractive

ornamental compact shape

perfect for containers,

borders or as a focal point

•Drought tolerant healthy 12-

14” plants

•Ocimum basilicum

CHIVES, GARLICGEISHA

•Mild “just-right” garlic flavor

•Vigorous perennial

•Edible ornamental with

attractive white flowers that

attract butterflies

•Great culinary herb for use in

stir-fries, soups, sauces,

infused oils or as a garnish

•Allium tuberosum

LETTUCE SANDY

•Attractive Oakleaf type with

sweet tasting frilly green leaves

•Use as cut and come again

baby leaf or grow to maturity for

loose salad heads

•Exceptional disease resistance

especially to powdery mildew

•Slow to bolt

•Lactuca sativa

MUSTARD GARNET RED

•Very deep red leaves right from

the first true leaf stage

•Excellent in mixes like shown in

photo

•Best planted in spring and fall

•Sow in garden or in containers

•Harvest in 40 days from sowing

seed

•Brassica japonica

PEA BLUE SHELLING

•Purple pods can be eaten as

snow peas

•Lovely flowers can cover a trellis

and attract pollinators

•Plant in either spring or fall for a

wonderful multi use pea crop

•Pisum sativum

PEPPER PRETTY N SWEET F1

•Harvest 1-ounce red, yellow and

orange peppers off the same

plant

•Excellent in containers, kitchen

garden or annual beds mixed with

flowers

•Harvest 105 days from sowing

seed

•Capsicum annuum

Foodie Delights Are

“IN”

BASIL PERSIAN

•HL, M/SW, W/NW Winner

•Large, vigorous organic plant

•Pleasant tasting leaves

•Great ornamental plant

•Late to produce flowers

•Attracts bees to your garden

•Ocimum basilicum

BEETAVALANCHE

•Excellent eating quality with

mild sweet taste

•Attractive uniform root shape

•Easy and quick to grow

•In just 50 days you can have

delicious white beets

•Sow in early spring/late

summer in well-drained soil

•Beta vulgaris

BROCCOLI ARTWORK F1

•Unique beautiful dark green

stem broccoli

•Easy-to-harvest tender and

tasty side shoots continue to

appear long into the season

•Harvest 10-20 stems per plant

•Bolt tolerant

•Brassica oleracea Italica

BRUSSELS SPROUTS HESTIA F1

•AAS Regional Winner (SE, M/SW)

•Erect plant maintains nice habit

•Up to 100 sprouts per plant

•Harvest 100 days from

transplant

•Flavor improves when

temperatures dip into the 30’s

•Brassica oleracea

CUCAMELON MOUSE MELON

•Mexican Sour Gherkin

•Fruits taste similar to

cucumbers with a hint of

tartness

•May be eaten fresh or pickled

•Can be grown on a trellis, in a

container or hanging basket

•Melothria scabra

PAK CHOI BOPAK F1

•Northeast, Great Lakes,

Mountain/Southwest

•Tender leaves and crisp sweet

stalks taste great raw or cooked

•Classy 8-inch plant makes an

attractive “thriller” for patio

pots

•Early - 60 days from sowing

seed

•Brassica rapa chinensis

PEA PARSLEY PEA GARNISH

•Specially bred for its leafy

tendrils

•Bold-beautiful tendrils for

garnish/salads

•Harvest a few days after

tendrils form

•Don’t allow to over mature

•Pisum sativum

PEPPER HOT SUNSET

•Delicious and spicy (650

Scoville units) wax pepper

•Prolific and earlier harvest

of fruits 7.25 x 1.5 inches

•15-20 fruits per plant

•Disease resistance to

Xanthomonas Campestris

Race 1-3 (X3R), and

Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

•Capsicum annuum

PEPPER SWEET SUNSET

•SE, HL, W/NW Winner

•Sweet banana pepper

•High yielding X3R variety

•Colorful tasty peppers ripen

from light yellow to red

•Harvest 2 ounce fruit 85-90

days from transplanting

•Resistant to Xanthomonas

campestris races 1-3 (X3R)

•Capsicum annuum

PEPPER GIANT RISTRA

•Mountain/Southwest Winner

•Bright red very hot 7-inch chile

pepper can be strung and displayed

throughout the winter

•Enjoy fresh, roasted or dried and used

as an herb

•Harvest 110 days from sowing seed

•Resistant to Tobacco mosaic virus

•Capsicum annuum

PEPPER TASTY HABANERO SABROSO

•Tasty heat! Between 250,000-

350,000 Scoville heat units

•1-2” fruit ripens to a brilliant

orange at 85-95 days on plants

32” tall

•Can be used in salsa, chili, or

dried and crushed for dish

toppings

•Capsicum annuum

Compactness is “IN”

BEAN MASCOTTE F1

•Dwarf French extra fine bean

•Adapted for window boxes and

pots as well as the garden

•Straight, long, round and

delicately crisp string-less pods

•High disease resistance to

Bean Mosaic Virus, anthranosis

& Pseudomonas

•Phaseolus vulgaris

CUCUMBERPICK A BUSHEL F1

•Heartland and Great Lakes Winner

•Pickling cucumber which can be

harvested at the gherkin or spear

stage and processed

•Also enjoy fresh in salads and slaws

•Semi-bush plants can be planted in

the garden or in patio containers

•Heat tolerant, large yields

•Cucumis sativus

CRAPE MYRTLEMIDNIGHT MAGIC

•Compact variety 4-6’ tall/wide

•Superb purple-maroon foliage

•Dark pink flowers July-

September

•Full sun perennial to Zone 6

•Resistant to Cercospora leaf

spot and powdery mildew

•Lagerstroemia indica

DISTYLIUM LINEBACKER

•Compact upright evergreen

matures to an excellent

screening and hedge plant

•Reddish new growth matures to

lustrous dark green

•Full sun to moderate shade

perennial Zone 7 with excellent

disease resistance

•Distylium myricoides

GERANIUM NANO VIOLET F1

•New vibrant violet color to Nano

series

•Continuously produces large

clusters of flowers abundantly

all season

•Compact habit ideal for

containers and window boxes

•Dark handsome petite foliage

•Pelargonium hortorum

ORNAMENTAL PEPPER MAMBO

YELLOW RED & PURPLE ORANGE

PRIMULA DANESSA

•Earliest flowering acaulis

•Diminutive 2-3 inch plant

blooms in early spring

•Maintains a compact habit

•Can also be enjoyed as a

houseplant

•Available in 9 colors

•Primula acaulis

Smaller Fruit Sizes Are

“IN”

•Northeast Region Winner

•Harvest fruits at baby size

at 2 to 3 inches

•Compact habit makes it

great for containers

•Thornless leaves allow for

painless harvesting and

make it child-friendly too

•Solanum melongena

EGGPLANT PATIO BABY F1

PUMPKIN CINNAMON GIRL

PMR F1

•Beautiful ornamental with

excellent eating quality

•Short vines produce 3-4 fruits

per plant

•Pumpkins average 3-6 pounds

•Moderate resistance to

powdery mildew

•Cucurbita pepo

PUMPKIN KANDY KORN PLUS

•Small but mighty!

•Attractive 1-pound fruit with

handles sturdy enough for kids

to carry around

•Bushy plants show

intermediate resistance to

powdery mildew

•Early maturing (85 days)

•Cucurbita pepo

SQUASH BUTTERSCOTCH F1

•Small-fruited butternut with

unusually sweet taste

•Compact space saving vine

resists powdery mildew

•Harvest 100 days from sowing

seed

•Cucurbita moschata

WATERMELON FAERIE

•Unique yellow skin

•Deep red sweet flesh

•Personal sized fruits, 4-

6 lbs.

•Citrullus lanatus

Disease Resistance

is “IN”

Cucumber Persian Gherkin F1

•Northeast, M/SW Winner

•Crisp sweet flavored pickling

cucumber which processes well

•Pick at midget or gherkin size

•Enjoy fresh in salads and slaws

•Can be planted in staked patio

container or in the garden

•Organic and disease resistant

•Cucumis sativus

Tomato Fantastico F1

•Very flavorful unique determinate

bush tomato

•Each plant produces up to 12

pounds – about 350 glossy red ½

ounce grape shaped fruit

•Can be grown in an 18” hanging

basket or large patio container

•Resists cracking

•Solanum lycopersicum

Tomato Mountain Merit F1

•Heartland Regional Winner

•All-around tomato perfect for

slicing and sandwiches

•Dark red fruits grow on a

compact uniform plant

•Good resistance to multiple

diseases common to home

grown tomatoes

•Solanum lycopersicum

IMPATIENS BOUNCE PINK FLAME

•Highly resistant to Downy Mildew

•Strong-performer for shade and

sun gardens spring through fall

•Massive amount of stunning

blooms

•Shorter and compact, ideal for

hanging baskets or patio pots

•Impatiens hybrida

SUNPATIENS ® SPREADING SHELL PINK

•Truly unique genetic

background delivers

unsurpassed performance

•Vigorous spreading plants

keep their shape all summer

•Thrives under high heat, rain

and humidity in full sun as well

as shade

•Impatiens x hybrida hort

Unique/New Colors Are

“IN”

CANNA CANNOVA YELLOW

•Sun loving annual 30-48 inches

tall blooms from late spring to

late summer

•Cannova series includes

Bronze Scarlet, Red Shades

and Rose

•Canna generalis

DAHLIA XXL SUNSET

•Boasts huge 4-inch bicolor

blooms

•Striking color pattern and

colors

•Blooms late spring to frost

•Dahlia grandiflora

PETUNIA EASY WAVE

VELOUR BURGUNDY

•Vigorous, mounding spreading

habit

•Prolific 2.5”-3” blooms cover

the plants

•Flowers have a special sheen

that offers a three dimensional

appearance

•Petunia hybrida

PETUNIA TIDAL WAVE VELOUR RED

•Spreading petunia with deep,

dark texture and fashion-forward

color

•Perfect patio centerpiece display

or trailing from hanging baskets

•Give it sun and feed it regularly

for lush vigorous blooms through

the summer

•Petunia hybrida

SCAEVOLA SURDIVA VARIEGATED BLUE

•First scaevola with variegated

foliage

•Extremely heat tolerant plant

provides continuous color all

summer

•Tidy compact appearance and

exceptional flower coverage

•Scaevola aemula

Squash Bossa Nova F1

•Summer squash with a

beautiful pronounced

mottled exterior

•Smooth flesh texture and

sweeter, mild taste

•Compact plants produce

fruits earlier in the season

•Long and prolific harvest

•Cucurbita pepo

ZINNIA ZINDERELLA PEACH

•Shades of salmon, peach,

pink and cream accented with

a dark eye

•Striking scabiosa-shaped

blooms with full mounded tops

•Excellent as cut flower, very

easy to grow, and disease

resistant

•Zinnia elegans

Drought & Heat

Tolerance is “IN”

AGASTACHE ARIZONA SANDSTONE, SUN AND SUNSET

•First year flowering, drought tolerant perennial hardy to zone 6

•Abundant flower spikes loaded with blooms

•Agastache x hybrida

ANGELONIA SERENITA PINK F1

•Elegant yet tough plants with

long-lasting color

•Compact, shorter plant height

8-12”

•Tolerant to heat and dry

conditions

•Performs best in full to part

sun

•Angelonia angustifolia

Dianthus Interspecific Jolt Pink F1

•Large brightly colored showy

flower heads on strong stems

•Performs extremely well all

summer long

•Easy to grow and trouble-free

•Neat and tidy low-maintenance

annual flower

•Dianthus barbatus interspecific

LOBULARIA YOLO WHITE

•Great heat tolerance makes it

a wise choice from early spring

until frost

•Adds fragrance and clear

white color to mixed plantings,

containers and baskets

•Gorgeous groundcover

•Lobularia maritima

GERANIUM BIG EZEE RED

•Bred for the heat

•Vigorous grower loaded with

huge 3” bright red flowers

•Perfect in mixed plantings, and

also stands strong on its own

•Blooms late spring to frost

•Pelargonium x hortorum

PETUNIA TRILOGY RED F1

•New vibrant rich red color

addition to the series

•Compact dome-shaped habit

sports large non-fading blooms

all season long

•Upright blooms provide a

constant mass of color in beds,

baskets and containers

•Petunia x atkinsiana

VERBENA ENDURASCAPE HOT PINK

•Tougher verbena - hardy in frost

conditions and doesn’t cycle out

of flower in the heat

•Perennial great for hillsides,

ground covers and retaining walls

•Excellent powdery mildew

resistance

•Verbena hybrida

VIOLA COLORMAX

•Giant flowers fill out

containers with tremendous

color in spring and fall

•Perfect for pots, baskets and

containers

•Heat tolerant

•Available in 10 colors

•Viola hybrid

VIOLA CORINA BLACK F1

•Novelty black-flowered viola 6-

8” tall spreading 10-12” wide

•Very frost tolerant so ideal for

early spring and fall plantings

•More heat tolerant, so lasts

longer into the warmer time of

the year

•Viola cornuta

Cold Tolerance

is also “IN”

DIANTHUS DIANA CRIMSON PICOTEE IMPROVED

•Great for early spring & fall

gardens; plants tolerate light

freezes

•Full sun to partial sun locations

•Showy bi-color blooms

dominate the vigorous low

growing plants 8-10” tall

•Excellent for mixed containers

•Dianthus chinensis

PANSY COOL WAVESUNSHINE ’N WINE

•Vigorous spreading pansy

•Adds dramatic color to spring,

late summer, and autumn patios

& pots

•Great in combos and as a

groundcover

•Biennial to Zone 5 with superior

overwintering hardiness

•Viola wittrockiana

PERICALLIS SENETTI BLUE EYE

•Thrives in lower temperatures

•Large, daisy-like flowers

provide high-impact color in

early spring

•12 bright colors

•Full sun to part shade annual

•Cut plants back 50% for a

fresh flush of blooms

•Pericallis hybrida

ROSE ABOVE AND BEYOND

•New large-flowered climber is

for colder climates to zone 3

•Clusters of 5 or more buds open

as semi-double to double

flowers

•Dependable climber or free-

standing shrub in colder regions

•Prolific flowering

•Very resistant to fungal

diseases

Now you’re part of the “IN” crowd!

OUR WEBSITES

www.ngb.org

www.aaswinners.com

www.all-americaselections.org

THANK YOU!