Extension

There’s no guarantee in gardening, but gardeners looking for hardy plants should take note of the All-American Selections winners for 2023. AAS winners offer gardeners reliable new varieties that have proven their superior garden performance across North America.

 

Selections that made it to the National Winners List this year include six plants – two vegetables and four flower/foliage. Vegetables are a squash (kobocha Sweet Jade F1) and a pepper (jalapeno San Joaquin F1); and the flowers are a coleus (Premium Sun Coral Candy), Colocasia (Royal Hawaiian® Waikiki), snapdragon (DoubleShot Orange Bicolor F1) and a perennial salvia (Blue by You).

 

All-America Selections was founded in 1932 and continues as the oldest independent testing organization in North America. Every year, new, never-before-sold varieties are trialed, and professional horticulturists determine which varieties will be deemed winners based on their garden performance.

 

In addition to trial gardens, there are multiple display gardens that highlight recent and some past winners. The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University is one of the many display gardens. When visiting the gardens located just west of Stillwater, Oklahoma, look for the AAS signage indicating winners.

 

All-America Selections national and regional winners have been tested for garden performance by a panel of expert judges. Varieties that perform best over all of North America become AAS National Winners. Entries that performed particularly well in certain regions are named AAS Regional Winners. These selections offer gardeners reliable new varieties that have proven their superior garden performance.

 

Oklahoma falls into the southwest region according to the AAS site, but plants in the southeast region will likely do well too. Plants designated as regional winners of southwest and southeast include a couple more perennials, including Echinacea Artisan Yellow Ombre F1 and Leucanthemum Carpet Angel. A vegetable winner in the southwest region included Pepper cayenne Wildcat F1.

 

All of these winners were trialed next to similar varieties currently on the market. The AAS judges do a side-by-side analysis of growth habit, disease resistance and more to determine if these entries were truly better than those already available to home gardeners. Only those flower entries with superior garden performance or the vegetables with superior taste and garden performance are given the AAS stamp of approval.

 

When purchasing an AAS winner, gardeners know it has been put through its paces by an independent, neutral trialing organization and has been judged by experts in their field. Consider this a stamp of approval. AAS Winners are bred and produced without using genetic engineering, commonly referred to as genetic modification or GMO.

 

A complete list of all AAS winner since 1932 is available online.