New England is known for its tough winters and beautiful, if short, summers. We collected the top performing plants at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and D.S. Cole Greenhouses in New Hampshire. There are several perennials included in the photo gallery, along with the expected annuals.
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Dahlia 'Mystic Illusion' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Mystic Illusion' has great contrast between the yellow flowers and black foliage during a long blooming season.
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Dianthus 'Jolt Pink' from PanAmerican Seed (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Jolt Pink' is a trouble-free cultivar that received the 2015 AAS Bedding Plant award for a renewed blooming with strong stems.
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Lantana 'Luscious Pinkberry Blend' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Luscious Pinkberry Blend' has an abundance of bicolor flowers all season and great vigor.
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Petunia 'Supertunia Morning Glory Charm' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Petunia ‘Tidal Wave Red Velour’ from PanAmerican Seed (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: Another AAS awarded cultivar in 2015, a very vigorous and very florific plant that still looks great at the end of the season.
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Sedum 'Lemon Coral' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Lemon Coral' is a vigorous yellow stonecrop with a dense uniform foliage, great in containers.
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Verbena bonariensis ‘Meteor Shower’ from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Meteor Shower' is a very florific cultivar with sturdy and shorter stems.
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Verberna 'Superbena Sparkling Amethyst' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Zinnia 'Double Zahara Salmon Rose' from PanAmerican Seed (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: The whole Zahara collection performed great, offering a generous blooming all season long, it performed best in the ground and in full sun location. Special mention to 'Double Zahara Fire' and 'Double Zahara Salmon Rose' (shown here).
A Top 10 Annuals for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Dicentra 'Amore Pink' from Terra Nova (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Echinacea 'Supreme Elegance' from Blooms of Bressingham (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Heliopsis 'Double Sunstruck' from Darwin Perennials (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: Both 'Sunstruck' and 'Double Sunstruck' (shown here), were picked for their unique variegated foliage.
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Heuchera 'Grape Soda' from Terra Nova (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Grape Soda' overwintered very well, especially compared to other tried cultivars like 'Georgia Plum' and 'Coco', and has a healthy purple foliage with darker veins.
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Heuchera 'Forever Purple' from Terra Nova (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Forever Purple' overwintered perfectly and offers a unique vigorous vibrant glossy purple foliage all season long.
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Lobelia 'Grape Knee High' from Blooms of Bressingham (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Monarda didyma 'Balmy Lilac' from Darwin Perennials (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Balmy Lilac' is a long blooming, short plant that bees love.
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Tradescantia 'Morning Grace' from North Creek (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Vernonia lettermannii 'Iron Butterfly' from North Creek (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
Massachusetts Horticultural Society: 'Iron Butterfly' is a unique short ironweed with a thin airy foliage that will give a natural look to your garden.
A Top 10 Perennials for Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
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Alstroemeria 'Inca Yuko' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: The Inca series performed better than expected through the heat of the summer. The best performer in the garden was 'Inca Yuko,' which continued to flower until frost. This variety is slightly more vigorous than others with a finished garden height of about 24 inches.
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Begonia 'Autumn Embers' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: This new introduction from Cultivaris caught consumer’s eyes over and over with the orange/bronze leaves rarely seen in Rex Begonia. The leaves are smaller and the growth slightly slower than the typical Rex varieties. They need to be protected from direct sunlight.
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Begonia 'Paso Doble' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: This new variety has a similar pattern of the old variety, ‘Merry Christmas’ with a much better growth habit. This was a big hit due to the great contrast in colors and consistent medium size leaves. They can be grown in both big and small pot sizes.
* Rated a "best introduction" by D.S. Cole.
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Coleus 'Main Street Wall Street' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: The rich orange color was consistent throughout the summer. The growth was similar to most varieties in the series and slightly more vigorous. It pairs well with ‘Oxford Street’, ‘Broad Street’, and ‘Fifth Avenue’.
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Canna 'Cannova Lemon' from Ball Ingenuity (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: The flowers of this variety are a soft yellow. They are fine, but the main attraction is the bronze foliage on a seed grown variety. Since the variety is seed grown, two features make this a worthy new variety. The crop is clean of virus and it is easier to time the flowering of the crop versus a crop produced from rhizomes.
* Rated a "best introduction" by D.S. Cole.
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Gerbera 'Patio Acadia' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: In the past, the white Gerbera in this special series had a tendency to fade to a pink color. This new variety is pure white from beginning to end. The Patio series is meant to be grown outside throughout the summer. The flower stems are long and can be used for cuts by homeowners. The series is produced from tissue culture.
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Impatiens 'Bounce Pink Flame' from Selecta (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: The Bounce Impatiens performed well in both sun and shade, but it is the shade and partial shade setting where they were show stoppers. They had a mounded habit that is not too tall. Flowers covered the plants until frost.
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Petunia 'Supercal Light Yellow' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: Many customers thought these were a new petunia. The growth was more controlled than the older Supercal varieties. They had a nice mounded habit with clean color that did not fade. As with other Supercals, they are not as fussy as a typical petunia or calibrachoa when it comes to nutrition. The foliage is easy to keep rich green as long as the substrate has a reasonably good pH and EC.
* Rated a "best introduction" by D.S. Cole.
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Petunia 'Night Sky' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: This is probably the most talked about new variety in the trials. There have been discussions about the stability of the flower color pattern, but in our New England location we found the pattern to be consistent throughout the summer. We had trials in both full sun and partial shade to see if sunlight made a difference. The results were the same in both locations.
* Rated a "best introduction" by D.S. Cole.
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'SunPatiens White Improved' from Sakata (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
D.S. Cole: Each year the Sunpatiens have improved. Of all the varieties grown, Sunpatiens White has the ideal habit that growers want with strong perfectly mounded growth, and clean white flowers which are always in bloom.
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Dahlia 'Mystic Illusion' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Dianthus 'Jolt Pink' from PanAmerican Seed (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Lantana 'Luscious Pinkberry Blend' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Petunia 'Supertunia Morning Glory Charm' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Petunia ‘Tidal Wave Red Velour’ from PanAmerican Seed (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Sedum 'Lemon Coral' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Verbena bonariensis ‘Meteor Shower’ from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Verberna 'Superbena Sparkling Amethyst' from Proven Winners (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Zinnia 'Double Zahara Salmon Rose' from PanAmerican Seed (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Dicentra 'Amore Pink' from Terra Nova (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Echinacea 'Supreme Elegance' from Blooms of Bressingham (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Heliopsis 'Double Sunstruck' from Darwin Perennials (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Heuchera 'Grape Soda' from Terra Nova (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Heuchera 'Forever Purple' from Terra Nova (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Lobelia 'Grape Knee High' from Blooms of Bressingham (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Monarda didyma 'Balmy Lilac' from Darwin Perennials (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Tradescantia 'Morning Grace' from North Creek (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Vernonia lettermannii 'Iron Butterfly' from North Creek (2015 Massachusetts Horticultural Society Field Trials)
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Alstroemeria 'Inca Yuko' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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Begonia 'Autumn Embers' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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Begonia 'Paso Doble' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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Coleus 'Main Street Wall Street' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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Canna 'Cannova Lemon' from Ball Ingenuity (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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Gerbera 'Patio Acadia' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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Impatiens 'Bounce Pink Flame' from Selecta (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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Petunia 'Supercal Light Yellow' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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Petunia 'Night Sky' (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
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'SunPatiens White Improved' from Sakata (2015 D.S. Cole Growers Field Trials)
Before viewing the photo gallery, here are a few notes about how each trial was conducted and the growing conditions.
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Massachusetts Horticultural Society, University of Massachusetts, and Massachusetts Flower Growers’ Association
The New England Trial Garden was established at Elm Bank, Wellesley, MA, in 1996 as a cooperative effort between the University of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Flower Growers’ Association and the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. For its 20th season, the Trial Garden displayed a total of 230 entries: 160 annuals and 70 perennials. The annuals are tried both in the ground and in 12-inch patio pots. The perennials stay in the ground for two whole years to monitor their hardiness in New England climate.
After a record-breaking snowy winter and a late frost in April, the Trial Garden had up and down temperatures in May and weekly rains until June. The three months of summer were very dry, with two heat waves and about 10 days over 90°F, even in September. Rain didn’t return until the end of September.
This year, plantings were completed by the first days of June. The plants were then judged by Garden Keeper Martha Kramer, Gardens Curator David Fiske, and Horticulturist Thibaut Collin.
D.S. Cole Greenhouses, Louden, NH
Each year D.S. Cole Greenhouses trials many new varieties in 4-inch pots during spring production. These 550 varieties are compared against varieties that are already on the market. If it feels a new variety could be an improvement over an existing variety, it then continues trialing it in larger pots for the summer. Varieties that “make the grade” and are added to the catalog get put into large pots as well as in garden settings so they can be viewed at our open house approximately August first.
New Hampshire is known for cold winters. It can also have stretches of high humidity and high temperatures during the summer. This past summer was no exception. During D.S. Cole’s open house, the temperatures were in the 90s.
March 7, 2016 
New England is known for its tough winters and beautiful, if short, summers. We collected the top performing plants at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and D.S. Cole Greenhouses in New Hampshire. There are several perennials included in the photo gallery, along with the expected annuals.
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