Readers’ Choice Annuals

Vote for your favorite among this year's new annual introductions.

Voting is now open for Greenhouse Grower’s 2022 Readers' Choice Award!

It's time for you, our readers, to decide which variety is chosen as the best new introduction in 2022. Breeders have entered their best new varieties for you to decide which one is worthy of the Readers’ Choice award. This year voting consists of three categories: Annuals, Perennials, and Best of the Rest. One finalist will be chosen from each category. The three finalists will then face off to win the Readers' Choice Award. Voting for the finalists starts June 27. The Readers' Choice winner will be announced July 18 at Greenhouse Grower's prestigious Medal of Excellence reception during Cultivate'22 in Columbus, OH.

The voting schedule is as follows:

June 6-10: Annuals
June 13-17: Perennials
June 20-24: Best of the Rest
June 27 – July 1: Finalists

Voting Rules and Conditions

A special thank you to our 2022 Medal of Excellence title sponsor, WestRock.

Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this page to view photos and descriptions of all the contenders in the Annuals category. There are eleven entries this year. One vote per person, please.

Please note: You will find the voting form at the end of the entries, near the bottom of the page.

 

Grandaisy-Dark-Pink (Suntory Flowers)

Argyranthemum frutescens hyb. ‘Grandaisy Dark Pink’

Argyranthemum frutescens hyb. ‘Grandaisy Dark Pink’ (Suntory Flowers)
Color(s): Pink
Uses: Patio pots, garden beds
Plant Habit: Vigorous, mounding, full
Crop Time: 8 weeks from liner
Category: Annuals

Suntory Flowers introduces a rich Dark Pink to its Grandaisy intergeneric hybrid argyranthemum series. Full vigorous plants produce large flowers with striking dark centers. They are much showier than a standard argy and perfect for premium patio pots. Plant one cutting in a gallon pot or 3 inch large cache pot. They are perfect for Mother's Day and Easter.

Beacon Impatiens (PanAmerican Seed)

Impatiens 'Beacon Orange'

Beacon Impatiens  (PanAmerican Seed)
Color(s):
Bright Red, Violet Shades, Salmon, Coral, Orange, White, Select Mix, Red White Mix
Uses: landscapes, containers, window boxes, hanging baskets, combos ... shade!
Plant Habit: Mounded, Upright
Crop Time: Plug Crop Time - 4 to 5 weeks; Transplant to Finish - 3 to 4 weeks
Category: Annuals

Bring Impatiens walleriana back into production and fill gardens with bright, long-lasting color ... without the risk of disease! Beacon Impatiens has high resistance to Impatiens downy mildew. Greenhouses, landscapers and gardeners can count on Beacon to thrive. Available in six colors and two mixes, Beacon fills baskets and shade landscapes with confidence. Beacon is easy to sow and grow with the same plant structure, flowering time, flower size and culture as traditional garden impatiens. Beacon gives season-long performance and no-risk color for the shade. It also gives back! 3% of global sales will benefit a charity each gardening season.

Night Fever Papaya Begonia boliviensis

Begonia ‘Bossa Nova Night Fever Papaya’

Begonia ‘Bossa Nova Night Fever Papaya’ (Syngenta Flowers)
Color(s):
Red with dark leaves
Uses: Decorative pots
Plant Habit: Trailing
Crop Time: 12 to 14 weeks
Category: Annuals

Bossa Nova brings the carnival to your containers. Brilliant blooms in a full range of color offer a perfect seed alternative to vegetative varieties. Plants fill multiple container sizes with an abundance of color due to their well-branched habits and short internodes. Bossa Nova begonias excel in a variety of climates and conditions including heat and sun and shade.

Euphorbia 'Diamond Snow'

Euphorbia ‘Diamond Snow’

Euphorbia ‘Diamond Snow’ (Proven Winners)
Color(s): White blooms
Uses: Monoculture containers, hanging baskets, mixed recipe containers, landscape
Plant Habit: Mounded
Crop Time: 4- to 5-inch container – 4 to 6 weeks; 10- to 12-inch container – 10 to 12 weeks
Category: Annuals

Proven Winners has made its double-flowered euphorbia easier for growers to use in recipes by replacing ‘Diamond Delight’ with the most vigorous, less tightly compact cultivar on the market today. ‘Diamond Snow’ is similar to ‘Diamond Frost’ but with fuller flowers and a somewhat denser habit. It grows well with other medium-vigor varieties in upright containers and makes a great landscape plant, too. Like all Proven Winners’ euphorbias, expect ‘Diamond Snow’ to power through heat and drought with ease. ‘Diamond Snow’ carries on this line of breakthrough breeding and is one of the three plants in Proven Winners’ Diamond Collection, which has been selected as its Annual of the Year for 2020. Plants grow well in part sun to sun. Height: 12 to 18 inches; Spread: 12 to 18 inches; Vigor: 3

Imara XDR Impatiens Series

Impatiens 'Imara XDR Red Improved'

Imara XDR Impatiens Series (Syngenta Flowers)
Color(s):
Orange Improved, Orange Star, Pink, Purple Improved, Red Improved, Red Star, Rose, Salmon Shades, Violet, White, Mix
Uses: Landscape beds and decorative pots
Plant Habit: Mounded
Crop Time: 4 to 5 weeks for packs
Category: Annuals

Take back the shade! The first Impatiens walleriana with a high degree of resistance to downy mildew. Imara impatiens have proven landscape performance that fights back with reliable flowering all season long. Revive your Impatiens sales with this easy and economical to produce series, which is ideal for high density growing in packs and pots. Imara impatiens are confirmed in independent trials in North America and Europe including trials in 2017 and 2018 at Cornell University’s Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center.

Hot Blooded Red Lantana

Lantana ‘Hot Blooded Red’

Lantana ‘Hot Blooded Red’ (Syngenta Flowers)
Color(s):
Red
Uses: Landscape beds and decorative pots
Plant Habit: Mounded
Crop Time: 7 to 8 weeks for quarts
Category: Annuals

If you pick just one, pick this one. Naturally well branched plants with more vigor than Bandana make ‘Hot Blooded Red’ a great choice for gardens across the country. Medium-sized flowers have amazing color coverage. This lantana is a sterile selection that has been a top-pick in development trials.

 

 

Sunstar Red Pentas

Pentas lanceolata Sunstar Series

Pentas lanceolata Sunstar Series (Proven Winners)
Color(s):
Lavender, Pink, Red or Rose
Uses: Border plant, mono containers, a thriller in a mixed recipe container, cut flower, landscape, mass planting
Plant Habit: Upright
Crop Time: 4- to 5-inch container – 7 to 8 weeks; 10- to 12-inch container – 10 to 12 weeks
Category: Annuals

Sunstar represents a breakthrough new line of genetics for pentas that have retained their heat tolerance for Southern growers but are also now easier to produce in the North, even without supplemental lighting. Extra-large flower clusters nearly the size of hydrangea blooms top the well-branched plants, which fill 4¼ Grande containers fully. Sunstar pentas have excellent summer durability, powering through high heat and humidity, and they make ideal bedding plants in the South. Since they are produced vegetatively, their flowering performance far exceeds that of seed pentas. Plants grow well in part sun to sun. Height: 18 to 22 inches; Spread: 16 to 24 inches; Vigor: 2

Pericallis Senetti White

Pericallis 'Senetti White'

Pericallis ‘Senetti White’ (Suntory Flowers)
Color(s):
White
Uses: Patio pots, garden beds
Plant Habit: Vigorous, mounding, full
Crop Time: 10 weeks from liner
Category: Annuals

New ‘Senetti White’ provides contrast in the popular Senetti pericallis assortment. Flowers have white petals with striking dark blue/gray eyes. White thrives in cool conditions and matches the classic Senetti group, but times two weeks later. It won the best new introduction at the IPM Show in Europe in 2018. Senetti brings cool colors to the cool season and thrives in cool weather, tolerating temperatures as low as 35°F. Consumers can cut them back for a fresh reblooming.

Petunia Supertunia-Raspberry-Rush-(Proven Winners)

Petunia ‘Supertunia Raspberry Rush’

Petunia ‘Supertunia Raspberry Rush’ (Proven Winners)
Color(s):
Raspberry pink and white bicolor blooms
Uses: This plant makes amazing monoculture hanging baskets and is stunning in landscapes, but it also plays well with other vigorous plants in recipes.
Plant Habit: Mounding/trailing
Crop Time: 4- to 5-inch container – 4 to 6 weeks; 10- to 12-inch container – 8 to 10 weeks
Category: Annuals

This dynamite, new bicolor, patterned petunia will steal your customer's heart. Lush plants become blanketed in vibrant raspberry pink and white flowers that start early and last all season without deadheading. Like all Supertunias, it exhibits excellent heat and humidity tolerance and will be earlier to flower than ‘Supertunia Raspberry Blast.’ Plants grow well in part sun to sun. Height: 6 to 12 inches; Spread: 18 to 24 inches; Vigor: 3

Rockin-Blue-Suede-Shoes-salvia-(Proven Winners)

Salvia 'Rockin' Blue Suede Shoes'

Salvia 'Rockin' Blue Suede Shoes' (Proven Winners)
Color(s):
Crisp blue flowers highlighted by black calyxes
Uses: Large containers or landscape
Plant Habit: Upright
Crop Time: 4- to 5-inch container - 5 to 6 weeks
Category: Annuals

Rare cool-blue flowers represent a breeding breakthrough for this Salvia guaranitica hybrid. Large, crisp blue flowers held by black calyxes are produced above the foliage, attracting all sorts of pollinators from spring through fall. Like ‘Rockin’ Deep Purple,’ this is a refined, well-branched salvia that presents beautifully in containers at retail. This addition to the Rockin' line of salvias will appeal to the ever-popular desire to attract pollinators to backyards and is a wonderful plant for landscapes or large containers. Plants grow well in part sun to sun. Height: 30 to 40 inches; 24- to 30-inch spread; Vigor: 4

Vinca 'Cora XDR' (Syngenta Flowers)

Color(s):
Uses:
Plant Habit:
Crop Time:
Category: Annuals

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More About the Medal of Excellence Awards

In Greenhouse Grower’s Medal of Excellence Awards tradition, three awards are presented for breeding:

The Readers’ Choice Award is voted on online by our readers. Breeders submit their top plants for consideration for this award.

The Industry’s Choice Award is selected by a panel of industry members who attend Spring Trials and see introductions in person.

The Editor’s Choice Award is chosen by Greenhouse Grower Editor Janeen Wright. See Greenhouse Grower's Medal Of Excellence Industry's Choice And Editor's Choice Winners for 2021.

Winners of all of these awards, along with awards for Medal of Excellence in Industry Achievement, Innovator of the Year, Technology of the Year, Head Grower of the Year, and Operation of the Year, will be announced July 18 at the Medal of Excellence reception at Cultivate’22 in Columbus, OH. Please plan to join us!