All-America Selections Announces First Winners For 2013

Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit'

All-American Selections (AAS) announced the first two winners for the 2013 award. The organization’s board of directors opted to approve two holdover varieties from previous trials. And the winners are…

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Canna ‘South Pacific Scarlet’ F1
AAS Flower Award Winner

C. ‘South Pacific’ adds a beautiful touch of the tropics to the garden with showy, 4-inch flowers that bloom all summer long in a delicious shade of scarlet.

AAS Judges raved about this first F1 hybrid canna from seed because it is such a robust and floriferous bloomer. C. ‘South Pacific’ grows up to 24-inch tall in a two gallon container, 4-5 feet tall in the garden, providing a great grouping of specimen plants or a back-of-the-border focal point. The colorful blooms are produced on a flower spike held above the large leafed statuesque plants.

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Commercial growers will benefit from the F1 vigor and  the six or seven flower laden branches it produces. Compared to other seed cannas, ‘South Pacific’ was earlier to flower by one week, bloomed longer, had better basal branching and even withstood a light frost…all top qualities lending itself to grower programs for both the mass market and independents. As with other cannas, C. ‘South Pacific’ tolerates wet conditions so it can be used as a pond border or in other similar growing conditions.
Bred by Takii & Co. Ltd.

AAS Winner Data
Genus species: Canna generalis
Common name: Canna
Unique qualities: First F1 seed canna, more vigorous and sturdy than other seed propagated cannas, non-stop flowering all season long.
Flower color: Scarlet
Foliage color: Green
Flower form: Standard
Flower size: 4 to 4.5 inches
Plant height: Up to 24 inches (in a 2 gallon container), 4 to 5 feet full maturity
Plant width: 8 to 10 inches (in a 2 gallon container), 12 to 18 inches full maturity
Plant type: Tender perennial in zones 7-10
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 18-24 inches
Length of time from sowing seed to flower: 11 to 12 weeks
Closest comparisons on market: ‘Tropical’ series

Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’
AAS Flower Award Winner

This stunning first-year flowering echinacea captures the spirit of the North American plains by producing a delightful mix of flower colors from rich purple, pink, red and orange tones to lighter yellows, creams and white. This wide range of flower colors on well branched, durable plants are sure to please the color preferences of any gardener. As an added bonus, ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ does not require a lot of water and offers a wide-range of uses from the perennial border, in a mass landscape planting, in a butterfly garden or as a cut flower.

E. ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ can be used by the professional grower as either a first year flowering perennial in their annual program, or by the traditional perennial grower who sows in the fall for over-winter production. In both applications, they can offer flowering plants from spring thru September. E. ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is best offered in larger containers for transplanting to a sunny spot in the garden or landscape. This AAS Winner is also a Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner. U.S. utility patent number 7,982,110. 
Bred by Kieft Seed.

AAS Winner Data
Genus species: Echinacea hybrida
Common name: Coneflower
Unique qualities: Vivid color range in a first year flowering perennial from seed
Flower color: Shades of purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, cream & white
Foliage color: Green
Flower form: Single daisy
Flower size: 3 to 3.5 inches
Plant height: 26 to 32 inches
Plant width: 25 to 30 inches
Plant type: First year flowering perennial
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 24 inches
Length of time from sowing seed to flower: 23 to 24 weeks from a January sowing
Closest comparisons on market: ‘Paradiso Mix,’ ‘Magnus,’ and ‘Bravado

Because these new winners have been introduced in July, growers will be better able to include these two new AAS Winners in their offerings later this summer, into fall and winter. 

These newest AAS Winners are available for immediate sale. Commercial growers should inquire with their favorite seed supplier. AAS Winner tags are available from supporting tag suppliers. Consumers will find these seeds as supply becomes available in the coming months with catalog companies, in seed packets, from mail order companies and various websites. AAS Winners will also be available as young plants in lawn & garden retail stores next spring.
 
Complete data sheets on these and all AAS Winners are available on the newly designed AAS website. For further information contact Diane Blazek, All-America Selections at [email protected].

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