Costa Farms 2016 Field Trial Results

Costa Farms trials some 200 varieties every spring in its 2-acre trial garden in Miami, FL. Most plants were grown in 6-inch pots prior to transplant and started from unrooted cuttings or seed. They were transplanted into the trial garden between December 13 and January 8. Miami’s tropical climate, with its heat and humidity, always tests the durability of the entries. Costa Farms also trials hundreds of perennials each year at its 1-acre garden in Trenton, SC. (Zone 8A). Trial managers evaluate them for summer and winter performance over two seasons.

Top Performing Annuals

Advertisement

Gerbera ‘Garvinea Sweet 16’
Gomphrena ‘Ping Pong Purple’
Lantana ‘Bandito Orange Sunrise’
Mandevilla ‘SunParasol Designer White’
Mecardonia ‘Magic Carpet’
Pentas ‘Falling Star Pink Bicolor’

Top Performing Perennials

Carex ‘Feather Falls’
Coreopsis ‘Leading Lady Charlize’
Coreopsis ‘Ka-Pow Cerise’
Coreopsis ‘Uptick Gold and Bronze’
Dianthus ‘Bicolor Purple’
Dianthus ‘Superstar’
Echinacea ‘In Love’
Gaillardia ‘Baja Burgundy’
Heuchera ‘Billberry’
Heuchera ‘Grape Expectations’
Lavandula ‘Essence Purple’
Penstemon Polaris Series
Rudbeckia ‘Rising Sun’
Salvia ‘Bordeau’
Sedum ‘Blue Elf’

Top Articles
New Survey on Sustainability in U.S. Floriculture Industry

Costa Farms breaks its field trial results into Early Spring and Late Spring top performers and puts out a report on each one. This year it also put out a premier issue on top perennials for Spring of 2016.

Learn more about research and development at Costa Farms’ here.

 

0