University of Illinois Arboretum Field Trial Results
October 3, 2011 Trial Manager
C. Diane Anderson, research and education specialist and UI Arboretum grounds supervisor and trial manager
Location
Urbana, Ill.
Planting Dates
Planting took place mid-May through June 17 in row and design bed plantings and, where more appropriate, in 14-inch containers.
Entries
About 1,100 varieties planted.
Weather Conditions
The area had adequate moisture and average temperatures through mid-June, then extreme day and nighttime heat and drought through mid-September. It was the area’s hottest, driest summer since the mid-1980s.
Top Varieties
Best in Show (container)
1. Petunia ‘Famous Violet Picotee’
Containers (14 inch)
1. Helichrysum ‘Licorice Splash’
2. Petunia ‘Sylvana Queen’
Landscape beds
1. Begonia Whopper
2. Lobularia ‘Snow Princess’
3. Salvia ‘Wendy’s Wish’
4. Canna ‘Tropicanna Black’
5. Salvia ‘Sallyfun Blue’
6. Salvia ‘Sallyfun Bicolor Beauty’
7. Lantana ‘Bandana Peach’
8. Solenostemon ‘Henna’
Best Premixes
1. Calibrachoa Mixis Cymbeline
2. Calibrachoa Kwik Kombo Pink Bliss Mix
An honorable mention goes to dahlia ‘Goldalia Scarlet.’ It can’t quite flower all summer in the hot, humid summers of central Illinois, but for the past three years it was the first dahlia to rebloom when cooler weather sets and was covered flowers until season’s end.
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