New Coleus and Begonias Impress at the Young’s Plant Farm 2021 Field Trials
February 15, 2022 Young’s Plant Farm had a successful trial year in 2021. The trial garden is located in Auburn, AL, (USDA Zone 8). It is 26,000 square feet of raised beds that include sun and shade trials. Each season 432 individual varieties, 40 combination landscape beds, 56 hanging baskets, and 180 combination planters are evaluated.
View all
Trial Manager Penny Merritt-Price reports that the weather was fairly typical this past year. They did have some prolonged cool nights in the spring, and those seem to help with the longevity of plants in the garden. There was also had quite a bit of rain this year, but not so much that it adversely affected the garden.
“Coleus is always a top performer in our garden,” Merritt-Price says. “This year was no different, with three different varieties making our top performer’s list. Coleus ‘Le Freak’ from Dümmen Orange, Coleus ‘ColorBlaze El Brighto’ from Proven Winners, and Coleus ‘Vulcan 2022’ from Ball FloraPlant all displayed really nice plant habits with bright eye-catching colored foliage.”
Another pair of plants that impressed her this year were in the Begonia Viking Explorer series – a new hanging-basket-type begonia from Sakata. It is available in two colors – Rose and Red – and both filled out 20-inch baskets beautifully and lasted all summer.
Merritt-Price says All-American Selections Gold Medal Winner Zinnia ‘Profusion Red and Yellow Bicolor’ from Sakata proved why it won the award in the garden this summer. “As the flowers fade they turn rosy pink and coral, so at any one time you can have a spectrum of colors on one plant,” she says. “And, being a zinnia – it loves the heat!”
Take a look at these and the rest of their top performers.
Top Performers:
- Coleus (syn. Plectranthus) ‘Le Freak’ – Dümmen Orange
- Begonia ‘Viking Explorer Rose’ – Sakata
- Begonia ‘Viking Explorer Red’ – Sakata
- Coleus (syn. Plectranthus) ‘ColorBlaze El Brighto’ – Proven Winners
- Celosia ‘Arrabona Red’ – Hem Genetics
- Helianthus ‘Suncredible Yellow’ – Proven Winners
- Coleus (syn. Plectranthus) ‘Vulcan 2022’ – Ball FloraPlant
- Tagetes ‘Endurance Yellow’ – Syngenta Flowers
- Zinnia ‘Profusion Red and Yellow Bicolor’ – Sakata
- Angelonia ‘Serafina Bicolor’ – Westhoff
- Impatiens ‘Spectra Bright Red’ – Syngenta Flowers
- Begonia ‘Bewitched Night Owl’ – Green Fuse Botanicals
Learn more about other 2021 field trials here.
Subscribe to eNewsletter
