Penn State Celebrates 90 Years of Flower Trials
2025 Flower Trials at Penn State. | Krystal Snyder, horticulture extension educator and interim director of the Penn State Flower Trials
For 90 years, the Penn State Flower Trials have helped growers answer a simple question: Which flowers are best worth planting? This summer, the trials are celebrating that legacy by pairing cutting-edge new varieties with “Oldies but Goodies,” classic flowers that have stood the test of time.
Operated by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the trials are among the oldest and largest flower trial programs in the world. Nearly 1,000 annual and perennial varieties from about 30 floriculture companies are planted and evaluated each year under Pennsylvania growing conditions. Additionally, this supports an important part of Pennsylvania’s agricultural economy, with annuals and potted perennials representing a more than $200 million industry in the state.
The trials play an important role in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, where relatively few flower varieties are bred and tested because of the region’s humid summers and unpredictable weather conditions, notes Alyssa Collins, Director of Penn State’s Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center, whose expertise is in plant pathology. Additionally, she notes that the center’s location makes it easily accessible to visitors from across Pennsylvania and much of the eastern U.S.
Open and free to the public throughout the summer, visitors can stroll through rows of colorful blooms, compare varieties side by side, and gather ideas for their own gardens. Meanwhile, the trials also provide a resource for greenhouse growers, garden centers, and landscapers evaluating new varieties before deciding what to stock and sell.
The program supports research as well. One project involves FloraCount, an app developed by researchers in Penn State’s Center for Pollinator Research to measure how attractive specific flower varieties are to pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Collins says the app provides gardeners and growers with a science-based way to evaluate pollinator-friendly plants, rather than relying on broad marketing claims. Researchers have used the flower trials to test and refine the app on new cultivars over the past five years with help from interns and Master Gardeners.
The program’s longevity reflects decades of support from greenhouse growers, breeding companies, and industry partners, many of whom continue to volunteer and advise the trials through the Pennsylvania Floriculture Advisory Board.
About 3,000 to 4,000 people visit the trials each year through events, tours, and walk-in visits. The trial gardens are open to visitors, free of charge, from June 1 through Aug. 31, sunrise to sunset.
For additional information on the history of Penn State’s Flower Trials, including information on its first-ever fall flower trials and the upcoming Flower Trials Field Day on Thursday, July 23, 2026, please read the original article written by Alexandra McLaughlin and found on the Pennsylvania State University website.
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