Note: Information from this trials report comes from Barbara Laschkewitsch, a Research Specialist in the Plant Sciences Department at North Dakota State University.
There were no major challenges during this year’s plant trials at North Dakota State University. The weather started out a little wet and cool but then dried out, and the temperature was a bit warmer than the 30-year average for June, July. and August. Growing conditions were nice, and we have drip irrigation in the beds so it’s easy to get water on when it gets dry.
The new thing we had with our trials this year was having attendees at our open house on Aug. 9 put flags by two of their favorite sun annuals. 247 total flags were put out, and there was a wide range of plants chosen. Amaranthus ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ was the top vote getter with 18 flags; in second place with 17 flags was Lisianthus ‘Voyage II Blue’; and third place with 13 flags was Pennisetum ‘Jade Princess’.
One of the new plants that really impressed me this summer were the Solarscape impatiens by Ball, especially ‘Neon Purple’ and ‘XL Salmon Glow’. They were in full sun and really thrived. There were a few times they wilted a bit due to water stress, but once they were irrigated, they perked right up.
The Pennisetum ‘Jade Princess’ was also one of my favorites. It did very well last year, too.
Coleus ‘Premium Sun Ruby Heart’ (Ball Seed) was also a top performer. It was in the shade area so did not get flagged by any attendees on August 9, but I would have given it two flags. It was very uniform and vigorous with few flowers.
Others that are worth noting:
- Begonias: The Hula series made a nice ground cover in the shade area
- Petunias: Especially the Waves, Bees Knees, and Tidal Waves series
- Celosia: The new All-America Selections winner ‘Flamma Orange’ was very nice, but they also did well as a group
- Zinnias: The Zesty series (we had purple, orange and yellow) was very floriferous and colorful.