Note: Information for this trials report comes from Jim Klett of Colorado State University.

The votes are in from Colorado State University’s August 2022 plant trial evaluation week and its second evaluation day on Sept. 8. In the slideshow and information below, you can learn more about this year’s favorites.

Best of Show – Impatiens ‘SunPatiens Vigorous Peach Candy’ (Sakata Ornamentals)

Prolific peach-colored flowers blanket the attractive dark-green foliage. Blooms kept a nice pattern and were a very nice bicolor with peach and white that maintained vibrant color even in the intense Colorado sun. Plants were noted for their great vigor and uniform shape. Plants would be ideal for the landscape with its ability to provide massive color.

Best New Variety – Salvia ‘Rockin’ Deep Purple 2023’ (Proven Winners)

Deep-purple flowers combined with dark calyx and stems made a great color contrast with the attractive foliage. Plants were very sturdy and did not lodge even with overhead irrigation. Growth habit was very uniform and plants had excellent vigor. Would make a good choice for either ground or containers.

Best Novelty – Senecio ‘Angel Wings (Concept Plants)

Soft, silky white foliage shimmers in the sunlight and makes a very dramatic look in the landscape with broad wavy leaves. It is a stunner that attracts the eye and makes you want to touch it, but also makes a great accent with other plants. Plants are very uniform in overall appearance. It also has the added benefit of being drought tolerant.

More of the Best

Best Angelonia, container – Archangel Blue Bicolor (Ball FloraPlant)

Plants had prolific flowering and had excellent rounded habits without any spiking. Large bicolor flowers were very attractive against the glossy dark green foliage. Plants were very healthy and low maintenance.

Best Angelonia, ground – Archangel Purple Improved (Ball FloraPlant)

Blooms had an intense, solid purple color and abundant flowering. Plants had a nice spreading growth habit with dense branching and nice foliage. The uniform plants did well in a summer with many periods of extreme heat.

Best Begonia (Rex) – Jurassic Jr. Fire Spike (Ball Ingenuity)

Plants make attractive mounds of dense and very colorful foliage. Grown mainly for foliage, it does have small pink flowers later in season that also complement the pink shades in the leaves. A great choice to bring color to shady areas while also being very low maintenance. The Jurassic Jr. series provides all the same beauty as the Jurassic series but with around 40% smaller foliage.

Best Begonia (seed), container – Hula Red (PanAmerican Seed)

This is a new class of begonia that features a nice spreading growth habit that looks great in containers and could also be used in the ground. Flowers are more traditional sized but are very prolific and provide abundant color combined with the dark foliage. Plants are very adaptable and can be used in sun or shade locations.

Best Begonia (seed), ground – Bionic Green Leaf Rose (Syngenta Flowers)

Huge flowers and large foliage made this plant standout. Plant vigor was excellent and produced large blooms with two tone flowers of soft shades of pink. The self-cleaning plants will excel in sun or shade conditions.

Best Begonia (vegetative) – BK Collection Vermillion Red (Beekenkamp Plants)

Plants always had abundant, double flowers all season. The compact plants had strong stems and had a very attractive growth habit. Intense red blooms combined with the prolific blooming made them a standout for impressive flower power.

Best Calibrachoa – Bumble Bee Hot Pink (Ball FloraPlant)

From a distance it was impressive all season with good vigor, a great rounded habit and a blanket of bright pink flowers covering the container. Up close, the hot pink blooms stand out with a star-burst pattern of yellow in the center and throat.

Best Celosia – Flamma Bright Red (Sakata Ornamentals)

The vivid red color was very intense and did not fade in the bright Colorado sunlight. Excellent branching resulted in prolific flowering and abundant color. Flower head were tight and did not flop even with overhead irrigation. The overall growth habit on the compact plants was very uniform.

Best Coleus – Main Steet Yonge Street (Dümmen Orange)

Plants had rich, red foliage combined with uniform growth habit that looked near perfect. The dark leaf color was noted for standing up to the intense Colorado sunlight without fading. Flower heads were buried by foliage to keep a very clean overall look.

Best Combo – MixMasters Amped Up (Ball FloraPlant)

Three different coleus combined to look good from Day 1. Plants were uniform with excellent overall aesthetics and did not flower. Vigor was impressive and only recommended for large containers.

Best Dahlia – City Lights Purple (Selecta One)

For the second year in a row, this was a favorite plant from the Consumer Day voting as well as the industry evaluation due to the abundant rich, dark-purple flowers and dark-purple foliage. The consistent appearance was a reason for it being a repeat winner as well as in 2020. Plants were uniform in habit and maintained a fresh appearance by burying its dead.

Best Geranium, container – Sunrise Brilliant Red 23 (Selecta One)

Flowers were abundant with a bright shade of scarlet/red blooms. Plants had great vigor and produced many large flowers. The medium green foliage was reminiscent of grandmother’s geraniums.

Best Geranium (interspecific) ground – Caliente Coral Salmon (Syngenta Flowers)

Bright coral flower color is very bold against dark-green foliage and dark flower stems. The single petaled flowers were very abundant and covered the plants for a spectacular show of color. Plants had great vigor and were very uniform.

Best Geranium (zonal) ground – Dynamo Dark Red (Ball FloraPlant)

Flowers have an intense shade of dark red and it was noted that there was nothing else quite like it in the trial. Plants were bred to have medium vigor and filled out nicely with a very uniform growth habit. Flowers were both striking because of their color but were also very prolific and created a high degree of flower power.

Best Gerbera – Garvinea Sweet Sparkle (HilverdaFlorist)

Blooms have great eye-catching color and were also held high on stems which work well in both the landscape as well as a cut flower bouquet. The hot red/rose color held up to the intense summer sun. Plants were very healthy with above average number of breaks that resulted in more flowers. Entire Garvina series is bred for the landscape and were excellent.

Best Impatiens, container – Beacon Portland Mix (PanAmerican Seed)

Nice mix of colors brightened up the shade with abundance of flowers. Besides the obvious outstanding characteristics of uniform plants covered by many flowers, the Beacon series also provides high resistance to Impatiens downy mildew which can be devastating.

Best Impatiens, ground – Imara XDR Rose (Syngenta Flowers)

Plants had good vigor with dark green foliage and a compact branching habit. Flowers had a strong rose color that was consistent all season. It also has a high degree of resistance to downy mildew.

Best Impatiens, New Guinea – Super Sonic White (Syngenta Flowers)

Huge clear white flowers bloomed atop uniform plants with a nice dark-green foliage that really made the flower color pop. Full, well-branched plants filled the container with a well-balanced growth habit.

Best Lantana, container – Bandolista Pineapple (Syngenta Flowers)

Noted for its strong flower color and excellent flowering. The vigorous plants had a nice sprounding (spreading/mounding) habit that looked good in both the container and in the ground. This entry loved the heat and looked great throughout the many hot days.

Best Lantana, ground – Bandolista Mango (Syngenta Flowers)

Nice shades of mango live up to the flower name with abundant blooms of bicolor flowers. The heat loving plants had high vigor and would look in good either in the ground or in a basket. No seed set was noticed which led to better flowering. It was also a favorite of the bees.

Best Marigold – Endurance Yellow (Syngenta Flowers)

The endurance name fit the flower as it looked good a very long time with many bright-yellow blooms. Triploid plants were credited with better heat tolerance, flower power, and large blooms. Plant vigor was excellent and buried its dead, resulting in superior overall appearance and low maintenance.

Best Osteospermum – Gelato Prune (Westhoff)

Plants had good flower power even during the heat of the summer. Flowers were very large and a nice shade of dark purple. Overall, the growth habit was uniform and the foliage had a nice green color. It is a consistent performer and also won in 2021.

Best Petunia, container – SureShot White (Ball FloraPlant)

Prolific clean white flowers covered the trailing plants which in turn enveloped the entire container. The growth habit was very uniform and plants were very full. Flower power was excellent all season long.

Best Petunia (mini) ground – Supertunia Mini Vista Yellow Proven Winners)

Plants were loaded with petite yellow flowers to the point the foliage was almost unseen. It would make a great spreader for the landscape or look good in a large planter. Evaluators described it as smaller, yellow version of Supertunia Vista Bubble Gum, which won CSU Flower trial award more times than any other petunia over the years.

Best Petunia (seed), ground – FotoFinish Pink (Syngenta Flowers)

Great choice for the landscape as plants had excellent vigor and a nice spreading habit. The abundant hot pink flowers and good flower size created a lot of high impact flower color that was visible from a long distance.

Best Petunia (vegetative), ground – DuraBloom Electric Lilac (Dummen Orange)

Plants are durable and looked good all season with prolific flowering.  Uniformity and vigor was superior all season and resulted in excellent overall aesthetics with relatively low maintenance.

Best Portulaca – Pazaaz Yellow Improved (Danziger)

This drought tolerant plant looked good in a container and could also be used as an annual groundcover. The many flowers were noted for opening relatively early for maximum show. Blooms had a strong yellow color while the plants had good uniformity and vigor.

Best Rudbeckia – Sunbeckia Maya (Bull Plant Genetics)

Large striking flowers were very showy with two tone yellow petals and a chocolate-colored cone in the middle that reminded some of a Hershey’s Kiss. Flowers aged well and maintained their appearance for a very long period both in the ground and container. Plants were very uniform.

Best Salvia – Rockin’ Deep Purple 2023 (Proven Winners)

Deep-purple flowers combined with dark calyx and stems made a great color contrast with the attractive foliage. Plants were very sturdy and did not lodge even with overhead irrigation. Growth habit was very uniform and plants had excellent vigor. Would make a good choice for either ground or containers.

Best Sun Impatiens – SunPatiens Vigorous Peach Candy (Sakata Ornamentals)

Prolific peach-colored flowers blanket the attractive dark-green foliage. Blooms kept a nice pattern and were a very nice bicolor with peach and white that maintained vibrant color even in the intense Colorado sun. Plants were noted for their great vigor and uniform shape. Plants would be ideal for the landscape with its ability to provide massive color.

Best Verbena, ground – EnduraScape Pink Bicolor (Ball FloraPlant)

Noted for consistent flowering over the high heat of the summer it is also bred to be relatively cold tolerant. It remained in bloom all season without any flushing. Plants are vigorous with a nice uniform habit and were also designated as a AAS winner in 2017.

Best Verbena, container – Vanessa Compact Neon Pink (Danziger)

Bright-pink flowers covered the nicely mounded plants. This would make an excellent choice for a hanging basket due to the well branched habit. Flower color held strong even in the heat of the summer. There were no signs of powdery mildew even late in the season.

Best Vinca – Cora XDR Punch (Syngenta Flowers)

Noted for being tried and true due to its large flower and glossy foliage while also having high heat and disease tolerance. Plants had good vigor and uniformity while the large blooms had a nice bright color that was very showy.

Best Zinnia – Magellan Orange (Syngenta Flowers)

Large flowers had a nice pumpkin shade of orange. Flowering was prolific on very uniform plants. Foliage was very healthy with no signs of powdery mildew even into September. Plants buried their dead for a relatively low maintenance plant. It could also be considered as a good substitute for marigolds.

Find more 2022 field trials results here.