DOWNERS GROVE, IL – All-America Selections, North America’s oldest and premier non-profit plant trialing organization announce nine new AAS Winners for the 2019 gardening season. Each of the following new AAS Winners was trialed throughout North America by professional, independent, volunteer judges who grew them next to comparisons that are considered best-in-class. Only the top performing varieties earn the AAS Winner designation.
The new AAS Winners for the 2019 garden season are:
- Begonia Viking XL Red on Chocolate F1 (National)
- Marigold Big Duck Gold F1 (National)
- Nasturtium Baby Rose
- (Regional – Northeast, Heartland, Mountain/Southwest)
- Petunia WaveÒ Carmine Velour F1 (National)
- Pepper Just Sweet F1 (National)
- Tomato Chef’s Choice Black F1
- (Regional – Southeast, Mountain/Southwest and West/Northwest)
- Tomato Fire Fly F1 (National)
- Tomato Red Torch F1 (National)
- Tomato Sparky F1
- (Regional – Heartland)
Previously announced AAS Winners for 2019, Watermelon Cal Sweet Bush and Melon Orange SilverWave F1, are on the AAS website.
Retailers and consumers will find these AAS Winners for sale as supply becomes available through the distribution chain. Garden communicators are free to begin writing about these varieties now to build demand for 2019 and future years. Click on the breeding company link to email the breeder about ordering seed.
Each AAS Winner is marketed through an extensive social media and public relations campaign, as well as traditional media and industry trade shows. AAS Winners are proudly grown in AAS Display Gardens across North America.
A list of AAS trial judges are listed here.
AAS Display gardens can be found here.
Retailers can request an All-America Selections POP package from the AAS office.
PowerPoint presentations are available on SlideShare or on the AAS website.
Bench cards and variety markers can be downloaded from the AAS website
Begonia Viking™ XL Red on Chocolate F1
AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
National Winner
A brand new begonia with large, uniquely colored dark leaves has arrived! Judges were impressed with how the deep bronze/brown color remained sharp and intense throughout the season, no matter where they were located; north, south, east or west. The color tones shine through to give a stunning garden appearance. Covered with vibrant red flowers, the compact plant retains its shape well and does not become rangy. “Given the options, I would choose this variety for my landscape beds.” states a judge who plans beds for a public garden. “This year's weather seemed unusually conducive to disease on large-leaf begonias but none of these plants were affected” states another judge. These extra-large (XL) mounded plants are perfect in both landscapes and containers.
Bred by Sakata Seed Corporation
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AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Begonia x hybrid (Begonia interspecific)
- Common name: Wax Begonia
- Flower color: Red
- Foliage color: Deep Bronze
- Flower size: 1 inch
- Bloom time: Late Spring to Frost
- Plant height: 28-34 inches
- Plant habit: Mounded
- Plant type: Annual
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 32-36 inches
- Weather tolerance: Heat
- Closest comparisons on market: Big Red Bronze Leaf, Big DeLuXXe Bronze Leaf Improved
- Marigold Big Duck Gold F1
- AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
- National Winner
QUACK! There’s a new marigold in the pond! Big Duck Gold sports very large golden-yellow flowers that continue blooming throughout the season, much longer than the comparisons. These marigolds begin the season putting energy into establishing a solid, healthy plant with clean, deep-green foliage. Then, when it starts blooming, watch out! Full, “plump” blooms top the 15” plants (which are slightly taller than the more compact comparison varieties) and continue blooming through the end of the season. You’ll want to use these marigolds everywhere: in beds and containers; in landscapes as mini hedges, back of the border plants, or even as a filler in new perennial beds.
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AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Tagetes erecta
- Common name: Marigold
- Flower color: Gold
- Foliage color: Dark green
- Flower size: 3 inches
- Bloom time: Summer
- Plant height: Compact 11-15 inches
- Plant habit: Bushy
- Plant type: Annual
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 16-18 inches
- Weather tolerance: Rain, heat
- Closest comparisons on market: Taishan Gold, Antigua Gold, Dune Gold
AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
Regional Winner – Northeast, Heartland, Mountain/Southwest
Exciting news! The last nasturtium AAS Winner was back in the early days, in the 1930’s. Now it’s time to introduce a wonderful rose colored nasturtium perfect for today’s gardens. Baby Rose is a petite-flowered, mounding variety with healthy, dark foliage ideal for containers and small space gardens. AAS’ expert judges praised the uniformly compact plants that sported flowers with consistent coloration. Their compact habit means less “flower flopping” with their blooms remaining upright throughout the season. The rose color is uncommon in nasturtiums, and contrasts beautifully with the dark-green foliage. Bonus: both the leaves and flowers are edible!
Growers will find this variety to be an excellent addition to their potted plant programs.
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AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Tropaeolum minus
- Common name: Nasturtium
- Flower color: Rose
- Foliage color: Dark green
- Flower size: 2 inches
- Bloom time: Summer to frost
- Plant height: 12 inches
- Plant type: Annual
- Garden location: Full sun to partial sun
- Garden spacing: 20 inches
- Weather tolerance: Rain, heat, cold, drought, wind
- Closest comparisons on market: Cherry Rose, Princess of India, Tip-Top Formula Mix
- Pepper Just Sweet F1
- AAS 2018 Edible Winner
- National Winner
Just Sweet is a unique snacking pepper with four lobes like a larger bell pepper, only smaller. Not only are the 3 inch fruits deliciously sweet with nice thick walls but the plants are vigorous growers (up to 36 inches tall and 15 inches wide) that don't need to be staked because they've been bred to have a strong bushy habit. Many judges conduct consumer taste tests and reported back that this pepper won those tests, hands down. The Just Sweet peppers are exceptionally bright, shiny and a vivid yellow color with a flavor described as sweet with aromatic accents. Great lunchbox item for kids!
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AAS Winner Data
- Genus species: Capsicum annuum
- Common name: Pepper
- Fruit size: 3 inches long x 1 inch wide
- Fruit shape: Elongated bell
- Fruit flavor: Sweet and tart with aromatic accents
- Fruit color: Yellow/orange
- Plant type: Annual
- Plant height: 3 feet
- Plant habit: Upright
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 12 inches
- Length of time to harvest: 65-75 days from transplant, 110-120 days from sowing seed
- Closest comparisons on market: Yellow Sparkler, Cornito Giallo, Yummy
Petunia WaveÒ Carmine Velour F1
AAS Ornamental Seed Winner
National Winner
This newest color of the popular Wave® petunias was one of the highest scoring plants in the 2018 trials! AAS judges enthusiastically came up with an array of ways to describe the unique carmine rose color: “Fabulous,” “Stunning,” “Intense,” “Vibrant,” “Lively,” “Great color,” “Bright,” “Non-fading,” “Out- standing,” “My favorite,” “Bright colors regardless of clouds or sun,” “Tough competition but this entry shined through,” and so on. You get the picture; the judges loved this entry!
Large 2-2.5 inch flowers literally cover the easy-care spreading plants that rarely need deadheading because new blooms continuously pop-up and cover the spent blooms. Wave® is an excellent landscape performer and does equally as well in containers or hanging baskets as it does in the landscape.
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AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Petunia x hybrida
- Common name: Petunia
- Flower color: Unique velvety carmine
- Foliage color: Green
- Flower size: 2 to 2.5 inches
- Bloom color: Carmine rose
- Bloom time: Summer to frost
- Plant height: Only 6-8 inches tall but plants will spread like a ground cover 3-4 feet across
- Plant habit: Spreading, trailing
- Plant type: Annual
- Garden location: Full sun to partial sun
- Garden spacing: 12 to 24 inches
- Weather tolerance: Rain, wind
- Closest comparisons on market: Wave® Purple Classic and Ramblin’ Burgundy Chrome
- Tomato Chef’s Choice Black F1
- AAS 2018 Edible Winner
- Regional Winner – Southeast, Mountain/Southwest and West/Northwest
And now there are six! This variety is the sixth color variation in the popular Chef’s Choice tomato series. Chef’s Choice Black is a beefsteak type tomato with a dark green/brown/black hue. AAS Judges reported vigorous, healthy plants with clean and uniform fruits that were early to set and had a meaty interior with great flavor. This hybrid boasts a prolific yield of 8-ounce fruits grown on strong, 5-foot indeterminate vines. You’ll harvest 30 or more blemish-free fruits throughout the season from this disease-resistant plant with dark green leaves and well-behaved form. Grow the whole Chef’s Choice series for a beautiful and unusually colorful tomato salad!
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https://www.seedsbydesign.com/
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum
- Common name: Tomato
- Fruit taste: Full sweet flavor with touch of saltiness
- Fruit size: 5-6 inches, 8-10 ounces
- Fruit shape: Flattened globe
- Fruit color: Black/Dark Red
- Plant height: 5+ feet
- Plant width/spread: 24+ inches
- Plant habit: Indeterminate – requires staking
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 12-16 inches
- Number of fruits: 30 plus
- Length of time to harvest: 75 days from transplant, 95 days from seed
- Closest comparisons on market: Black Krim, Early Choice Black F1
- Disease resistance: TMV, Crack, F, V
- Tomato Fire Fly F1
- AAS 2019 Edible Winner
- National Winner
Similar to the Goldilocks story, this adorable newcomer is not as small as a currant tomato and not as large as a cherry tomato, but is a “just right” in-between size. The fruits produced are super sweet pale white to pale yellow round fruits less than 1 inch in size and weigh about 1/2 oz. Delicate, translucent skins offer a mild acid flavor that enhances the sweet taste. They’re small juicy fruits exploding with flavor, perfect for snacking and in salads. Indeterminate plants must be staked or caged as they grow upward to 5-6 feet and have good disease resistance.
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https://www.seedsbydesign.com/
AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum
- Common name: Tomato
- Fruit size: ¾-1 inch round fruits, weigh about ¾ to 1 oz.
- Yield: 500+ fruits per plant
- Color: White to pale yellow
- Plant height: 5-6+ feet
- Plant spread: 2 feet
- Plant habit: Upright, requires staking
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 12-16 inches
- Length of time to harvest: 80 days from transplant, 100 days from direct sow
- Disease resistance: TMV, Crack, F, V
- Closest comparisons on market: Coyote and Snow White
AAS 2019 Edible Winner
National Winner
Red Torch is a striped oblong tomato with 1.5” long fruits that weigh about 1.5 ounces. This hybrid is a very prolific early season producer. The combination of excellent flavor, great texture and high yields make this hybrid better than other varieties in the trendy niche market of striped tomatoes. Plants have been bred with excellent tolerance to environmental stresses like heat and harsh growing conditions. Fruits are borne on indeterminate vines that grow 5-6’ tall and ripen 60-70 days from transplanting. Judges were pleased with both the earliness and yield of this variety in addition to the unique skin coloration.
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AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum
- Common name: Tomato
- Fruit size: 1.5 inch oblong fruits, weigh about 1.5 oz.
- Color: Red striped with yellow
- Plant height: 5-6 feet
- Plant spread: 2 feet
- Plant habit: Upright, requires staking
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 2 feet
- Length of time to harvest: 60-70 days from transplant
- Disease resistance: Excellent tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses
- Closest comparisons on market: Pink Tiger and Maglia Rosa
- Tomato Sparky XSL F1
- AAS 2019 Edible Winner
- Regional Winner – (Heartland)
Sparky is one of the few X-tended Shelf Life (XSL) cherry tomatoes available to home gardeners. Sparky brags about being early to mature, prolific and very flavorful. Fruits are well suited for market growers and produce a large amount of usable fruits per plant. You’ll enjoy gardening with these plants that have excellent tolerance to environmental stresses like heat and harsh growing conditions. Very sweet fruits have an average Brix score of 8.5. Round fruits weigh 1 ounce and are 1inch in diameter. Indeterminate 5-6’ plants produce fruits 60-70 days from transplant.
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AAS® Winner Data
- Genus species: Solanum lycopersicum
- Common name: Tomato
- Fruit size: 1 inch round fruits, weigh about 1 oz.
- Color: Red striped with yellow
- Plant height: 5-6 feet
- Plant spread: 2 feet
- Plant habit: Upright, requires staking
- Garden location: Full sun
- Garden spacing: 2 feet
- Length of time to harvest: 90-100 days from direct sow, 60-70 days from transplant
- Disease resistance: Excellent tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses
- Closest comparisons on market: Red Zebra, Pink Bumble Bee and Chocolate Sprinkles
Source: All America Selections