2013 Long Island Annual Plant Trial
Top Performers in the 2013 Annual Plant Trial Nearly 180 cultivars and 14 combinations from Ball Horticulture, J.P. Bartlett, Syngenta Flowers, and Proven Winners were trialed in the 2013 Long Island Annual Trial Garden located at the Cornell University Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead, NY. Trial procedures were similar to past years’ trials. Rooted cuttings or plugs were received in April, transplanted, and maintained in the greenhouse. During the first week of June, plants were transplanted outside into containers filled with a peat-‐based mix from a commercial grower. For each cultivar, three 12-‐inch containers were planted with three 70mm diameter Ellepots each. Containers were drip irrigated and fertilized with constant liquid feed, alternating with 20-‐10-‐20 and 15-‐5-‐15, 200-‐250 ppm N. Once planted outdoors any occurrences of pests and diseases were not managed and plants were not deadheaded, or trimmed, with the exception of geraniums, which were deadheaded every few weeks throughout the season. Plants were evaluated five times from mid-‐June though early September by 2-‐4 individuals. Flower display, foliage quality, and overall impact were rated on a scale of 0 to 5 (0 = lowest rating; the flower display rating was omitted for the plants that are regarded as foliage plants such as coleus and pennisetum). Evaluations were averaged to determine the season-‐long plant rating. The plants with season-‐long ratings within the top 20% are listed below. Also listed are top-‐performing plants for each plant category. This trial is supported in part by the participating companies, as well as generous assistance and donations from Ivy Acres and the Blackmore Company. Many thanks to Caroline Kiang and Andrew Hoil who assisted with plant evaluations, and Samantha Gader who assisted with evaluations and the maintenance of the trial. Season-‐Long Top Performers Best in Category (When more then 3 entered, (Top 20%, in alphabetical order) based on season-‐long performance) *indicates the cultivar is also a season-‐long top performer Begonia ‘Surefire Red’ Begonia ‘Surefire Rose’ Angelonia ‘AngelMist Spreading Dark Purple’ (5 entered) Calibrachoa ‘Superbells Dreamsicle’ *Calibrachoa ‘Superbells Dreamsicle’ (26 entered) Cleome ‘Senorita Blanca’ *Geranium (zonal) ‘Americana Dark Red’ (24 entered) Cleome ‘Senorita Rosalita’ *Geranium – (interspecific) ‘Calliope Dark Red’ (16 Coleus ‘Cranberry Bog’ entered) Dipladenia ‘Rio Deep Red’ Lantana ‘Bandana Red 09’ (7 entered) Dipladenia ‘Rio Pink’ Lobularia ‘Frosty Knight’ (4 entered) Geranium ‘Americana Dark Red’ *SunPatiens ‘Compact Electric Orange’ (3 entered) Geranium ‘Calliope Dark Red’ *New Guinea Impatiens ‘Super Sonic Hot Pink’ (8 Geranium ‘Patriot’ entered) Geranium ‘Timeless Orange’ Pentas ‘Starcluster Rose’ (3 entered) Geranium ‘Valor’ Petunia ‘Supertunia Flamingo’ (18 entered) New Guinea Impatiens ‘Super Sonic Hot Pink’ Torenia ‘Catalina Midnight Blue’ (3 entered) New Guinea Impatiens ‘Super Sonic Orange Ice’ Verbena ‘Superbena Royale Plum Wine’ and Verbena New Guinea Impatiens ‘Super Sonic White’ ‘Lanai Scarlet w/ eye’ (tie; 19 entered) Pennisetum ‘Graceful Grasses Vertigo’ *Zinnia ‘Zahara Sunburst’ (3 entered) Petunia ‘Supertunia Flamingo’ Petunia ‘Supertunia Indigo Charm’ Best Combination Petunia ‘Supertunia Orchid Charm’ MixMaster ‘Laguna Beach’ and Kwik Kombos ‘Night in Petunia ‘Supertunia Pink Charm’ Pompeii’ (tie; 14 entered) Petunia ‘Supertunia Sangria Charm’ Petunia ‘Supertunia Vista Bubblegum’ Petunia ‘Supertunia Vista Silverberry’ For more information, contact: Petunia ‘Supertunia White Imp .’ Nora Catlin, Floriculture Specialist Salvia ‘Summer Jewel Red’ Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County Salvia ‘Velocity Blue’ 423 Griffing Avenue, Suite 100 SunPatiens ‘Compact Electric Orange’ Riverhead, NY 11901 SunPatiens ‘Compact White Imp .’ 631-‐727-‐7850 x214 SunPatiens ‘Spreading Carmine Red’ [email protected] Vinca ‘Titan Burgundy Imp .’ Vinca ‘Titan Rose Halo’ Zinnia Zahara ‘Sunburst’ Zinnia ‘UpTown Grape’
