New Year – New Plants!
Hello fellow gardeners and Happy New Year! If you are anything like me, you are in full research mode, finding out what’s new in the plant world and planning Garden 2025!
There are so many plant propagators and research scientists in North America (and throughout the world really) – way too many to list right now - that devote their work time to coming up with new plants that are exceptionally hardy, more disease and pest resistant, display new colors, bloom longer, are drought resistant, and vary in mature size.
This is a whole new world that we gardeners benefit from, but rarely see. I hope to bring that part of the gardening world to light in future blogs so you can see the work and dedication that goes into each plant that you see in a garden centre. As a result of all their hard work, each year we have available to us some new plants – annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs. Here are just a few of the AAS award winning plants for the gardening year 2025 that are hardy to Zone 3b.
The All American Selections (AAS) winners are grown in over 200 display gardens all over North America. The AAS is a non-profit plant trialing organization that sends new annual, perennial and vegetable plant seeds or transplants to various locations to test out their performance and the qualities that make them stand out, opposed to other past winners. They are trialed by professional, independent volunteer judges for one to three seasons. Everyone involved is a volunteer. The plants/seeds are trialed in ground and in containers. A national region winner did well in all trial gardens- a regional winner did not do well nationally but did very well in certain regions (zones).
Trial gardens include garden retailers, botanic gardens, arboretums, municipalities, and university lands.
Display and Trial Gardens in the West are Van Dussen Botanical Garden; Vancouver B.C., Olds College, Muttart Conservatory-Edmonton and the Calgary Zoo Botanical Garden in Alberta, Assiniboine Park Conservancy; Winnpeg, Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They all trial flowers and edibles for the AAS.
The following are only a very few of the AAS winners for 2025. More to come in future blogs. They are all annuals and pollinator friendly
All Are National Ornamental Winners
Dahlia pinnata’ Black Forest Ruby ‘
This dahlia is an exceptionally striking plant, flowers from seed and has deep black foliage. The double to semi-double flowers are a ruby red. A standout and sturdy plant in any garden with lots of light. No staking needed; they do not flop over! Mature Height: 50-68 cm Mature Spread: 46-50 cm. It is a prolific bloomer from summer to frost.
Breeder: Taki/Europe
Petunia multiflora ‘Shake Raspberry (F1)’
What is F1 and what does it mean? F1 means Filial 1 which means ‘first children’. It is the cross pollination of two different parent plants. The result of this cross pollination creates a new plant that produces seed called F1 seed. This is done by scientists in a controlled lab setting.
Think of a raspberry milkshake and you have the color of the flowers of this beautiful petunia. Occasionally, the flowers also have swirls of lemon-lime green throughout their petals. This is a full sun groundcover petunia, with a height of 12-20 cm and a spread of 20-25 cm. It is grown from seed, blooming from spring to frost and requires no deadheading.
Breeder: Hem Genetics BV
Antirrhinum majus ‘DoubleShot Yellow Red Heart (F1)’
I love snapdragons and this has to be my favorite of all AAS winners for 2025!
A candy-scented snapdragon!
This snapdragon holds up to heat and blooms early. The blooms are long lasting, beginning in late spring and blooming up until a hard frost. This snapdragon stands upright at 45-50 cm with a spread of 30-40 cm. No staking required. Apparently no deadheading is required but I will be testing this out in the upcoming season. Makes a stunning cut flower.
Breeder: Hems Genetics
Zinnia marylandica ‘Zydeco Fire’
If you want to create a fiery glow in your annual beds this year, this is your plant! The double almost 8 cm blooms are just an outstanding deep glowing orange color. This is a seed annual that is very sturdy and does require deadheading. No staking required. Grow Zydeco Fire in full sun for maximum bloom from summer to first fall frost. Plant height is 45-55 cm with a spread of 30 cm. Resistant to powdery mildew. Can also be used as a cut flower.
Breeder: Syngenta Flowers