2024 trial standouts

The diversity of climates and locations in North American trial gardens provide growers and breeders with crucial information about how and where their plants perform best to help them make decisions on what to grow and where to sell.

We asked trial gardens to submit their best varieties of 2024. Presented here are the gardens’ vital statistics and what grew best over the last growing season.

Garden manager: Chad Miller, Colorado State University

The CSU Flower Trial Garden conditions are characterized by high altitude, intense solar radiation, drying winds, severe hailstorms, large fluctuations between day and night temperatures and a season-long need for irrigation. The annual trial features more than 1,000 different cultivars of annual bedding plants. Here are their best of the garden selections in 2024.

Photos courtesy of Trial managers

Best new variety grown in ground: Karma Caroline Dahlia, Syngenta Flowers

The clean, peachy pink, approximately 3- to 4-inch flowers have strong, sturdy stems on 3-foot plants that are great as a cut flower. The colors are most intense in cooler temperatures, but even in the warm doldrums of the summer, the colors were still stunning. The nice dark green foliage provided a great backdrop to the abundance of flowers.

Best new variety grown in container: TerraScape ‘Queen’ Coleus, Kientzler North America

Dramatic and eye-catching! This vigorous coleus can make a statement. The deep red maroon leaves with a blaze reddish-pink center and lime-green shark-toothed edges are eye-catching. The colors hold up well in full sun. The plants are sturdy and strong and work well in containers.

Hybrid impatiens: SunPatiens Vigorous Purple, Sakata

Great for border planting. The large, intense purple flowers are contrasted against the deep green foliage and will keep flowering, even as temperatures heat up. They are vigorous, with a strong branching habit. Consistent moisture leads to maximum size and performance.

Petunia (container, vegetatively propagated): Tea Flamingo, Beekenkamp

This unique, peachy-salmon-colored petunia flowered all summer, well after many other petunias started fizzling. It performed well not only in the container but in the landscape. The plants were well branched and have a more outright growth habit.

Combo container: Playlist Uptown Funk, Sakata

This combination of three celosia caught people’s eyes from across the garden. The vibrant reds, oranges and yellows provided long-lasting, season-long color into fall. The sturdy plants filled out the container and would work well for fall planter interest.

Garden manager: Sandra Begani, University of Georgia

The Trial Gardens at the University of Georgia are excellent for testing plants for heat and humidity adaptability due to the variable southeastern climate. In 2024, the gardens grew 1,200 plants. Every year, the garden bestows the Classic City Awards to the plants with the highest flowering, foliage, uniformity and resistance ratings of the season. Here is a selection of the winners.

Salvia: Unplugged ‘White’, Proven Winners

Unplugged ‘White’ has flowered profusely since early summer. Grown in clay beds, medium-size plants are uniform and have large flower spikes. It's native to the southern U.S. and satisfies the “trifecta” of perennial, pollinators and deer resistant!

Combination: Playlist Pop Life, Sakata

We received more container combos than ever in 2024. Sakata offers great examples of perfectly balanced options, with Pop Life from the company’s Playlist series featuring ‘Compact Red Candy’, ‘Compact Classic White’ and ‘Compact Hot Coral’.

Helianthus annuus: Sunfinity ‘Double Yellow’, Syngenta Flowers

This double sunflower has won over many hearts this summer. We hope to see more of these forever-blooming bush-type sunflowers grown in the landscape.

Petunia: Supertunia Tiara ‘Blue’, Proven Winners

This new beauty, Tiara ‘Blue’, has both style and strength! Georgia summers are not easy on petunias late in the season, but the Supertunia’s vigorous root system that helps them survive into football season.

Ageratum: ‘Monarch Magic’, Ball FloraPlant

Ageratum ‘Monarch Magic’ from Ball FloraPlant has provided show-stopping, densely packed blue flowers that attract butterflies and people alike. The habit is large and shrub-sized, with soft round edges that fill the space.

Begonia: Space Age ‘Black Hole’, Proven Winners

Grown in our shaded clay beds, we are impressed by the perfect form, deep leaf color and red flowers. This begonia thrives in our humid environment and tolerates clay. Rex hybrids are becoming very popular as indoor/outdoor shade plants.