2024 All American Selections

by Ray Novitske, Fairfax Master Gardener
All-American Selections Inc. the non-profit organization that makes annual selections of the best plants, has announced its winners for 2024. The selections are based on over 40 trial garden performances over the past few years from nurseries and seed company submissions across North America. The plants are evaluated with current varieties on the market that have similar traits and that are considered market standards. Judging is performed by selected industry experts, past judges, universities, public gardens, growers, brokers, extension agents and retailers.

The selected winners represent the plants that demonstrate the best garden performance across North America as a result of growing in these trial and test gardens. Since the selections are made several times a year, the plants listed below represent the current winners as well as past selections that we have not yet featured.

Petchoa ‘EnViva™ Pink’
Petchoa is a fairly new hybrid cross between a petunia and calibrachoa. Staying in color throughout the heat of the summer, this selection performs well in garden beds, containers, and hanging baskets. Plants are heat tolerant and flowers bounce back after rain.

Marigold ‘Siam Gold’
This marigold has beautiful, mounded foliage that produces globe-like, fully double golden flowers all season long. The large flowers are held on top of sturdy stems and above the foliage for a striking focal point in the garden. Uniformity of the plant gives a neat, tidy appearance and makes excellent cut flowers with no staking needed.

Broccoli ‘Skytree’
This towering AAS Winner with its upright stems make it easy to harvest. Skytree broccoli is very versatile and can be steamed, roasted, stir-fried and eaten raw. Its deliciously tender stems and florets are sure to please the most discerning broccoli lover.

Geranium ‘Big EEZE Pink Batik’
This series is known for superior container performance, medium vigor, and heat tolerance. Its unique coloration and minimal maintenance requirements create stunning petal colors on a very floriferous plants — well over 100 blooms and each.

Petunia ‘Sure Shot White’
SureShot petunias are garden gladiators that can withstand any bizarre weather. Find them in garden beds, containers, or hanging baskets with their lightly fragrant blossoms. They thrive in rain or shine, heat or cold, with a stunning display of color.

Broccoli ‘Purple Magic’
This broccoli with its beautiful purple color, tight uniform heads and great flavor is easy to grow. It is also stress and heat tolerant. You will find it sweeter and more tender than traditional green broccoli.

Impatiens interspecific ‘Solarscape XL Pink Jewel’
This impatiens provides unbeatable color in full or partial-sun garden areas. Vibrant pink satiny blooms cover the mounded plants that bloom non-stop all season. Pink Jewel has superior disease resistance, especially to the dreaded impatiens downy mildew

Pepper ‘Red Impact’
The new Red Impact variety of pepper is easy to grow and produces thick, sweet walls, even when green. It is also much sweeter than other varieties and loaded with fruits for a high yielding harvest. Plants are upright and tidy, with strong disease resistance with dark red uniform fruit.

Celosia ‘Burning Embers’
This new celosia is bred for its gorgeous bronze foliage with dark pink veins that contrast with the vibrant pink flowers. Plants are well-branched and produce more flowers over a longer bloom time. Burning Embers does very well in both heat and humidity while remaining completely covered with blooms.

If you are interested in viewing the trial plants on display during the growing season, visit these nearby gardens:

Rapidan River Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden, Rapidan, VA
Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, Gloucester, VA (flowers)
Hahn Horticulture Garden, Blacksburg, VA (edibles)
Hampton Roads AREC Virginia Tech, Virginia Beach, VA (flowers)
Knitting Mill Creek Garden, Norfolk, VA
Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk, VA
Reynolds Community College, Goochland, VA
Community Arboretum at Virginia Western, Roanoke, VA
Clyburn Arboretum, Baltimore, MD (flowers)
Frederick County Career and Technology Center, Frederick, MD
Historic London Town and Gardens, Edgewater, MD
Parkside High A+ Garden, Salisbury, MD
University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anna, MD (flowers)

Reference
All American Selections, winners