December 5, 2022
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Six new AAS winners coming in 2023
All-America Selections (AAS) named an additional six winners that are set to arrive on the market in 2023. All AAS Winners are trialed throughout North America by professional, independent, volunteer judges who grow new, never-before-sold entries next to comparisons that are considered best in class. Only those entries that have superior garden performance, better than the comparisons, are granted the AAS award designation.
The newest AAS Winners for 2023 are: Coleus Premium Sun Coral Candy; Colocasia Royal Hawaiian Waikiki; Pepper jalapeno San Joaquin; Snapdragon DoubleShot Orange Bicolor; Squash kabocha Sweet Jade; Tomato Zenzei.
The previously announced AAS Winners for 2023 are: Echinacea Artisan Yellow Ombre; Leucanthemum Carpet Angel Daisy; Pepper cayenne Wildcat; Salvia Blue by You; Watermelon Rubyfirm.
Find more information and view photos of each AAS winner at all-americaselections.org.
Coleus Premium Sun Coral CandyThe first seed coleus to win the coveted AAS Winner designation! Coral Candy features unique, multicolored foliage on a uniformly compact plant. This new plant form has narrow, serrated leaves that gracefully drape down the mounded plants. AAS Judges noted that this variety holds its color well, even when grown in full sun. This variety was entered into and trialed in the container trial meaning it’s perfect for small space gardens. Late in the season, it was observed that Coral Candy held up nicely in the fall and had almost no flowers even late in season. Just 3 seeds will produce enough substance to fill a 14-16” container!
Colocasia ROYAL HAWAIIAN Waikiki All-America Selections has another first: A colocasia winner! Trialed in the non-seed container trial, this beauty wowed the judges with its sturdy, large glossy leaves that unfurled with a bold leaf coloration featuring pink veins and creamy white centers. Waikiki is part of the Royal Hawaiian series and produces these striking colors earlier than other variegated leaf colocasia. The deep burgundy stems produce a lush, compact plant that holds up well even in wind and rain. What a way to bring a touch of the tropics to your garden, no matter where you are located!
Pepper jalapeno San JoaquinThis new San Joaquin jalapeno pepper will make gardening so much easier! This is a determinate jalapeno that sets most of its fruit in a short window so there is a generous (~50 fruits per plant) number of fruits ready all at the same time. Perfect for canning, pickling and making roasted stuffed jalapenos for a crowd. But no worries if you won’t need them for a while as they hold their firmness and taste until you are ready to harvest. Judges loved the flavor of the thick-walled fruits that have just a hint of heat at 2500-6000 Scoville units. Leave them on the vine longer for a beautiful red, and still delicious, jalapeno.
Snapdragon DoubleShot Orange BicolorHit me with your best shot…of double flowers! DoubleShot Snapdragon Orange Bicolor is part of a new series of intermediate height snaps perfect for the garden or as cut flowers. The stunning open-faced double flowers emerge in beautiful warm shades of orange and orange-red that transition to a dusty shade as they age. AAS Judges across the country were impressed with the strong stems that produced more branches resulting in a higher flower count. These stems produced romantic flowers all season long (even in lower light conditions) that didn’t break off in strong winds. Trialed in both the in-ground and container trial, DoubleShot will be your new go-to snapdragon.
Squash kabocha Sweet JadeThis cute, single serving sized squash is the perfect addition to your garden for a fall harvest. Sweet Jade proved itself in the AAS Trials with its high yields and good holding capability which is great news for both home gardeners and growers. Each fruit is between 1-2 pounds and can be used for single servings of squash, as an edible soup bowl or in any number of Asian-style dishes where a sweet, earthy nutritious squash is typically used. Sweet Jade’s deep orange flesh is dry yet sweet and very flavorful whether roasted, baked or pureed. Time to give this sweetie a try!
Tomato ZenzeiZenzei is an early-maturing, high-yielding Roma tomato for gardeners in the Midwest. This regional winner produces a great yield of fleshy plum tomatoes that are perfect for canning and freezing. Neat and tidy plants produce fruits that are uniformly shaped and are easy to harvest on unique bushy yet indeterminate plants. The disease-resistance package on this new variety will help gardeners be even more successful than before. Each fruit has good internal flesh and fewer issues like spots and blossom end rot. Plant in full sun and provide stakes or a cage when plant reaches appropriate size but there is no need to prune!