Plant Exchange Blog

With limited opportunities to view others’ gardens last growing season, it’s a treat to look at a public display garden in our Northern Plains growing region.  

The results of the 2020 top-performing flowering annuals at the Morris, Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center display gardens have been announced.  They grow 40% from seed and 60% from vegetative cuttings.

Plants are evaluated, starting three weeks after planting May 21^st this year, and then up to 5 times in the season. Performance, color vigor, growing habit, number of flowers compared to others, insect and disease resistance, and uniqueness are criteria.  Four of the best are mentioned here with their website photos.

Begonia ‘Dreams Garden Macarouge’ is an eye-catching shade plant that grows well in containers with little maintenance. 

Angelonia ‘Aria Blue’ grew well in the landscape and containers. These stood out for the number of flowers, size, and stem strength of the 12 Angelonia cultivars trialed in 2020. Since blue flowers are less common in color offerings, finding blue plants that perform well is of particular interest.

Petunia ‘Amore Queen of Hearts’ has unique red hearts on a 2 ½ inch blossom. The plant grew exceptionally well in garden beds and baskets and required no deadheading. 

Vinca ‘Valiant Orchid’ was a season standout with uniformity of plants highlighted. In a garden bed with spaced plants, this is an attractive feature. The lavender color provides a less common color option. Dark green leaves and flowers lasted through sun, heat, and dry conditions. In our region, these conditions are everyday summer stressors.

To see the rest of their top performers, see their full 2020 trial results, and watch videos from their season, go to the Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center website at: www.wcroc.cfans.umn.edu

Thanks for visiting Plant Exchange blog today. Do come back!