The 2024 growing season was more normal this summer compared to last summer. There were lots of great plants in the trials this summer. The Trial Garden Advisory Committee met on September 13, to review the evaluations from the Annual Evaluation Day, held on August 6, 2024. There were an estimated 275 attendees for the field day.
Thanks to all those who attended and to our Trial Garden Advisory Board, and to the 2024 summer trial garden employees for another successful year. Please enjoy the winners from our 2024 Annual Flower Trials, below. View all photographs HERE.
Best of Show
City LightsTM Purple Dahlia
Selecta One
Dahlias are still quite popular with the visitors! A multi-year winner—it is that good! Bred for
performance in heat, City Lights Purple lives up to expectations. This award winner flowered
through the summer, with rich, deep mulberry-purple flowers with a deep, nearly black center,
that are accentuated by the dark green-black foliage, that holds up well in the full sun all season.
The bees and other pollinators also loved this plant.
Best New Variety (Grown in Ground)
Karma Caroline Dahlia
Syngenta
A great dahlia for the garden. The clean peachy pink, ~3 to 4” flowers have strong, sturdy stems
on 3’ 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 back drop to the abundance of flowers. Definitely a multi-purpose
dahlia to consider for the landscape!
Best New Variety (Grown in Container)
TerraScape ‘Queen’ Coleus
Kientzler North America
Talk about dramatic! And eye-catching! This vigorous coleus can make a statement in your
garden. The deep red maroon leaves with a blaze reddish-pink center, and lime-green sharktoothed
edges are eye catching! And the colors hold up well in full sun! The plants are sturdy
and strong and work well in containers!
Best Novelty
Dianthus JoltTM Pink Magic
PanAmerican Seed
A great performing plant! A dianthus that flowered consistently and profusely through the
summer in Colorado! The bright pink flowers with a magenta ring, danced above the clean, dark
green foliage. Definitely heat tolerant and one that you should consider for a jolt of color in the
summer landscape!
Ground Bed Winners
Coleus Ground Bed (Grown in Sun and Shade)
Ruby Slipper
Ball Flora Plant
A coleus Dorothy would be proud of. This versatile coleus performed well in both sun and shade
locations. In the full sun, it sports dark ruby red leaves with narrow, crisp green margins. When
grown in shadier conditions, the ruby red leaves sport wider green margins. Sturdy, upright
plants with no lodging.
Salvia
Lake Onega Improved
HilverdaFlorist
One of the Salgoon Series salvias; this beautiful dark blue-purple colored salvia has a long
flowering period. It started flowering in greenhouse and continued all through the summer with
great, sturdy stems and a uniform habit. It handles the heat well and the bees LOVE it.
Verbena
EnduraScapeTM Burgandy
Ball Flora Plant
This is a versatile verbena with a uniform, spreading habit displaying moderate vigor. The
attractive color with deep burgundy flowers dotted with a white eye; consistent flowering,
compared to others which often have flushes of color. Also attracts some pollinators. This plant
can handle high and low temps—all the way down to 19F!
Argyranthemum hybrid
Grandaisy® White Improved
Suntory
This intergeneric hybrid argyranthemum showcased, crisp, white flowers, with a dark yellowbrown
eye, over vibrant green fern-like foliage. Flowering slowed just a bit with the high heat, but
as cooler temperatures returned, flowering picked up. Uniform plants.
Osteospermum
ZionTM Violet Feather
Selecta One
This African daisy was undoubtedly the best in the bunch. The deep, rich, silky purple flowers
were produced all season, even with a couple stretches of extreme heat. The flowers danced
just above the foliage medium green foliage on uniform plants. Definitely an osteospermum
worthy for the garden or container!
Begonia (Grown in Ground Bed; Sun)
TophatTM Rose Bicolor
Syngenta
The TophatTM series is a great series and hard to pick just one favorite. Rose Bicolor is the winner
this year. It sports nice crisp, glossy green foliage, with large rose and white bicolor flowers. No
doubt the plants were floriferous all summer. It was noted this was like a traditional bedding
begonia on steroids!
Rudbeckia
SunBeckia® Marilyn
Bull Plant Genetics
It is hard to pick just one of the SunBeckias! Marilyn showed great uniformity, and was
floriferous, boasting a long-lasting canopy of flowers on well branched plants. The large, bright
sunshine yellow flowers develop a hint of cinnamon brown near the eye as they age, creating a
dynamic flower display. Absolutely a hit with pollinators!
Hybrid Impatiens
SunPatiens® Vigorous Purple
Sakata
These bold hybrid impatiens will definitely help fill in a 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 strong branching habit. SunPatiens will certainly
appreciate consistent moisture for maximum size and performance.
Impatiens walleriana (Grown in Ground and Container; Sun and Shade)
Beacon® Bright Red
PanAmerican Seed
This is a versatile plant. It performed very well in full sun! And…does well in shade! Vigorous
and great red flower color that holds in the full sun—it doesn’t fade or melt out. Great for
massing and filling in the landscape. One of several solid performing selections in the Beacon®
series, which is highly resistant to Impatiens Downy Mildew.
Catharanthus (Vegetatively Propagated)
Soiree® Double Orchid Improved
Suntory
One of several in the Soiree® series that performed well. LOVES the heat! Uniform plants,
produced an abundance of silky, lavender colored flowers. The flowers hold up well in the heat
and are contrasted by the deep dark green foliage.
Catharanthus (Seed Propagated)
Titan-iumTM Punch
PanAmerican Seed
This seed Madagascar periwinkle certainly lives up to its name! It packs a punch of solid fruity
deep pink to red punch color, all summer long! Nice, large flowers on highly branched plants. As
most Catharanthus, it loves the heat! This selection has been bred for high Phytophthora (root
disease) resistance.
Lantana
PassionFruit
Ball Flora Plant
Aptly named—a floriferous lantana for the landscape. The multi-hued dallops of flowers that
open a rich yellow, orange, maturing into a crisp clean salmon pink. This spreading lantana is a
great mingling plant for the landscape border or mixed container as the ‘filler’ component. It
would also work well in hanging baskets. This is a heat loving, drought tolerant plant that attracts
lots of pollinators. Definitely a great addition to the summer landscape.
Scaevola
Scala Purple Bird
Dümmen Orange
This fan-flower was definitely a fan-favorite this summer in the trials! It was one of the top
selections for both the public and the horticulture professionals. When we mention ‘flower
power’, this plant does not hold back! It was a solid patch of deep purple in the landscape all
summer. Compact and clean flower and foliage, make this a winner. If we might describe it in
one word…”Awesomeness.” Try it out, we are sure you will be a ‘fan’ of this flower!
Geranium Interspecific
Grace Ruby Red (P)
Beekenkamp
What is more classic than a red geranium?! This geranium has vibrant red colored flowers held
above the crisp, clean foliage on sturdy stems. The red color holds well in full, blazing sun, with
no fading or color melting. Grace Ruby Red has a nice round, mounding habit, that showed little
to no Japanese Beetle feeding!
Geranium Zonal
GalaxyTM Purple
Ball FloraPlant
If you haven’t heard of the GalaxyTM series, they are kind of out of this world! This year, Galaxy
Purple was the top performer. It produces large, sturdy ‘lollipops’ boasting dozens of deep violetpurple
with a hint of white in the center florets. It consistently produced flowers all season on
uniform, well-branched plants!
Dahlia
City LightsTM Purple
Selecta One
A multi-year winner—it is that good! Bred for performance in heat, City Lights Purple lives up to
expectations. Flowering through most of the summer, with rich deep purple flowers, that are
accentuated by the dark green-black foliage, holds up well in the full sun all season. The bees
and other pollinators also love this plant.
Portulaca
Mojave® Mango
Proven Winners
In this collection of portulacas, Mango was the favorite. The plants were vigorous with a nice low
growing form. The copious amounts of mango-orange-colored flowers, with a red center,
opened by mid-day, providing waysides for a plethora of bees and pollinators. The whole planting
of portulaca was abuzz! Great for massing in the front of the border.
Petunia (Vegetatively Propagated)
Supertunia Mini Vista® Plum Veined
Proven Winners
This petunia performed well all year, from the greenhouse production to the summer landscape.
A floriferous plant, with quarter-sized flowers boasting light purple hues and contrasting deep
purple-black veins. Although vigorous, the plants played well with their neighbors, not overtaking
their space. This is a great massing plant to add impact to the landscape.
Petunia (Seed Propagated)
Easy Wave® Navy Velour
PanAmerican Seed
Another plant in which the name is spot on! The rich, deep purple, that in the right light, looks as
though the flowers are made of velvet. The flowers are large and numerous and hold the
intensity in the full sun. These are vigorous plants that would work well for use in contrasting
other plants and make them pop.
Container Winners
Combination Container
PlaylistTM Uptown Funk
Sakata
This combination of three celosia was stellar in the garden! The container caught peoples’ eyes
from across the garden. The vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows provided long-lasting, seasonlong
color all the way into fall. The sturdy plants filled out the container well. This combination
would work well for fall planter interest!
Rudbeckia
SunBeckia® GraYiti Caramel
Bull Plant Genetics
Who doesn’t love a good caramel candy?! Another award winner from the Bull Plant Genetics
SunBeckia lines. This rudbeckia sports a unique caramel flower color, with the outer edges
having a warm rich, deep yellow-ish brown color, having a deep reddish-brown eye. As the longlasting
flowers age, these colors develop into a nice overall caramel color. The plants are
relatively compact keeping the plants from lodging. Another great Sunbeckia to consider.
Mandevilla
Tropico Unico Pink
Ball FloraPlant
This non-vining type of mandevilla was stellar in the Colorado summer! Large, soft shell- pink
flowers, with a rich rose and yellow throat, covered the stems for this containerized planting. The
deep glossy green foliage sparkled in the sun. A great upright shrub-like form to definitely
consider for the landscape!
Coleus
TerraScape ‘Queen’
Kientzler North America
Talk about dramatic! This vigorous coleus can make a statement in your garden. The deep red
maroon leaves with a blaze reddish-pink center, and lime-green shark-toothed edges are eye
catching! And the colors hold up well in full sun! The plants are sturdy and strong and work well
in containers!
Geranium
MojoTM white
Syngenta
Cloud-like cotton white clusters of flowers float above a deep green foliage. This plant has the
mojo with lots of flower power. Best displays when regularly deadheaded. Older flowers not as
noticeable, like some other white flowered geraniums. Works well in containers and equally as
well in the ground!
Scaevola
Scala Cappello White
Dümmen Orange
Another award-winning fan-flower from the Dümmen group! Cappello White is a smaller
statured plant, that works well in smaller containers. It produced crisp, clean, white flowers all
summer long! Great planted on it’s own in a container or would be great for use in a mixed
container.
Petunia (Vegetatively Propagated)
Tea Flamingo
Beekenkamp
If you want to catch someone’s eyes, plant a couple Tea Flamingo Petunias. This unique,
flamingo peachy-salmon colored petunia flowered all summer, well after many other petunias
started fizzle. It performed well not only in the container, but in the landscape bed as well. The
plants were well branched and have a more outright growth habit. If you’re going to try one
petunia, you should try Tea Flamingo. You wouldn’t be disappointed.
Petunia (Seed Propagated)
Easy Wave® Navy Velour
PanAmerican Seed
One of the Easy Wave® series, which all performed well. This versatile petunia also was rated the
best for our petunias planted in ground. The large, velvety rich, deep purple, flowers glisten in
the bright sun and don’t fade! The vigorous plants fill out containers well and would be a good
option for a mixed planter to fill out and spill over the edge. Catch this Wave next year at the
garden centers.
Hybrid Impatiens (Grown in Sun)
Sol LunaTM Light Salmon
Danziger
Sol LunaTM Prime series by Danziger performed well in the trials this summer. In full blazing sun,
surrounded by brick and rock, these interspecific impatiens held their own! Prime Light Salmon
was the top rated one in the series with the most uniform growth. The classic New Guinea-like
flower sports a delicate peach-salmon color and nearly 2” wide flowers. These are great hybrid
impatiens that handle the intense summer sun in Colorado, but versatile for shadier situations
as well!
Begonia (Grown in Sun)
StonehedgeTM Rose Bronze Leaf
Benary
Impressive! Massive! Those were comments overheard from our evaluators. The
StonehedgeTM series can grow to be hedge-like! These seed-grown interspecific hybrid vigorous
plants filled out our container well, making a statement. It produced loads and loads of large,
bright, rose pink colored flowers, that were juxtaposed against the deep bronzy-burgundy leaves.
The pink-red colored stems echoed the flower colors throughout the plant. They handled the
hot, bright sun and heat of the Colorado summer with no problems. If you want to fill in an area
in the garden or to make a small annual hedge, definitely consider the Benary Stonehedge Rose
Bronze leaf begonia!
Verbena
Empress® Sun Kiss Pink
Dümmen Orange
Pink. Pink. Pink. This relatively compact growing verbena was stunning with the copious
amounts of medium-soft pink flowers that covered the foliage. The flowers aged well, without
very little to no browning and fading. It was a showstopper through the whole summer and into
early fall!
Angelonia (Grown in Container/Ground Bed)
Guardian AngelTM Blue
Ball FloraPlant
Floriferous is an understatement! This is a stately triploid plant, boasting large, saturated bluepurple-
colored flowers. These plants started flowering early summer and flowered all the way
until the first frost. This summer snapdragon performed well in both container and ground bed
plantings…shooting out of the container like a mid-summer firework!
Lantana
BandolistaTM Mango
Syngenta
Mango was the best performing BandolistaTM lantana. With loads of vibrant tropical shades of
newly opened yellow flowers to reddish orange older flowers, this lantana provides great hot pop
of color in the landscape. One can barely see the foliage when it is in full flower! With its
moderate vigor and habit, it works well in containers and hanging baskets, with the ability to
tolerate low water inputs. Oh, you’ll be sure to attract pollinators to your garden with this plant!
Calibrachoa
Bloomtastic Serenity 2025
Dümmen Orange
Compared to nearly all the other calibrachoas trialed, Bloomtastic Serenity was covered in twotoned
light purple with dark purple eye and yellow throat. It bloomed from early summer to very
late in the season. When all the other calibrachoa had dwindled with color, Bloomtastic was
showy! Overall plant form was great, creating a nice display in the container. This plant
definitely lived up to its name!
Portulaca
Mega PazzazTM Fuchsia
Danziger
Overall, the PazzazTM series did well in the trials. Mega was the top scoring selection of the
group. The PazzazTM Fuchsia produced bright, intense fuchsia pink colored flowers on semitrailing
stems. We observed that the portulaca in this series were open longer during the day,
opening hours before and after other portulaca had closed. This was a pollinator magnet as
well—with so many bees visiting, we could hear the containers humming standing feet away!
Great option for container plantings, handling heat and drought conditions.
Begonia Interspecific Hybrid (Grown in Shade; Ground bed/Container)
MegawattTM White Green Leaf
PanAmerican Seed
These begonias were developed for both sun and shade conditions. And they perform well in
both! The clean white flowers with the bright yellow anthers and pistil contrast nicely with the
bright, glossy green foliage. Great vigor in these plants, ideal for container and in ground
situations. Pink MegawattTM also performed very well in the trials. If you want mega flower
energy in the landscape, consider the MegawattsTM!
Begonia Elatior type
BK Collection Vermillion Red (P)
Beekenkamp
Vermillion Red has been a consistent top performing elatior-type begonia in the gardens! It
boasts vibrant red flowers that pop in the part shade. Its upright habit makes it all the easier to
enjoy the numerous silky red flowers. Definitely check out this Vermillion Red begonia and the
other colors in the series!
Begonia Boliviensis type
FlorencioTM Yellow
Syngenta
The large, soft-butter yellow and bright centered flowers of this FlorencioTM contrast well against
the deep, dark green lance-shaped foliage. The plants were very uniform and upright, creating an
excellent container display.
Begonia Tuber-type
AdoraTM Velvet Red
Syngenta
Rich, velvety red, quarter sized double flowers abundantly adorned the well branched plants in
the trials this year. The mounding type plants filled out the containers well. The crisp, dark green
foliage provides a beautiful contrast to the red pops of color.
Interspecific Impatiens (Grown in Shade)
Solarscape® XL Lilac Spark
PanAmerican Seed
The Solarscape interspecific impatiens performed well in both containers and in the landscape
beds. XL Lilac Spark produced uniform plants with continuous flowering throughout the season.
These seed series hybrids are versatile for the landscape, especially for those that want the
traditional New Guinea Impatiens look for the full sun!
Other Outstanding Varieties
Anigozanthos Kanga® Cherry
Green Fuse® Botanicals
This plant caught the eye of garden visitors this summer. This unique Australian native with
velvet like flowers, was eye-catching and provided a rich cherry-red color for weeks on end! The
iris-like foliage was attractive, complimenting and filling out the large container. Anigozanthos is
definitely one to look for and consider for your landscape!
Echeveria gibbiflora Coral Reef® Dark Chocolate
Green Fuse® Botanicals
Succulents have been popular for some time. And this Echeveria preformed well. They plants
filled out the container nicely. The aptly named plant provided great visual texture. This certainly
is a great selection for containers on the patio!
Ageratum hybrid Monarch Magic
Ball FloraPlant
Flowers. Flowers. Flowers. This ageratum performed well in both containers and in the
landscape. Unlike old-school ageratum, this one is better suited for full sun. It keeps flowering
all season and is a sure fire stop for pollinators, including bees and butterflies!
Helianthus Sunfinity® Double Yellow
Syngenta
The epitome of ‘flower power.’ This vigorous double flowered sunflower boasts rich, 2 to 3”
yellow flowers ALL summer and into the fall. This selection is well branching, so just a plant or
two can fill a good amount of space in the landscape. If you’re putting it in a container on the
patio…make sure to give it a big enough pot! Oh…and Sunfinity Double Yellow—resists the pesky
powdery mildew, we all too often see with sunflowers!
Celosia ‘Bright Sparks’ Series
Syngenta
Long lasting, bright colors of deep red, orange, bright yellow, and intense pink can be expected
with this series of celosia! The wispy flower heads provide great color all summer, with little
fading. Great branching, sturdy stemmed plants that attract pollinators and love the heat of the
Colorado summer!
Agastache Mexicana ‘SummerlongTM Lemon’
Darwin Perennials
One of several in the SummerlongTM series, Lemon was a standout in the landscape this
summer. This tender perennial started flowering in the greenhouse…and didn’t stop all summer.
And it is STILL going! It brings a nice bright spot of color—with lots of pollinator and hummingbird
activity and some fragrance. One will certainly would get their money’s worth with this plant in the
garden!
HulaTM Begonias
PanAmerican Seed
These interspecifc begonias are quick to fill out in the landscape and in containers. These
waxleaf begonia type have a nice trailing and spreading habit that grew to about 12” in the trials
and provide lots of flower power! They are versatile, working well as massing plants in the
border, for use in containers and in hanging baskets—in both sun and shade locations!
