2006 All-America Selections " Cool Season" Winners

By Bob Chapman

For the first time since the All-America Selections (AAS) were started in 1932 a new category of judging was started. Called the "Cool Season Bedding Plant Trial," the plants that many gardeners living in mild winter climates have planted in the fall are finally being judged solely on their ability to thrive in that environment. One of this year's winners is the "Skippy XL Re-Gold" viola, a stunning new introduction that's sure to please even the most judgmental gardener.

This viola (Viola cornuta) is the first to win the prestigious AAS Award. The competition is started in the fall and continues through the spring for a period of fourteen months of testing. The judges evaluate the plants for improved performance in the greenhouse as well as in the outdoor test plots. They are evaluated for qualities such as length of bloom, cold tolerance, winter hardiness and spring recovery. They are given points if performance is superior to comparison varieties when grown side by side in test plots. Flowers that can be tested in the Cool Season Bedding Plant category include most of the flowers that gardeners living in the mild winter climates are familiar with. These are alyssum, bellis, calendula, ornamental cabbage or kale, carnation, delphinium, dianthus, Diascia, lobelia, lupine, pansy, poppy, ranunculus, snapdragons, stock, sweet pea or viola. Gardeners can expect some dazzling improvements in the coming years as bedding plant growers, seedsmen and hybridizers compete to develop desirable qualities in these winter-loving plants.

The big winner: 'Skippy XL Red-Gold' viola

The improved qualities of this stunning viola are its flower size and flower colors that exemplify the freedom of bloom. The large, 1 1/2-inch round flowers appears to be a pansy, but it is a true viola. The colors on its bloom were designed by an artist, with its ruby red with violet red shading below the golden yellow face. Note the unique penciling or "whiskers" in the yellow face. These are an attribute of violas.

The AAS judges noted that the strong, dense plant which exhibited heat tolerance as well as cold tolerance when given moderate protection. These two traits give this viola a long blooming season. When mature, these gorgeous plants will spread about 8 inches and remain dwarf to about six inches. They are used as border plants, in mass plantings and are excellent container plants.

Diascia 'Diamonte Coral Rose'

The next winner, Diascia interimma 'Diamonte Coral Rose' (dy-ash-i-a), is not commonly found, but this beautiful hybrid is sure to be a very popular plant.  This first hybrid Diascia is an improvement over the original, known as the 'Twinspur.'  Originating in South Africa, this relative of the snapdragon features a long and earlier flowering period, blooming after 60-70 days from planting the seed. The one-inch-wide rosy coral blooms are produced on spikes surrounding the entire plant, creating a low mound of colorful rosy coral blooms that will last all winter in our milder climates as it is frost tolerant.

The plant has a branching habit, grows to 8-10 inches tall and about 18 inches across.

Plant Diascia 'Diamonte Coral Rose' in a sunny garden as an edging. It is also perfect for use in mixed plantings in containers where its trailing habit is a desirable addition.

Bob Chapman is a well-known professional gardener and landscape contractor. Currently retired, Bob now spends his time contributing many free-lance garden articles and columns, and is a much sought after lecturer and horticultural consultant.

Since 1987, Bob has appeared as a regular columnist for the San Jose Mercury News. Besides the Mercury, his writings have appeared in the San Diego Tribune, Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee and the Times Newspaper Group. He is the 1991 winner of the Quill and Trowel Award of the Garden Writers Association of America for the best newspaper gardening article in North America.

Bob majored in Ornamental Horticulture at Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo. He also served as a member of the Professional Gardeners Association.