Testing a Plant
Each year, these plants are grown like crops in a farm field under the baking sun and open to the driving rain. The best plants for your garden are tested in these harsh conditions to help assure success, even if you don’t give them the royal treatment. Hybridizers send their best and brightest to trial gardens to be put through the rigors of a regional summer.
Behind the scenes and well before a plant arrives at your local garden center, thousands of varieties are tested for uniqueness and general improvement. One such testing program is All-America Selections (AAS). It began at a time when no one had heard of social media, owned a digital camera or could call up the latest news from a home computer. It was an era before information about new plants was easily disseminated. In 1932, W. Ray Hastings of the Southern Seedsmen’s Association of Atlanta, Georgia came up with a way to inform the public about new varieties while benefitting commercial seed companies. The first All-America Selections program was comprised of trial grounds set up by seed companies that grew new varieties in different conditions throughout North American climates. Flower and vegetable varieties were grown and assessed by independent judges.
The main principle was, and is still today, that all plants would be new, previously unsold varieties. AAS Trials have been conducted every year since 1932. The number of sites varies, but usually consists of around 80 trial locations throughout the United States and Canada. Universities, public gardens, breeding companies, growers, brokers, extension agents, and retailers are current and potential judging sites where new varieties are compared with those already available in the trade.
How it Works
Plants are slotted into one of four categories, including:
- Ornamentals from Seed
- Ornamentals from Vegetative Cuttings
- Edibles (fruits and vegetables from seed)
- Herbaceous Perennials (first winners to be announced in 2019)
AAS Winners are announced three times each year in November, January, and July. Think of AAS as the plant version of Underwriter Laboratories or Good Housekeeping’s Seal of Approval. The program gives home gardeners some assurance of improved garden performance when planting AAS Winners.
