Coral-hued coleus, determinate jalapeño and new Roma-style tomato make the list
This AAS-winning Coral Candy coleus is part of the Premium Sun series hybridized by PanAmerican Seed.
Courtesy All-America Selections
What’s coming to nurseries in 2023? Judging by these winners, we’ll be oohing over variegated foliage and aahing about orange snapdragons. Plus we’ll be mighty impressed by a pint-size kabocha squash and jalapeños that ripen all at once.
The All-America Selections (AAS) for 2023 were recently announced with national honors going to five flowers and vegetables plus a regional nod to a Midwest-oriented tomato (with Yolo County ties). These plants are expected to show up in nurseries and seed catalogs in time for planting next year.
All-America Selections also are featured in the demonstration gardens of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, tended by Sacramento County master gardeners.
AAS is considered “North America’s most well-known and respected non-profit plant trialing organization,” according to its website. “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.”
And the winners are:
– Coral Candy coleus, part of the Premium Sun series hybridized by PanAmerican Seed. This is the first seed-grown coleus to win AAS honors in the Seed category. Its narrow, deeply serrated leaves combine a vivid shade of coral bordered with dark green. Says the AAS, “Just three seeds will produce enough substance to fill a 14- to 16-inch container!”
– Waikiki colocasia, part of the Royal Hawaiian series, bred by John Cho of the University of Hawaii. The first AAS-winning colocasia (better known as elephant ear or taro), Waikiki has striking tri-color leaves with pink veins, emerald green borders and creamy centers.
– DoubleShot Orange Bicolor snapdragon, from Hem Genetics. This All-American comes from The Netherlands and was a hit with stateside judges. “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,” say the judges.
– San Joaquin jalapeño pepper, from Bejo Seeds of Oceano in San Luis Obispo County. What makes this jalapeño different? It’s determinate, so all the fruit (50-plus per plant) ripen at one time. “Perfect for canning, pickling and making roasted stuffed jalapeños for a crowd,” says the AAS. “Judges loved the flavor of the thick-walled fruits that have just a hint of heat at 2500-6000 Scoville units.”
– Sweet Jade kaboocha squash, from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. “Each fruit is between 1 to 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,” says AAS.
And because we have to have a tomato on this list, AAS added this Midwest Regional Winner (that also will grow well here in Sacramento):
– Zensei tomato, from Bayer Seminis Seeds. This may be a Midwest winner, but it has locally grown connections. Bayer Vegetable R&D is based in Woodland. Says the AAS, “Zenzei is an early-maturing, high-yielding Roma tomato … 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.”
Look for these new varieties in nurseries and seed catalogs in 2023.
For more information: https://all-americaselections.org/about-aas-winners/.
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Dig In: Garden Checklist
For week of June 4:
Because of the comfortable weather, it’s not too late to set out tomato and pepper seedlings as well as squash and melon plants. They’ll appreciate this not-too-hot weather. Just remember to water.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, melons, squash and sunflowers.
* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.
* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.
* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.
* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.
* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.
* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.
* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.
* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.
* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.
* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.
* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants.
* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.
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