All-America Selections

All-America Selections Offers Plants to Attract Pollinators and the Eye

by Nina Koziol

It’s the rare client who asks for a

“pollinator” garden. They might want more butterflies, but few will say bring me more bees. Bees and wasps? Too scary for most people. But many of your clients have probably heard or read about the plight of insects — the great decline in honey bees, native bees, and monarch butterflies.

“Our members are definitely saying the interest in pollinator-friendly plants is on the upswing,” says Diane Blazek, executive director of All-America Selections (AAS) and the National Garden Bureau in Downers Grove, Illinois. “Native plants are being requested more often. Questions about how much pollen and nectar are on plants are more common. Our pollinator-focused blogs on both the National Garden Bureau and All-America Selections sites are easily the most popular and get the most shares on social media.”

All-America Selections is an independent non-profit organization that tests new plant varieties. After a full season of anonymous trialing by volunteer horticulture professionals across the country, only the top plant performers receive the AAS Winner award designation for their superior performance.

Here are some of the All-America Selections winners — annuals and perennials. “Our judges are horticulture experts and evaluate all the entries on garden performance, consumer appeal, number of flowers, and many other traits that the breeders claim are unique,” Blazek said.

Sweet Daisy™ Birdy Leucanthemum (Perennial)

This beautiful Shasta daisy has robust, long-lasting blooms. In the 3-year AAS Trials, it demonstrated excellent cold and heat tolerance and maintained a tidy, sturdy habit. The blossoms provide food for many kinds of pollinators. Full sun.

Dianthus Interspecific Jolt™ Pink (Annual)

This dianthus offers large, showy flower heads on strong stems that perform extremely well all summer. It is the most heat-tolerant dianthus on the market, sporting very showy, bright-pink fringed flowers. Judges called this entry the “Best of the trials. We wish all dianthus performed this well.” This easy-to-grow, trouble-free annual is a winner for projects that need to be neat and tidy throughout the season. Full sun.

Concert Bell Sunflower (Annual)

Multiple clusters of 10 to 12 golden-yellow blooms top sturdy upright stems. Each plant grows to a very uniform height of 5 to 6 feet. Concert Bell was trialed in a year of adverse weather conditions and multiple judges commented on its durability and sturdiness even through strong storms and winds. Full sun.

Echinacea Sombrero® Baja Burgundy (Perennial)

Who doesn’t love a coneflower, especially in sunny gardens where vibrant, deep-violet-red blossoms steal the show? After being trialed over three tough winters, the AAS Judges noted this coneflower’s hardiness, sturdy branching, and floriferous blooming habit. Birds and pollinators flock to this deerresistant beauty making it a dual-purpose plant. Full sun.

Rudbeckia Amarillo Gold (Annual)

A beautiful Rudbeckia hirta, Amarillo Gold boasts a compact form and uniform habit perfect for mixed borders, mass planting, and containers. The light-green center disc surrounded by bold colors makes this a versatile plant for combinations with other annuals. AAS Judges noted how Amarillo Gold was early to flower and lasted throughout the summer providing weeks of stunning color. Large 4- to 6-inch wide blooms cover compact plants that provide a wow factor throughout the season. Full sun.

Zinnia Queeny Lime Orange (Annual)

Sporting large, dahlia-like blooms on sturdy, compact plants, this variety is total eye candy in the garden. As the flowers age, the color changes from dark coral/peach/orange to a light peach with a dark center. Visitors to AAS trial gardens loved the show-stopping color and large blooms. This new AAS Winner is also perfect for cut-flower gardens as each uniform plant produces many deeply fluted blooms that last up to three weeks in a vase without floral preservatives. Full sun.

Salvia Summer Jewel(™) (Annual)

This is the fourth AAS Winner in the Salvia Summer Jewel™ series and the newest color, Summer Jewel™ Lavender. The dusty lavender-purple color is a delight in beds, borders, and containers. It’s a major attractor of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The early bloom, compact uniform growth, and continuous flowering make this plant a winner. Full sun.