All-America Selections gives three types of awards: Gold Medal, for rare breeding breakthroughs; National Winner, for plants that outperform comparisons in nearly all North American trial regions; and Regional Winner, for plants that excel in one to five specific regions.
Whether you are browsing seed catalogs, visiting your local garden center, or planning your spring flower beds, you have likely come across a distinct red, white and blue logo featuring the letters AAS.
Since 1932, All-America Selections (AAS) has served as the premier non-profit plant trialing organization in North America. Its mission is simple: to test new, unreleased plant cultivars against existing commercial market standards through unbiased, independent trial grounds managed by horticulture experts.
When a plant carries an AAS Winner stamp, it means it has proven itself exceptional in traits like bloom duration, disease resistance, heat tolerance, and overall landscape beauty. To help you choose plants best suited for your specific landscapes, AAS categorizes its award winners into three distinct award levels:
1. AAS Gold Medal Winners
The AAS Gold Medal is the highest honor a plant cultivar can receive from All-America Selections.
What Does a Gold Medal Mean:
A True Breeding Breakthrough: Unlike National Winners—which represent superior improvements over current market standards—the Gold Medal is strictly reserved for unprecedented breakthroughs in plant breeding.
Rare Recognition: Because breeding revolutions do not happen every year, AAS Gold Medals are awarded very sparingly, sometimes appearing only once or twice in a decade.
Why Does a Gold Medal Matter:
When you plant a Gold Medal Winner, you are growing history in your own backyard. These plants represent absolute game-changers in floral performance, habit or disease resistance.
Recent Gold Medal Winners:
2. AAS National Winners
The National Winner designation is the traditional benchmark of excellence that built the AAS reputation over the past century.
What Does a National Award Mean:
Broad Adaptability: To earn a National Award, an entry must be trialed at independent test sites across North America and score consistently higher than existing comparison varieties in almost all trial regions.
Proven Reliability: These flowers exhibit versatile garden performance, maintaining vibrant color, uniform growth habits, and high pest or disease resistance regardless of where they are planted.
Why Does a National Award Matter:
National Winners are the “foolproof” choices for container gardens, borders, and flower beds. If you want a top-tier performer with guaranteed versatility and low maintenance, looking for National AAS Winners is one of the safest bets you can make in the garden center.
Recent National Winners:
3. AAS Regional Winners
North America encompasses a wide range of growing conditions, from humid coastal zones to high-altitude arid deserts. A flower that thrives in the Pacific Northwest might struggle in the hot, muggy summers of the Deep South.
Recognizing this diversity, AAS established the Regional Winner category.
What Does a Regional Award Mean:
Targeted Excellence: A plant receives a Regional Award when it demonstrates outstanding, superior performance in two to four specific trial regions across North America, rather than uniform performance across the entire continent.
Regional Trial Zones: AAS divides North America into six trial regions: Northeast, Heartlands, Southeast, Mountain/Prairie, Southwest, and Northwest and any one variety has to perform well in two or more regions to receive the award. Typically, if an entry performs well in five or more regions, it is a National Winner.
Why Does a Regional Award Matter:
Regional winners are a goldmine for home gardeners looking for hyper-local performance. If you choose a flower that earned a Regional Award for your specific zone, you can expect higher success rates against local climate stressors like extreme humidity, dry heat, or late spring frosts.
Recent Regional Winners:
How to Use AAS Winners in Your Garden
Next time you order seeds or buy bedding plants:
Look for the AAS Logo: Check the plant tag or packet for the official AAS seal.
Check the Region: If it is a Regional Winner, verify that your state or zone falls within its award-winning region.
Plant with Confidence: Because every AAS winner has been rigorously trialed by professional horticulturists, you can spend less time troubleshooting issues and more time enjoying your garden.
Have you grown any AAS Winner flowers or vegetables in your garden? Let us know your favorite varieties in the comments below!
FAQs About AAS Awards:
What is the difference between an AAS National and Regional winner?
An AAS National Winner outperforms existing comparison varieties in almost all trial regions across North America, making it a reliable choice nearly anywhere. A Regional Winner excels in one to five specific regions rather than across the whole continent. Regional winners go through the same trialing process as national winners but are recognized for outstanding performance in specific regional climates. If you garden in a region with a distinct climate, such as humid Southeast summers or arid Southwest heat, a Regional Winner for your area may be your best bet.
How rare is an AAS Gold Medal?
Very rare. The Gold Medal is reserved for unprecedented breakthroughs in plant breeding, not just improvements over existing varieties, so it is awarded only sparingly, sometimes just once or twice in a decade. That separates it from National and Regional Winners, which are announced every year.
How many regions does AAS trial in?
AAS divides North America into six trial regions: Northeast, Heartlands, Southeast, Mountain/Prairie, Southwest, and Northwest. Entries are grown at trial sites in the United States and Canada, and a plant’s scores in each region determine whether it earns a National award, a Regional award, or neither.
Who judges AAS winners?
AAS winners are chosen by independent, professional horticulturists who evaluate new, unsold varieties against comparison plants. These judges include breeders, academics, trial managers, and commercial growers, and AAS has reported dozens of them across more than 32 states and provinces. After the growing season, entries whose scores meet the criteria are approved as possible AAS Winners. Judges also elect the AAS board of directors.
Are AAS winners available to home gardeners?
Yes. AAS requires all its winners to be readily available at retail soon after accepting the AAS award. Thus, winners are available for sale as soon as they are announced. You can find them through seed catalogs, garden centers, and the “Buy Winners” page on the AAS website.
