All-America Selections is the oldest, most established international, independent, non-profit testing organization in North America for ornamentals and edibles. We trial annuals and vegetables grown from seed, annuals grown from vegetative cuttings and as of 2016, herbaceous perennials.

a) To receive a written objective evaluation on the performance of your entry by experienced horticulturalists, the AAS Judges.

b) To trial your new unsold cultivar at independent test sites across North America.

c) To win the prestigious AAS Award. Winners of the AAS Awards demonstrate superior garden performance and are recognized worldwide as varieties with outstanding vigor, quality and productivity under a wide range of environmental conditions.

d) AAS launches an extensive publicity program as outlined below. By becoming a prestigious AAS Winner, your variety is the beneficiary of a wide range of promotional activities. The first year is the most intense phase of promotion in order to successfully launch your new AAS Winner. Beyond the first year, there remains a consistent effort to keep AAS Winners top of mind. In fact, the promotions continue long after the assessment time frame because once an AAS Winner, always an AAS Winner. We often receive requests for photos and other information on winners that are ten, twenty or even 50 years old!

AAS requires that the following criteria be submitted to the AAS office by January 1 for a late January announcement, June 1 for a July announcement or November 1 for a November announcement.

1. Full, complete marketing name (including all trademarks, patents, etc).

2. A minimum of one (1), maximum of five (5) image(s) of the cultivar in a digital cross platform (for PC and MAC) format 300 DPI RGB JPEG. These images will be used extensively by AAS and by the garden media. Please send your highest quality images. PREFERABLE: Up to five (5) images of the cultivar in various settings such as: 1) Close-up, 2) Container, 3) Landscape, 4) “Glamour” shot (your choice, can be a culinary shot for vegetables) and 5) In a combination or mixed container.

3. For Seed Entries: Estimated total quantity of seed that will be sold to the home garden seed industry (includes mail order seed sales, packets sales and bedding plant sales) in North America (U.S. and Canada) the first 12 months from introduction date, stated in both weight AND seed count. For Vegetative Entries: Estimated total quantity of cuttings that will be sold to the home garden industry (includes mail order plant sales, bedding plant sales, etc.) in North America (U.S. and Canada) the first 12 months from introduction date.

4. Current inventory – Seed and cutting inventory should be equal to or greater than the quantity needed for the first year of sale. Seed varieties should be stated in weight AND seed count. To be considered by the AAS Board, the entrant must have 100% of expected first year sales in inventory.

5. Breeder must verify that the AAS Winner seed is in inventory and available for immediate shipment to distributors in North America. Breeder must verify that there is enough cuttings in production and will be available for shipment. Winners must pass all plant health requirements for the U.S. and Canada.

For Seed Varieties:

1. Laboratory germination test on blotter or soil, certificate signed by a registered seed technologist.

2. The AAS Board would like an indication of the seed enhancement, if any, (pelleted, encrusted, primed, treated) or will the seed be sold untreated? If the seed is to be enhanced, are those processes complete and the seed ready to sell? AAS (seed) Winners must be available as untreated seed.

3.The quantity of seed/cuttings that will be sold the first year depends upon the price. The AAS Board would like a general indication of pricing such as, “the same as F1 Hybrid petunia,” or “higher than normal F1 Hybrid petunia pricing.”

4. Completion of a data form, available from the AAS office, with complete variety details for the AAS website. This in-depth variety information will remain on the AAS website well beyond the assessment time period.

5. CRITERIA FOR SPECIFIC VEGETABLE CLASSES: All watermelon, melon and brassica vegetable holdovers must provide proof of seed health testing prior to introduction. This information is submitted to the AAS Board of Directors for the introduction decision.

See a list of all AAS Judges and their AAS judge biographies.

1. For seed entries, please remember that your entry must remain confidential. It is very important that you do not discuss your entry or entries with anyone outside of your company for the period that the trials are being conducted. For vegetative and perennial entries, you can introduce your entry to the market any time after November 1 but you cannot mention that it is currently in the AAS Trials.
2. Your final description form will be sent to you within four to eight weeks after the deadline. The official AAS code given to your entry will appear on the form along with the list of comparisons chosen. You can visit any AAS Trial Ground and locate your entry by the AAS code.
3. Plan to increase production of seed or cuttings in the event your entry becomes a potential AAS Winner.
4. Take high quality professional photography in the event that your variety scores enough points to become an AAS Winner.
5. For Perennial or Vegetative Annuals that are introduced commercially after submission to the AAS Trials, breeder cannot refer to AAS in any manner when marketing those varieties. Only after the trial is completed, the entry scores high enough to become an AAS Winner, criteria is met and the announcement is made by AAS, may the breeder associate that variety an an AAS Winner.

The winner is based on the average score given to an entry by all Judges. You will be notified by the Executive Director mid-October for the seed and ornamental vegetative trials. For the perennial trial, you will be notified in June of the fourth year after entering.

The breeder or entrant decides when the variety is ready to be submitted to the AAS Board for introduction consideration based on fulfilling the criteria for introduction. See above for more information on criteria.

November Introduction The AAS Board reviews the submitted criteria and decides on the introduction. If approved, the variety can be introduced immediately in early to mid-November. An email announcement is sent to all audiences and seed sales commence on that date.

January/February Introduction If a November introduction is not feasible, completed criteria can be submitted to the AAS Executive Director by January 1 for introduction at the next AAS Open Meeting. An email announcement is sent to all audiences immediately after that meeting and seed sales commence on that date.

Summer Introduction In order to qualify for a Summer Introduction, all criteria must be submitted to the AAS Executive Director by June 1. The Winners will be announced in early July. An email announcement is sent to all audiences and seed sales commence on that date.

A holdover is a variety that has been tested, received a sufficiently high average score to be considered for an award, but has not yet met the criteria for introduction.

Ornamentals from Seed

Assessments are 10% of net sales for five years with a minimum/maximum of $2,000/$20,000 per year. Regional Winners are assessed as listed in the following chart:

Ornamentals from Vegetative Cuttings

Assessments are 10% of royalties for three years with a minimum/maximum of $1,000/20,000 per year.

Edibles

Assessments are 7% of net sales for seven years with a minimum/maximum of $1,400/$14,000 per year. Regional Winners are assessed as listed in the following chart.

Perennials

Trial assessments are 10 percent of sales or royalties on sales for seed, vegetative or tissue culture perennials over a five year period, with a minimum of $1,000 per year and a maximum of $20,000 per year for a five year period. If the perennial trial winner is a bare root entry, the perennial assessment is one percent of wholesale sales with a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $20,000 per year for a five year period.

No. The only protection for a new variety is to apply for Plant Variety Protection available from USDA. Learn more about Plant Variety Protection.