All-America Selections, North America’s oldest and only national non-profit plant trialing organization is pleased to present four new regional winners for 2022.
Two weeks ago we featured the two new Gold Medal Winners then last week we featured the National Winners. But now, here are the newest of the new varieties that earned the respected Regional Award for their performance in specific geographic areas.
Each AAS Winner is grown and scored next to a very similar variety (we call it a comparison variety) and only if the entry performed better than the comparison does it become an AAS Winner. The same is not good enough in our world!
Keep an eye on this website and as each variety becomes available from National Garden Bureau members, the “Where to Buy” buttons will be updated so you can purchase your own AAS Winners for your gardens. For an overall list of online retailers who carry AAS Winners, check out the “Buy AAS Winners” page.
What makes it a Regional AAS Winner?
AAS Trial Gardens are spread out all over the United States and Canada, which means the entries experience a wide variety of climates, weather conditions, and growing experiences. The judges of AAS give honest, unbiased feedback on the plants they grow throughout the trialing process; sometimes that leads to a National Winner award designation. Oftentimes, the scores can be very high in some regions and not high enough in others. That doesn’t mean those plants don’t deserve to be recognized for their superior garden performance. Entries that performed particularly well in certain regions are named AAS Regional Winners.
Check out the map below to see which region you garden in.
Heirloom Look and Taste with Hybrid Traits
With “Delicious” in its name, it has to be good! This early maturing tomato supports the trend of having an heirloom look, flavor, and texture with hybrid disease resistance and improved germination meaning it is much easier for home gardeners to grow. When grown next to the comparisons, this variety is definitely earlier with a higher yield and a very uniform fruit size. The beautiful big fruits do not crack as much. What really sets this variety apart is the excellent flavor and a high Brix for a sweeter than normal pink tomato. Bonus: Much better disease resistance than controls in both the Southeast and Heartland regions.
“Great tomato in line with one of my favorite tomato trends; heirloom look and flavor with F1 disease resistance and germination,” stated one AAS judge. “Good flavor, big, fleshy, juicy with sweet tomato taste,” commented another judge. “Definitely a winner for an “heirloom” looking tomato but with all the benefits of a hybrid!” mentioned another.
High disease resistance and overall better performance
You might just carry a lifelong torch for this cute new tomato! Sunset Torch has strong, dramatic striping from stem to tip. This is a very vigorous grower and was the first to ripen in multiple regions. Overall better performance, less splitting, good yields, a mildly sweet, fruity flavor, and disease resistance make this cutie a winner. Sunset-colored fruits are produced on easy-to-harvest trusses. High disease resistance to ToMV, Verticillium Wilt Va/Vd, Fusarium Wilt Races 1 and 2, and intermediate resistance to TYLCV and TSWV. Bonus: Does much better than comparisons in the Mountain/Southwest, Southeast, and West/Northwest areas.
“The open growth habit displays fruit that pleases the eye before reaching the mouth!” explained one AAS judge. “Mild sweet flavor and deep color are highlights of this mini saladette type,” mentioned one judge. “Durable plants set good yields of beautiful orange uniform fruit that hold well in the field,“ mentioned another.
Beautiful flower for containers and landscapes
Torenia Vertigo is a brand new F1 Torenia ideal for both containers and the landscape. AAS Judges were impressed with the number of flowers on each plant and the vibrant non-fading blue petals that contrast beautifully with the sky blue and yellow centers. Torenia Vertigo has a compact habit, flowers for a very long period of time, and has glossy green foliage. The large blooms do not fade even when exposed to strong sunlight. Bonus: This torenia performed exceptionally well in warmer climates such as in the Mountain/Southwest and Florida.
“Good uniformity in pots, early to flower, nice strong color that does not fade,” stated one AAS judge. “Long season bloomer. The blue flowers lasted for several months, longer than the comparisons. Deep blue color is very attractive. A very good entry” exclaimed another judge. “It had a nice, tight habit with good branching and stood up to the weather well. The deep blue flowers were eye-catching.” mentioned another judge.
Beautiful Constellation Pattern
Century Star is a new seedless watermelon similar to the popular heirloom variety, Moon and Stars. Century produces a good yield of two or three 10 lb. round, red-fleshed fruits on long (9-11 foot) vines. Gardeners will be rewarded with healthy plants, attractive spotted rind fruits, and a great tasting, crisp, sweet internal flesh when they grow Century Star watermelon. Bonus: Century Star did better than comparisons in the Great Lake region.
“I LOVED the texture of the flesh (nice and crispy)” commented one AAS judge. “Set attractive fruit with spotted rind” mentioned another judge.“I really enjoy this watermelon” exclaimed another.
AAS Winners
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