1988 AAS Bedding Plant Winner

A stellar performance – pure white stars are centered on huge crimson Grandiflora flowers. Ultra Crimson Star blazed a new path in 1988 as the first AAS Bedding Plant Winner. This category tests annuals in the greenhouse and garden. It is a test resulting in two evaluations and scores which eliminate all but the very best entries with clearly superior traits. Ultra Crimson Star passed this test with improved traits such as earliness and the consistent star pattern on flamboyant 3- to 4-inch blooms. Gardeners will find Ultra Crimson Star plants flower freely all season with a minimum of care. Pinching or pruning plants is unnecessary.

Bred by Mathilde Holtrop, of Goldsmith Seeds, her breeding objective was a stable star pattern that would remain constant under stressful plant conditions such as high or low soil fertility. Petunias are one of the few annuals that contain the genetic capability to create a floral “star” design. Using traditional breeding techniques, Mathilde or Tilly, selected parent lines that would result in large Grandiflora flowers borne on compact branching plants in addition to her “star” pattern. She met her breeding objective when Ultra Crimson Star was introduced as an AAS Winner. With her mentor, Glenn Goldsmith, she discovered the gene that was responsible for the miniature Fantasy petunia series, which resulted in another AAS Award for Fantasy Pink Morn. Tilly was recognized for her lifetime of breeding achievements with the AAS Medallion of Honor in 1999.