All-American Selections announces National Garden winners for 2016

All-American Selections announces National Garden winners for 2016

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By Heidi Sutton & Ernestine Franco

Winter was a long time coming to Long Island this year. The first snow did not fall until the weekend of Jan. 23, and then it fell with a vengeance — some areas of the Island were covered with more than 2 feet of snow. Following this, we went into the deep freeze the weekend of Valentine’s Day, with temperatures plummeting to minus 20 with the wind chill. To really confuse people, animals and plants, the thermometer reached 56 degrees two days later and we had a rainstorm.

So this year, it is not just gardeners who can’t wait for spring. Everyone may be checking out All-America Selections’ recently announced National Winners for 2016 — new varieties of flowers, fruits and vegetables that will do well in any climate throughout the United States and Canada. With fun names like Tomato Candyland Red, Strawberry Delizz and the exotic Mizuna Red Kingdom, these cultivars are the best of the best, beating out thousands for superior taste, disease tolerance, unique colors and flavors, higher yield, length of flowering and harvest, and overall performance.

Here’s what the judges had to say about these award winners:

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Cabbage Katarina: You will be able to enjoy your own fresh, homemade coleslaw with this new variety that has a perfect smaller head size (4 inches) and shape to be grown successfully in containers on patios and decks or in-ground beds, possibly as an ornamental/edible border. The taste is sweeter and less bitter than conventional varieties; it might just convert those who think they are not fond of cabbage. Photo from All-America Selections
Geranium Brocade Fire: This geranium has unique bicolor foliage with a nonstop display of semidouble orange flowers from spring to fall that gives it an exceptional look in any garden. It is ideal for combination planters, landscapes and garden beds. Photo from All-America Selections
Kale Prizm: Dreaming of growing the popular superfood kale, but think you don’t have room? Look no further than Kale Prizm which produces attractive, short, tight, ruffle-edged leaves that are content to be grown in containers as well as in-ground beds. The excellent tasting, almost nutty-flavored leaves are tender enough to enjoy in fresh salads, but also hold up well when cooked — a foodie gardener’s dream come true! Photo from All-America Selections
Kohlrabi Konan: Selected for it smooth, globe-shaped bulbs that can grow up to 6” in diameter, this variety is the perfect upright size and shape for container gardening and garden plots. Resistant to insect damage, the sweet, flavorful bulb has an excellent texture that makes it easy to slice and dice. Photo from All-America Selections
Mizuna Red Kingdom: This beautiful, vibrant, reddish-purple variety of Mizuna (Japanese mustard) is a flavorful, mild tasting green that can also be used as an ornamental in containers or in the landscape. Gardeners will appreciate how this variety does not bolt as easily as other mizunas and produces a much higher yield throughout the season, standing up to mid-season heat. Photo from All-America Selections
Pepper Cornito Giallo: “Double Yum” was one judge’s response to this new variety of pepper. Starting as small green fruits, it develops into bright yellow jewels with a delicious sweet and fruity flavor. Being an early bloomer, you will be able to enjoy these peppers throughout the growing season and well into the fall. Photo from All-America Selections
Pumpkin Pepitas: Pepitas is named for its hull-less or naked seeds (pepitas) that lack the tough outer hull, making them easy to eat after slow-roasting. Each high-yield plant produces numerous, uniform medium sized (9 – 12 pounds) pumpkins on healthy, disease-resistant vines. This confectionary-type of pumpkin produces beautiful orange fruits that, at maturity, have decorative green stripes. What an interesting change of pace for your fall decorations. Photo from All-America Selections
Strawberry Delizz: These vigorous strawberry plants are easy to grow from seed or transplant and produce an abundant harvest throughout the growing season. The best part though is the wonderful sweet strawberry burst of flavor from every handpicked berry. These plants have a nice uniform and compact size, making them perfect for containers, hanging baskets or garden plots. Photo from All-America Selections
Tomato Candyland Red: This award-winning, currant-type tomato is smaller in size than cherry-type and are ready to “pop” in your mouth straight from the garden. Gardeners will appreciate the dark red, sweet-flavored fruit that can be enjoyed throughout the season. The tomato plant itself has a nice tidier habit than other currant-type plants, with the fruit tending to form on the outside of the plant, making them easier to harvest. Photo from All-America Selections
Tomato Chef’s Choice Green: This uniquely colored yet delicious tomato produces beautiful green fruits with subtle yellow stripes, a wonderful citrus-like flavor and perfect tomato texture. Gardeners enjoy this disease-free plant throughout the season, with its dark green leaves and well-behaved form. Photo from All-America Selections

None of these AAS winners are bred or produced using genetically modified organisms (GMOs). For a complete list of 2016 new plants winners chosen by the AAS by region, visit their website at www.all-americaselections.org.

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