Blog

Congratulations to the “Best Of” Winners at Colorado State University!

Flower trials took place on Aug. 9 and Sept. 8, 2022, in Fort Collins with record-breaking warm temperatures still lingering earlier in the month. Ball received many “Best Of” by class distinctions for the 2022 season. Read the trials managers’ feedback and comments below.

Ball FloraPlant

Best Angelonia, container – Archangel Blue Bicolor “Plants had prolific flowering and had excellent rounded habits without any “spiking.” Large bicolor flowers were very attractive against the glossy dark green foliage. Plants were very healthy and low maintenance.”

Best Angelonia, ground – Archangel Purple Improved “Blooms had an intense, solid purple color and abundant flowering. Plants had a nice spreading growth habit with dense branching and nice foliage. The uniform plants did well in a summer with many periodsof extreme heat.”

Best Calibrachoa – Bumble Bee Hot Pink “From a distance it was impressive all season with good vigor, a great rounded habit and a blanket of bright pink flowers covering the container. Up close, the hot pink blooms stand out with a star-burst pattern of yellow in the center and throat.”

Best Combo – MixMasters Amped Up “The different coleus combined to look good from “Day 1.” Plants were uniform with excellent overall aesthetics and did not flower. Vigor was impressive and only recommended for large containers.”

Best Geranium (zonal) ground – Dynamo Dark Red “Flowers have an intense shade of dark red and it was noted that there was nothing else quite like it in the trial. Plants were bred to have medium vigor and filled out nicely with a very uniform growth habit. Flowers were both striking because of their color but were also very prolific and created a high degree of flower power.”

Best Petunia, container – SureShot White Bred to rigorous standards for a 7-day flowering time and matching habit.

Best Verbena, ground – EnduraScape Pink Bicolor Hardy through the hottest days of Summer, but can take the cold down to the low teens, and still rebloom in Spring, bringing lasting color to landscapes all season long.

Ball Ingenuity

Best Begonia (Rex) – Jurassic Jr. Fire Spike “Plants make attractive mounds of dense and very colorful foliage. Grown mainly for foliage, it does have small pink flowers later in season that also complement the pink shades in the leaves. A great choice to bring color to shady areas while also being very low maintenance. The Jurassic Jr. series provides all the same beauty as the Jurassic series but with ~40% smaller foliage."

Selecta One

Best Dahlia – City Lights Purple “For the second year in a row, this was a favorite plant from the Consumer Day voting as well as the industry evaluation due to the abundant rich, purple flowers and dark purple foliage. The consistent appearance was a reason for it being a repeat winner as well as in 2020. Plants were uniform in habit and maintained a fresh appearance by burying its dead.”

Best Geranium, container – Sunrise Brilliant Red 23 “Flowers were abundant with a bright shade of scarlet/red blooms. Plants had a great vigor and produced many large flowers. The medium green foliage was reminiscent of “grandmother’s geraniums.”

PanAmerican Seed

Best Begonia (seed), container – Hula Red Spreading Begonia “This is a new class of begonia that features a nice spreading growth habit that looks great in containers and could also be used in the ground. Flowers are more traditional sized but are very prolific and provide abundant color combined with the dark foliage. Plants are very adaptable and can be used in sun or shade locations."

Best Impatiens, container – Beacon Portland Mix “Nice mix of colors brightened up the shade with abundance of flowers. Besides the obvious outstanding characteristics of uniform plants covered by many flowers, the Beacon series also provides high resistance to Impatiens downy mildew which can be devastating.”