New Crop Opportunities Greenhouse Crops Research on Annual Flowers

Annual and perennial garden flowers have been evaluated for many years at the University of Kentucky. Trials have occurred at the University of Kentucky Arboretum since 1993. These trials were expanded at the Horticulture Research Farm in 1999 and 2000 with grants from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the Kentuckiana Greenhouse Association and the USDA New Crop Opportunities Center.

Demonstration gardens have been established at eight locations across the state. We wish to thank the Extension agents and Master Gardeners at these garden locations for planting, maintaining and evaluating the annual flowers in these trials.

Ø Purchase Area Master Gardener Garden, Paducah

Ø UK West Kentucky Research and Education Center, Princeton

Ø Warren Co. Master Gardener Garden, Bowling Green

Ø Hardin Co. Master Gardener Garden, Elizabethtown

Ø Louisville Zoo, Louisville

Ø UK Arboretum, Lexington

Ø Boone Co. Master Gardener Garden, Burlington

Ø Campbell Co. Master Gardener Garden, Highland Heights

Ø Pulaski Co. Master Gardener Garden, Somerset

Selected annual flowers were grown in Lexington and distributed to the demonstration gardens in May. The Master Gardeners and Extension agents planted the flowers in their trial gardens and evaluated them four times during the summer (mid July, early August, late August, mid September). All gardens were mulched with wood chip mulch; drip irrigation was used throughout the summer and plants were fertilized during the summer. Plant performance (Table 1) was evaluated on a 1 to 5 scale with 1 = poor and 5 = excellent. The evaluation was based only on the individual gardener’s determination of the quality of the plants. Although personal tastes are reflected in individual evaluations, the overall evaluation was accurate for the plant performance in each garden. The demonstration gardens seem to be a good educational activity for the Master Garden educational program. It is the goal of this program to allow Master Gardeners to see new flowers and compare them to the reliable annual flowers seen in Kentucky gardens.

Photos and details about plant performance are continually added to the Kentucky Garden Flowers Web site (http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Horticulture/gardenflowers). Also, going to the UK home page (www.uky.edu) and searching for a plant will direct the reader to the Kentucky Garden Flowers location.

Table 1. Evaluations of Annual Flowers
Variety	Scientific name	Rating
Spreading Petunia -- 'Wave Pink Improved'	Petunia x hybrida	4.7
Lantana -- 'Miss Huff'	Lantana camara	4.6
Mealy Cup Sage -- 'Victoria'	Salvia farinacea	4.5
Vinca -- 'Big Ruby'	Catharanthus roseus	4.5
Lantana -- 'Samantha'	Lantana camara	4.4
Lantana -- 'Patriot Sunburst'	Lantana camara	4.4
Summer Snapdragon -- 'AngelMist Purple'	Angelonia angustifolia	4.3
Lantana -- 'Patriot Cherry'	Lantana camara	4.3
Lantana -- 'Patriot Hot Country'	Lantana camara	4.3
Summer Snapdragon -- 'AngelMist Pink'	Angelonia angustifolia	4.3
Summer Snapdragon -- 'AngelMist Purple Stripe'	Angelonia angustifolia	4.3
Summer Snapdragon -- 'AngelMist Lavender'	Angelonia angustifolia	4.3
Lantana -- 'Weeping Lavender'	Lantana camara	4.3
Narrow Leaf Zinnia -- 'Crystal White'	Zinnia angustifolia	4.2
Lantana -- 'Patriot Hallelujah'	Lantana camara	4.2
Spreading Petunia -- 'Easy Wave Shell Pink'	Petunia x hybrida	4.1
Spreading Petunia -- 'Wave Blue'	Petunia x hybrida	4.0
Summer Snapdragon -- 'AngelMist White'	Angelonia angustifolia	3.9
French Marigold -- 'Aspen Red'	Tagetes patula	3.8
Lantana -- 'Patriot Cowboy'	Lantana camara	3.8
Lantana -- 'Patriot Desert Sunset'	Lantana camara	3.8
Lantana -- 'Patriot Dove Wings'	Lantana camara	3.8
Tooth Ache Plant -- 'Peek a Boo'	Acmella (Spilanthes) oleracea	3.7
Polka Dot Plant -- 'Rose Splash Select'	Hypoestes phyllostachya	3.7
Summer Snapdragon -- 'AngelMist Deep Plum'	Angelonia angustifolia	3.6
Spreading Petunia -- 'Easy Wave Cherry'	Petunia x hybrida	3.4
Spider Flower -- 'Sparkler White'	Cleome hassleriana	3.4
Brazilian Snapdragon	Otacanthus azureus	3.3
Spider Flower -- 'Sparkler Blush'	Cleome hassleriana	3.2
Spider Flower -- 'Sparkler Rose'	Cleome hassleriana	3.1
Globe Amaranth -- 'Gnome Mix'	Gomphrena globosa	3.0
Cupflower -- 'Summer Splash Blue'	Nierembergia hippomanica	2.8
Spider Flower -- 'Sparkler Lavender'	Cleome hassleriana	2.7
Wishbone Flower -- 'Summer Wave Blue'	Torenia fournieri	2.6
Cupflower -- 'Summer Splash White'	Nierembergia hippomanica	2.5
Flowering Tobacco -- 'Avalon Mix'	Nicotiana x sanderae	2.5
Flowering Tobacco -- 'Heaven Scent Mix'	Nicotiana x sanderae	2.4
Flowering Tobacco -- 'Domino Mix'	Nicotiana x sanderae	2.2
Flowering Tobacco -- 'Saratoga Mix'	Nicotiana x sanderae	1.9
Flowering Tobacco -- 'Havana Appleblossom'	Nicotiana x sanderae	1.8

Current research •Greenhouse crops

2002 Garden Flower Trials

Results of Annual Flower Evaluations by Kentucky Master Gardeners

Nicotiana x sanderae