1999 CULTIVAR TRIALS OF BEDDING PLANTS

Barbara A. Laschkewitsch
Agriculture Research Specialist, Department of Plant Sciences

Dr. Ronald C. Smith
Extension Horticulturist, Department of Plant Sciences

SUMMARY

Introduction

The Plant Sciences Department conducted performance trials on over 400 annual bedding plants during the 1999 growing season at North Dakota State University. In Fargo, the main trials are located in the plots on the west side of campus along 18^th Street North. A trial garden is also located at the research station on State Avenue in Dickinson, ND. The weather and soil in Dickinson are considerably different than the Fargo site. The Fargo plots consist of a heavy clay soil while Dickinson has a much lighter soil and typically a drier climate.

Culture

Cultivars evaluated at both sites were seeded in Jiffy Mix® ¹ in the Horticulture and Forestry greenhouses on the NDSU campus January through April. The only exception was geraniums from Oglevee, which were received as rooted cuttings. When at the proper stage, seedlings were transplanted into cell packs containing Sunshine Mix® #1. Twelve plants of each cultivar were transplanted into the field at the Fargo site June 2-3, 1999. Plants were immediately watered in with Sterns Miracle-Gro® (15-30-15) water soluble fertilizer which was applied twice more during the growing season. In Dickinson, plants were set out May 27^th, 1999, and were also watered in with Miracle-Gro®. The Dickinson planting once again served as a hands-on workshop for area county extension agents.

Weather Data

There were no major weather events at the Fargo station this year. For the first time since 1996, no part of the trial beds were flooded or saturated for any period of time. August and September did receive higher rainfall than normal but that did not adversely affect any of the cultivars. The first mild frost came on October 1 which is very typical for the Fargo area.

The only adverse weather event in Dickinson this year was a hail storm which hit on August 15^th. The bulk of the hail was north of the plots, however, and only minor damage, particularly on the sunflower cultivars, was seen in the trial beds. Dickinson had its first killing frost September 27^th.

Table 1-1999 June-September Average Temperature and Precipitation for Fargo, ND. ²

Table 2-1999 June-September Average Temperature and Precipitation for Dickinson, ND. ²

Plants were evaluated twice over the season for height, spread, vigor, bloom quality, uniformity, and overall appearance. In Fargo, the first evaluation took place July 19^th and 20^th while the second was August 18^th through the 25^th, 1999. The Dickinson trials were evaluated on July 7^th during field days at the experiment station and August 18th, 1999.

Following are cultivars that were performing the best at each station over the course of the entire season. Cultivars listed here had good bloom, uniformity, vigor and a nice overall appearance. They are in alphabetical order.

1999 Top Performers

Fargo

Antirrhinum majus 'Bells Mixture' (GS) ⁽³⁾
A. majus 'LaBella Mix' (GS)
A. majus 'Light Pink Ribbon' (GS)
Asclepias curassavica 'Red Butterfly' (Pk)
A. curassavica 'Silky Gold' (Pk)
Begonia semperflorens as a group
Celosia 'New Look' (Ben)
Celosia 'Prestige Scarlet'(AAS 97)
Cosmos sulphureus 'Cosmic Orange' (Ben, AAS 00)
Cuphea x purpurea (Pk)
Dianthus chinensis 'Telstar Picotee' (AAS 98)
D. chinensis 'Melody Pink' (AAS 00)
Gazania splendens 'Talent' (Pk)
Gomphrena globosa 'Bicolor Rose' (JSS)
Impatiens wallerana 'Accent Lilac' (GS)
I. wallerana 'Accent Watermelon' (GS)
I. wallerana 'Carnival Orange' (Da)
I. wallerana 'Mosaic Rose' (GS)
Lobularia maritima as a group
Melampodium paludosum 'Showstar' (Ben)
Nicotiana affinis 'Havana Lilac Rose' (Da)
Nierembergia 'Mont Blanc' (AAS 93)
Pelargonium x hortorum as a group
Petunia hybrida 'Fantasy Carmine' (GS)
P. hybrida 'Fantasy Pink' (GS)
P. hybrida 'Fantasy Salmon' (GS)
P. hybrida 'PrimeTime Rose' (GS)
P. hybrida 'Misty Lilac Wave' (Bur)
Rudbeckia hirta 'Indian Summer' (AAS 95)
R. hirta 'Sonora' (Ben)
Salvia splendens 'Salsa Light Purple' (GS)
S. splendens 'Salsa Scarlet' (GS)
Tagetes erecta as a group
Verbena x hybrida 'Novalis Deep Blue/White Eye' (Ben, AAS 89)
Zinnia hybrid 'Profusion Orange' (AAS 99)

Antirrhinum majus 'Crimson Ribbon' (GS)
A. majus 'White Ribbon' (GS)
Catharanthus roseus 'Pacifica Polka Dot' (WFS)
Celosia 'New Look' (Ben)
Pelargonium x hortorum 'Bubble Gum'(Ogl)
P. x hortorum 'Evening Glow' (Ogl)
P. x hortorum 'Maverick Scarlet' (GS)
P. x hortorum 'Maverick Violet' (GS)
P. x hortorum 'Maverick White' (GS)
Petunia hybrida 'Purple Wave' (AAS 95)
Portulaca grandiflora 'Sundial Peach'(AAS 99)
Rudbeckia hirta 'Indian Summer' (AAS 95)
R. hirta 'Sonora' (Ben)
Salvia farinacea 'Strata' (AAS 96)
S. splendens 'Salsa Purple' (GS)
Tagetes erecta 'Antigua Orange'(GS)
Zinnia hybrida 'Peter Pan Mix' (GS)

Field Days

The second annual flower, ornamental grasses, and turfgrass field day was held August 7^th, 1999, at the Fargo plots. This annual event is open to the general public, growers, and industry people. The Dickinson experiment station holds tours of the display gardens in conjunction with field days there.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank official supporters of our 1999 trial gardens: Daehnfeldt, Inc.; Ernst Benary of America, Inc.; Grimes Seed; Oglevee, Ltd.; Goldsmith Seeds, Inc.; and Waller Flowerseed Company. We hope the results from our trial gardens are beneficial in their research for new and improved flower cultivars.

Frost Tolerances

After a mild frost (30°F) on the night of October 1^st, notes were taken in the Fargo trials on cultivar reactions to the temperature. The following table shows how each cultivar reacted to the low night temperature.

1999 BEDDING PLANT TRIALS RESULTS

DEPARTMENT OF PLANT SCIENCES
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
FARGO, ND

Agastache cana-Agastache. This is a perennial in zones 7-10 but can be treated as an annual in the upper great plains. By August, this plant was one of the top performers in the trial bed, producing a nice mass of mauve colored spikes. It was easy to grow , can be used as a cut flower and attracts butterflies.