All-America Selections showcases container edibles program for growers

From All-America Selections:

Note: AAS is also offering a similar tomato and pepper program in concert with Summit Plastic Company. For more information, click here.

Now is a perfect time for growers to start planning their container edibles program for the 2014 season and All-America Selections has done some of the work by selecting eight of our best selling edible Winners that are perfectly-suited for container plantings. The varieties featured below are all not only delicious edibles but also lend an ornamental quality to your combination containers. In addition, AAS is working with Summit Plastic Company to create printed pots featuring the AAS logo and program description, geared for the consumer’s benefit. The pots will let consumers instantly locate award winning perennials at their local garden retailer.

The AAS Winners in the program include varieties from the best-selling multi-colored 1998 Winner, Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’ to the just-announced 2014 Winner Bean ‘Mascotte’, bred for both container and in-ground gardening. Also included are two violas: ‘Endurio Sky Blue Martien’ (2010) and ‘Shangri-La Marina’ (2011); two tomatoes: ‘Terenzo’ and ‘Lizzano’ (both 2011); one herb ‘Siam Queen’ Basil (1997) and one pepper ‘Cayennetta’ (2012).

As a timely and added bonus, AAS printed containers are now available in two sizes from Summit Plastic. Growers and garden centers can choose the red, white and blue pots in either the 1 quart or 2.5 quart size. Minimum quantities must be met and orders must be placed by September 15, 2013. Mock-ups can be viewed at either the AAS or Summit booths at the OFA Short Course.

1998 AAS Winner
Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’
‘Bright Lights’ is a perfect name for this improved Swiss chard. It offers gardeners a rainbow of stem colors. ‘Bright Lights’ stems can be yellow, gold, orange, pink, violet or striped in addition to red or white. The leaf color is green, dark green or bronze. ‘Bright Lights’ is also improved for tenderness and a mild chard flavor. ‘Bright Lights’ is easy to grow from seed or bedding plants. From sowing seed to harvest is only about 60 days. Mature plants will be about 20 inches tall and spread 18 inches. ‘Bright Lights’ can be eaten cooked or fresh in a salad. 'Bright Lights' has great taste and is a powerhouse of vitamins and key minerals. This superior chard combines flavor, nutrition and beauty. ‘Bright Lights’ is a standout in any vegetable or flower garden.

1997 AAS Winner
Basil ‘Siam Queen’
Siam Queen' is an improved tropical basil distinctly different from European basils. ‘Siam Queen’ plants are quite attractive, being symmetrical with a branching, mounded habit. The lush, tropical dark green leaves contrast with the square, purple stems. ‘Siam Queen’ is improved due to its larger leaves, thicker stems and later flowering. This results in higher herb yields. The leaves are more aromatic than the comparison Thai Basil. When lightly crushed, the leaves burst with a licorice/basil aroma. It is this aroma that makes Thai Basil a popular ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese dishes. Can be harvested 45-50 days after transplanting. Mature plant reaches about 2 feet in height and width.

2011 AAS Winner
Tomato ‘Terenzo’
AAS Winner 'Terenzo' is a high yielding red cherry fruited 'Tumbler' type of tomato that is a prolific producer on a tidy low-growing, trailing plant. The round fruit is a standard size cherry having an approximate size of 1¼ inches and an average weight of 0.7 ounces. A brix sugar content of 6.0% ensures this is sweet tasting tomato. With a plant height of only 16 to 20 inches, this compact variety is suitable for growing in hanging baskets or containers as a patio type tomato. This very easy-to-grow determinate bush variety requires little maintenance and produces fruits that are more resistant to cracking. 'Terenzo' is loaded with a bountiful harvest of flavorful, easy-to-pick fruits throughout the summer heat.

2011 AAS Winner
Tomato ‘Lizzano’
'Lizzano' is a vigorous semi-determinate tomato variety with a low growing, trailing habit excellent for growing in patio containers or hanging baskets. In the garden, some staking will benefit this plant despite a nice compact and uniform growth habit. The durable, appealing plants grow 16 to 20 inches tall with a compact spread of 20 inches. Expect abundant yields of high quality, bright red, 1-inch cherry sized fruits. The plentiful fruit set allows for continual harvest. Judges noted better eating quality, yield and plant habit than comparisons. 'Lizzano' is the first Late Blight tolerant cherry fruited semi-determinate variety on the market. Disease resistant plants will last later into the growing season. Harvest begins 105 days from sowing seed or 63 days from transplant.

2012 AAS Winner
Pepper ‘Cayennetta’
'Cayennetta' is an excellent tasting mildly spicy pepper that is very easy to grow, even for novice gardeners. This 3 to 4-inch chili pepper yielded bigger fruits from a very well branched upright plant that required no staking which would make it perfect for a container or patio planter. The tapered bayonette shaped peppers mature from green to glossy red. Unique to this variety is that it has good cold tolerance as well as dense foliage cover to protect the fruits from sun scorch and it handled extreme heat very well. This pepper is an all-around good choice no matter where you're gardening. Market growers will benefit from the heavy yield and prolific fruit set from each plant. Everyone will love the excellent pepper flavor that outshone all the comparison varieties.

2014 AAS Winner
Bean ‘Mascotte’
The first AAS winning bean since 1991, this compact variety is perfect for today’s small-space gardens. ‘Mascotte’ is a bush type bean that produces long, slender pods that stay above the foliage for easy harvest. This bean also has white showy flowers for ornamental value during bloom time. Judges appreciated the crunchiness and taste of this bean as well as the plentiful harvest all season long. The ‘Mascotte’ root system is ideal for patio containers and window boxes, and this versatile variety performs well in garden beds too. That means you can raise delicious beans in any outside space. The French ‘Mascotte’ (like its English translation “mascot”) is a symbol of good luck and was chosen for the variety’s gardener-friendly habit.

2010 AAS Winner
Viola ‘Endurio Sky Blue Martien’
A burst of clear blue greets gardeners with viola ‘Endurio Sky Blue Martien.’ This unique spreading/mounding viola cornuta may look delicate, but it delivers tough-as-nails performance in the garden through wind, rain, cold, and passing snowfalls. Plants flower throughout winter in mild climates, and in northern temperate regions when autumn planted it will re-bloom for a second season in the spring. Stunning sky blue ¾-inch blooms cover this sturdy 6-inch tall viola as it spreads 10-12 inches filling planters and garden beds quickly for maximum pot and landscape color impact. It is perfectly suited to window boxes and hanging gardens, as well as balcony and patio planters.

2011 AAS Winner
Viola ‘Shangri-La Marina’
This winning Viola cornuta is an early-flowering, mounding viola in a vibrant new color for this type. In trials, the 6-inch tall plants kept a low-growing mounding habit. Colorful and prolific 1¼ inch blooms have light blue petals with a velvety dark blue face that is surrounded by a narrow white border. Judges noted earlier (70 days from sowing to first flower) and showier blooms with noticeable drive-by flower power. Flower color was a consistent deep Marina blue throughout the season. This vigorous frost-tolerant biennial provides a solid mat of fall color until covered with snow followed by a great recovery in spring. Grow in full sun as a low edging in the garden or in hanging baskets and pots.

For more information about the edibles in this program, contact Diane Blazek, All-America Selections at dblazek@aas-ngb.org or at booth #1935 at the OFA Short Course. A list of all AAS Winners can be found at: http://www.aaswinners.com/winners/index.cfm.