New AAS Winners!

Ellen C. Wells

Here are the newest entries to join the prestigious All-America Selections winners group:

• Eggplant Icicle (National winner). These cylindrical-shaped eggplant literally do look like icicles! Reasons for winning include: fewer spines; larger fruit than other white varieties; large yields; fewer seeds; durable plant that holds up to pests and weather; and it has a taste and texture that even a judge’s 11-year-old approved of. That says a lot! Bred by Known-You Seed America Corporation.

• Lettuce Bauer (National winner). This oakleaf lettuce variety has a darker green leaf and is uniformly compact, allowing it to be grown anywhere. It has a dense head of sweet, crisp and sturdy leaves. It’s also super-easy and fast to grow, as oakleafs are prone to do. Bred by Vitalis Organic Seeds.

• Pepper Buffy (National winner). Buffy is a fiery pepper plant with a good yield of juicy, thick-walled green to red fruits on a strong, upright plant. The fruit size is slightly larger than comparison peppers, and they’re held higher on the plant, giving it a bit of an ornamental value. Bred by Known-You Seed America Corporation.

• Petunia Bee’s Knees (National winner). This intensely yellow petunia flower shines against the plant’s deep green leaves. It’s a great performer in the garden, in baskets or in combos regardless of conditions. And its non-fading blooms emerge all season long. I grew this one last year and really loved it! Bred by Ball FloraPlant.

• Watermelon Century Star. (Regional winner—Great Lakes). This seedless watermelon is similar to the heirloom variety Moon and Stars, producing a bunch of 10-lb. fruits on long vines. Gardeners in the Great Lakes region will see healthy plants, attractive spotted rind fruits and a great tasting, crisp, sweet internal flesh. Bred by Chia Tai Co. Ltd.

Find out more about the AAS program, which has been running now for almost 90 years, at www.all-americaselections.org. GP