Note: Information for this trials report is provided by Brianne Swailes, Trials and Research Coordinator at the Dallas Arboretum.
1 of 6
2 of 6
3 of 6
4 of 6
5 of 6
6 of 6
The early part of our Summer trial season was a lot rainier than usual. Typically, we receive most of our rain during the Spring trial period. In addition, the summer season was not as hot as what has been observed in previous years. The number of 100 degree or higher days was lower than last year, and those days started much later into the summer season. About the only issue with the hot temperatures coming later is that they lingered into September and have had a negative impact on the establishment of our Fall trials.
Between our Spring, Summer, and Fall trials, we trialed around 1,000 different varieties in 55 different genera. The trials were either planted in-ground, in containers, or in hanging baskets. Sometimes the plants could be trialed in all three locations. Overall, our trials did really well. For Spring, some of the top performers were the Lobelia Laguna series from Proven Winners and the Petunia Supertunia Mini Vista series from Proven Winners. For our Summer Trials, some of the top performers were the Down Town coleus series from Dümmen Orange, the Talavera coleus series from Syngenta Flowers, and the Pazzaz portulaca series (both Mega and Nano) from Danziger.
Our biggest challenge this year was trying to fine-tune our irrigation. Between the increased rain and the extended hot weather later in the year, the irrigation was constantly being changed. We overcame this challenge by relying on both weather data and plant visual clues to indicate when a change on the timing was needed. For example, during heavy rains or multiple days with rain, we would turn the clocks off to avoid over-irrigating. Once the temperatures began to rise, we looked for signs of early morning wilting or plant stress to indicate that it was time to start slowly increasing the irrigation times. One truly surprising thing we learned was that our hanging baskets needed less water than expected.
One plant that really surprised me this year was the three different Eustoma (aka Lisianthus) series that we planted in Spring. Due to the longer flowering time, we decided to leave the plants throughout part of the Summer to get a flower round and then expected the plants to die; however, the plants survived the Summer and appear to be putting out a new round of flowers for Fall.
The Titan-ium series of vinca from Ball Seed was an absolute delight to grow. The plants were unfazed by any of our weird weather changes and consistently produced flowers. In addition, the plant performance was spectacular in both the in-ground and container replicates. Lastly, Bidens White Delight Imp. from Danziger did better than expected. Usually, our Bidens stop flowering during the summer heat, but this one just continued with no issues.
Find more 2024 field trials information here.
