Background. 2009 was the sixth year of our "annual" evaluation program. Our goal is to provide valuable information on plants that are currently available, as well as those not yet released. This information is used by the industry to develop better plants for consumers. Better plants mean happier customers, and potentially more sales. You can review pictures and data from previous research in our Archives section. This research effort is headed up by Dr. Bill Miller (wbm8@cornell.edu), Horticulture Section, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

Sponsors. This year we were happy to have seven sponsors, listed below. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Get the details.

• Ball FloraPlant (11 entries)
• Burpee (42 entries)
• Oro Farms (28 entries)
• Pan American Seed (23 entries)
• Proven Winners (51 entries)
• Syngenta Flowers (74 entries)
• Takii (12 entries)

Evaluation criteria. We evaluated the plants every two weeks, usually by at least six people, including a mix of staff members and students. Plants are given a 1-5 rating (1=awful, 5=great) on the following attributes:

• Flowering impact (except for foliage plants such as coleus)
• Foliage appearance
• Plot uniformity
• Overall landscape value.

Evaluations also include written subjective commments and photographs. At the end of the season, we average the numbers across all raters, for all evaluation dates, giving an overall seasonal average. View data in an Excel spreadsheet. Photographs are compiled into a timeline of performance throughout the season. View the 2009 Gallery.

***New this year***

With the addition of ornamental vegetables from Burpee, an appropriate rating scheme needed to be created. Obviously, evaluating vegetables for the same criteria as flowering annuals would not be fair. To evaluate the vegetables, photos and comments were recorded, and then plants were assessed to either have "Ornamental potential," or "Drawbacks." This is a rudimentary system, and may change as the industry's needs change.

Maintenance. Seed, plugs, or rooted cuttings were grown in 4-inch pots in the spring, and transplanted at the Bluegrass Lane Research site in early June. Maintenance was minimal (mulching, weeding and some grooming). Fertilizer was applied as a dry feed in mid-June (Osmocote). Irrigation was via subirrigation.

Weather. Ithaca is located in Zone 5a-b. We had a rather cool season as far as temperatures. June's average was 62F, July's was 65F, August's was 68F and September’s was 59. Precipitation amounts were 4.75 inches of rain in June, 3.25 inches in July (2 inches more than normal), 5.5 inches in August and 2.5 inches in September. Additional weather information can be found at The Ithaca Climate Page.

Thanks. Thanks are expressed to the breeding and supply companies who provided plant materials and financial support for these trials. These trials would not have been possible without the great efforts of Ron White, JC Mosher and Louise Gray of Cornell's Bluegrass Lane Turf and Landscape Research Center, my Trial Garden Coordinator Melissa Kitchen, undergraduate students Chris Beyers, Heather Lee, and Mike Ortiz.

2009 Crew mulching pansies: Mike Ortiz, Michelle Garvie, Chris Beyers, Heather Lee.

2009 Crew at Plantations: Mike Ortiz, Chris Beyers, Heather Lee, Melissa Kitchen.

2009 Crew amongst lilies: Heather Lee, Mike Ortiz, Chris Beyers, Melissa Kitchen.