Penn State Flower Trials Update: Practically Perfect Petunias

Of course, with three more ratings to complete, these first ratings may not reflect the overall performance for the year. There are 118 petunias entered in the trials for 2021, and twenty-five of these entries scored a five out of five possible on the first rating. The ratings are based on the averaged scores for uniformity, flowering, foliar quality, and overall growth.

The top twenty-five petunias are:

These star performers and other very good selections can be seen on the Penn State Flower Trials website where 998 plant selections are being evaluated this year. Over thirty commercial firms have entered the program for 2021, with two new participating companies this year. Cerny Seed from the Czech Republic and Pacific Plug and Liner from California sent in some interesting plants, including the Superbissima petunias, and the Delphinium Delgenius selections.

Commercial growers are invited to attend free in-person tours of the Flower Trials. Tours are July 14, 20, 21, 22, 28, and August 4, 2021. Each time slot includes a one-hour guided tour with Trials Director Sinclair Adam and one hour to view the trials at your leisure. Each session has a capacity limit of 30 participants. Preregistration is required.

Except for the above dates, visitors are welcome to stop by the Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center at 1446 Auction Rd. Manheim, PA, and a subset of the Penn State Trials may be seen at Hershey Gardens in Hershey, PA, or at North Park in the Pittsburgh area.