TheMarch / April issueofNorthern Gardenerhas the results of theUniversity of Minnesota Extension Master Gardenervegetable trials . These are very utilitarian for nurseryman adjudicate which varieties to grow in their gardens . But , did you know that the Master Gardeners also try out annuals each yr as well ?
We do n’t usually have room to include those results in the magazine , but they are worth considering when you plan your yearly gardens . In 2014 , the Master Gardeners trialed shasta daisies and white madwort form . Below are the different varieties and what the Master Gardeners had to say about each :
White Alyssum
‘Snow Crystals’ alyssumPhoto courtesy of Pan American Seed
Four of the six variety test were place “ inadequate ” for germination by the Master Gardeners , and the stay two ( ‘ New Carpet of Snow ’ and ‘ Clear Crystal White ’ ) only give away “ average ” for sprouting . But once the plant life got started , all six of them were rated “ first-class ” for natural selection into September . In order of orientation by the Master Gardeners , here are the six assortment :
‘ Snow Crystals’ranked No . 1 . The flora were 6 column inch tall and 10.5 inches wide . The majority of Master Gardeners read they would buy these again .
‘ New Carpet of Snow’was the orotund of the plant and ranked No . 2 overall . plant were an norm of 6.3 inches improbable and 11.3 in all-embracing . Most MGs said they would purchase ‘ New Carpet of Snow ’ again .
‘Snow Lady’ shasta daisyPhoto courtesy of All-America Selections
‘ Clear Crystal White’ranked No . 3 overall , with most MGs saying they would corrupt it again . On average plants were 5.6 inch tall and 9.8 inch wide .
‘ Wonderland White’ranked No . 4 , but most Master Gardeners said they would not buy this works again . It was on median 4.7 inches marvelous and 10.7 inch wide .
‘ Easter Bonnet White’ranked No . 5 and was the smallest of the alyssums tested , at 4.6 inches tall and 9.3 inches wide . MGs say they would not corrupt this one again .
Pollinators swarmed the shasta daisies at the trial gardens at the U of M St. Paul campus last summer.
‘ Giga White’came in 6th among the alyssums , with most MGs saying they would not buy it again . The plants were 5.2 inches tall on average and 10.8 inch extensive .
Shasta Daisies
Like the alyssum , the shasta daisy were grown from seed and sprouting rate were jolly gloomy . Between 34 and 49 percent of the seeds germinated . But , unlike the madwort , the nurseryman ranked all of the shasta daisies as suitable of re - plant again . Here are the six varieties tested .
‘ Snow Lady’was the most compact of the plants , at 8.8 column inch high by 9.3 inches wide on fair . It ranked No . 1 overall , however .
‘ Silver Spoons’ranked No . 2 . It was a taller variety—13.1 column inch tall by 11.9 inch wide on average with a blossom that was a delicacy 2 inches across .
‘ Crazy Daisy’ranked No . 3 and was even big at 12.5 in tall by 14.0 inches wide with a 2.5 inch bloom .
‘ White Breeze’was a tall and narrow plant—14.7 inches grandiloquent by 9.6 inches across-the-board . It ranked quaternary overall .
‘ Alaska’was a large flora overall ( 13.5 inches magniloquent by 14.5 inch all-encompassing with a 3.0 inch prime ) but it tied for last place .
‘ Silver Princess’shared the No . 5 ranking with ‘ Alaska ’ . It was 11.5 inches tall by 10.2 inch wide .
The University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener trial were acquit by 96 gardeners in 42 county . The trials were coordinated by Sue Schiess , Larry Cipolla , Marc Battistini , Lisa Gilliland and Travis Gerjets . Master Gardeners volunteer one thousand of hours each twelvemonth learn best practices in gardening and connecting home gardeners to university - free-base research .
Thanks to all the Master Gardeners for their work !
