What is new for 2018 gardens?

      Here are a few new plants for 2018 growing season.  Gardeners in different zones than us might be growing them now.  Let us know what you think.
 
Zinnia Queeny Lime Orange
A “WOW” color in an easy-to-grow zinnia is what Queeny Lime Orange brings to the garden. Sporting lovely, large, dahlia-like blooms on a sturdy, compact plant, this variety provides cut flower gardeners and growers with a wonderful hue for today’s floral trends. The unique color evolves from dark coral/peach/orange to a light peach with a dark center as the flowers age. In the trial gardens, visitors loved the show-stopping color and large blooms, making it this year’s fan-favorite. This new AAS Winner is also perfect for cut flower gardens as each uniform plant produces prolific deeply fluted blooms that last about 3 weeks without preservatives or feed.
 
Tomato Valentine F1
2018 AAS Edible – Vegetable Winner
 
Hands down, the judges agreed this was the most appealing grape tomato they trialed. With an appetizing deep-red color, it has a very sweet (Brix of 7-9) taste and will hold longer on the vine without cracking or losing the excellent eating quality. Valentine F1 tomato is quite prolific and will mature earlier (55 days from transplant) than the comparisons used for this entry. Gardeners should plan on staking the indeterminate vines for best results. Tomato lovers will appreciate the sweet, firm flesh that is meaty enough to resemble a Roma tomato but in a smaller, grape-type fruit. These easy-to-harvest tomatoes can take the summer heat and keep on producing!
 
Cuphea FloriGlory Diana
2018 AAS Ornamental Vegetative Winner
 
Cuphea, commonly known as Mexican Heather, is an ideal plant for borders, mass plantings and containers. FloriGlory Diana was highly praised by the AAS Judges for its larger flowers, impressive number of flowers and the darker, more intensely colored magenta flowers. The dark green foliage complement the flowers and really makes a statement for this new AAS Winner. With FloriGlory Diana, gardeners will be delighted with the compact (10-12 inch) size, longer flowering time, heat and weather tolerance.
taken from AAS website.
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa