Web Special
National and Regional Plant Awards for 2007

This list of plant awards sponsored by various national and regional gardening organizations is a Web special linked from the January/February 2007 issue of
The American Gardener magazine.

Representing various garden habitats and zones, these plants have been picked by plant societies, garden clubs, university horticultural programs, botanical gardens, and arboreta for their outstanding garden performance. For more information on the individual plant award programs, please click on the links included with each award listing.


NATIONAL AWARDS

• All-American Daylilies
  
  Lavender Vista™
   

• All-America Rose Selections
  
  Rainbow Knock Out™
  Moondance™
  Strike It Rich™
   

• All-America Selections
  
  Celosia ‘Fresh Look Gold’
  Vinca ‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’
  Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’
  Pepper ‘Holy Mole’
   

• American Rose Society Award of Excellence
  
  Saluda™
  Bonfire™
  Leading Lady™
   

• Ivy of the Year (American Ivy Society)
  
  Hedera helix ‘Shamrock’
   

• Perennial Plant of the Year (Perennial Plant Association)
  
  Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ – catmint
   

• Tree of the Year (Society of Municipal Arborists)
  
  Taxodium distichum – bald cypress

REGIONAL AWARDS

•  Florida Plants of the Year (Florida Nursery and Landscape Association)
  
  Dracaena deremensis 'Limelight'
  Cyrtomium falcatum – holly fern
  Zamia maritima (formerly Z. furfuracea) – cardboard palm
  Galphimia gracilis – shower-of-gold
  Eragrostis spectabilis – purple lovegrass
   

• Georgia Gold Medal Plants
  
  Gelseminum sempervivens ‘Pride of Augusta’ – Carolina yellow jasmine
  Rhododendron x ‘Admiral Semmes’
  Parrotia persica – parrotia
  Odontonema strictum – firespike
  Hibiscus coccineus – swamp hibiscus
   

• Georgia Native Plant Society Plant of the Year
  
  Itea virginica – Virginia sweetspire
   

• GreatPlants for the Great Plains
  
  Tree of the Year - Aesculus glabra – Ohio buckeye
  Shrub of the Year - Amelanchier alnifolia ‘Regent’ – serviceberry
  Grass of the Year -  Calamagrostis brachytricha – Korean feather reed grass
  Perennial of the Year -  Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ – goldenrod

2007 GreatPlants Releases

Calylophus serrulatus ‘Prairie Lode’ – toothed evening primrose
Caragana microphylla ‘Mongolian Silver Spires’ – littleleaf peashrub

• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal Winners
  (USDA Hardiness Zones 5-7)
  
  Cornus Venus™ - hybrid dogwood
  Lagerstroemia indica ‘Whit Ill’ Pink Velour® – crape myrtle
  Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’ Tiger Eyes® – staghorn sumac
   

•  Theodore Klein Plant Awards (Kentucky)
  
  Acanthus spinosa – spiny bears breeches
  Bignonia capreolata – crossvine cultivars ‘Astrosanguinea,’ ‘Tangerine Beauty,’ and ‘Jekyll’
  Magnolia virginiana var. australis – sweet bay magnolia cultivars ‘Henry Hicks,’ ‘Northern Bell,’ ‘Aiken County’, and ‘Green Bay’ syn. ‘Green Shadow’
  Metasequoia blyptostroboides – dawn redwood
  Physocarpus apulifolius ‘Seward’ Summer Wine™ - ninebark
   

• Texas Superstars
  
  Visit this site for recommended regional plants.