Web Special
National and Regional Plant Awards for 2008

This list of plant awards sponsored by various national and regional gardening organizations is a Web special linked from the March/April 2008 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
  
  Summer Valentine ™
   

• All-America Rose Selections
  
  Dream Come True ™
  Mardi Gras
   

• All-America Selections
  
  Osteospermum ecklonis AstiTM White
  Viola cornuta ‘Skippy XL Plum-Gold’
  ‘Hansel’ eggplant
   

• American Rose Society Award of Excellence
  
  Edisto
  Joy
  Show Stopper
  Power Point
   

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

• Perennial Plant of the Year (Perennial Plant Association)
  
  Geranium Rozanne (‘Gerwat’)
   

• Tree of the Year (Society of Municipal Arborists)
  
  Nyssa sylvatica - black tupelo

REGIONAL AWARDS

• Cary Awards (New England)
  
  Rhus aromatica ‘Gro Low’ – fragrant sumac
  Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Crippsii’ – golden hinoki falsecypress
  Acer triflorum – three flowered maple
   

•  Florida Plants of the Year (Florida Nursery and Landscape Association)
  
  Aloysia virgata – almond bush
  Dichorisandra thrysiflora – blue ginger
  Mimosa strigillosa
  Quercus geminata – sand live oak
  Sabal minor – dwarf palmetto
  Stromanthe sanguinea 'Triostar'
   

• Georgia Gold Medal Plants
  
  Dianthus Amazon series
  Geranium ‘Rozanne’ - cranesbill
  Gelsemium caroliniana 'Pride of Augusta' - Carolina jessamine
  Edgeworthia chrysantha - paperbush
  Carpinus caroliniana - American hornbeam
   

• Georgia Native Plant Society Plant of the Year
  
  Polystichum acrostichoides – Christmas fern
   

• GreatPlants for the Great Plains
  
  Tree of the Year - Ostrya virginiana – American hophornbeam
  Conifer of the Year - Pinus bungeana – lacebark pine
  Shrub of the Year - Euonymus atropurpurea – eastern wahoo
  Perennial of the Year - Geum triflorum – prairie smoke
  Grass of the Year - Bouteloua gracilis – blue grama

2008 GreatPlants Releases

Populus tremuloides 'NeArb' – Prairie Gold® quaking aspen
Quercus prinoides – dwarf chinkapin oak
Dianthus 'Wink'

• Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal Winners
  (USDA Hardiness Zones 5-7)
  
  Buxus sempervirens 'Dee Runk' - boxwood
  Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Ogon' – gold rush dawn redwood
  Carpinus japonica – Japanese hornbeam
  Cephalotaxus harringtonii 'Duke Gardens' – plum yew
  Magnolia virginiana 'Jim Wilson' Moonglow™ - sweetbay magnolia
   

• Plant Select (Rocky Mountain and Plains States)
  
  Clematis integrifolia Mongolian Bells™
  Heptacodium miconioides - seven-son flower
  Nepeta 'Psfike' - Little TrudyTM catnip
  Scrophularia macrantha - red birds in a tree
  Viola x wittrockiana - Northern Lights™ pansy
  Viola x wittrockiana - Blue Velvet® pansy
  'St. Theresa Seedless’ grape
   

•  Theodore Klein Plant Awards (Kentucky)
  
  Fagus sylvatica ‘Lanciniata’ or ‘Asplenifolia’ – cut leaf European beech
  Parrotia persica – Persian parrotia
  Cercis canadensis ‘Silver Cloud’ – ‘Silver Cloud’ redbud
  Asimina triloba – paw paw
  Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Karmina’ – ‘Karmina’ geranium