ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS

Meet the 2025 class of ornamental AAS winners

- MEGHA SHINN

SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1932, the nonprofit All-America Selections (AAS) has used a network of trial gardens across the United States and Canada to test new cultivars before their commercial release. The organization then helps promote the award winners in the year of their introduction to the public, so that gardeners can make confident choices among unfamiliar varieties.

Volunteer judges, who are horticulture professionals, evaluate the plants in approximately 80 trial gardens, which exist at universities, public gardens, seed companies and more. The trials place the new varieties alongside comparable cultivars that are already established in the garden trade. The plant being evaluated must show improvement over these standards in two qualities to be eligible for an award. Qualities include bloom time, novel color, health and habit, among others.

All-America Selections bestows a National award for cultivars that excel across the trial-garden network and a Regional award for those that stand out in certain locations. The trials incorporate both ornamental and edible plants and use garden beds as well as containers. Here are the flower varieties deemed AAS Winners for 2025.

To learn more about the trialing process and see previous years’ designees, see all-americaselections.org.

SNAPDRAGON DOUBLESHOT YELLOW RED HEART

Snapdragons remain go-to annuals for early spring color, and the new DoubleShot Yellow Red Heart holds true to that expectation. However, its two-tone flowers, an eye-catching mix of buttery yellow and carmine red, also continue to bloom well into summer. This variety received a National award for its excellent performance across regions.