2001 was the inaugural
season for the Guelph Trial Garden (GTG). The ornamental trialing
program began as an initiative of the Department of Plant Agriculture.
A partnership was soon formed with the Guelph Turfgrass Institute
(GTI) and a field location for the Trial Garden established in
what was a former orchard site (see
Figure 1). The 2001 trial consisted primarily of annual ornamentals
that were propagated from seed. Ball Seed, Pan American Seed and
Benary were the three seed companies that participated in the
summer trial. A fall pansy trial was planted with seed entries
from Benary and Goldsmith. The pansy trials will be evaluated
in the spring of 2002 for winter hardiness and general quality.
The hot and dry summer placed a lot of stress on the plants in the
trials. Of the plants trialed, the Wave and Tidal Wave petunias
provided the most consistent floral show throughout the summer.
The Chilly Chili pepper also attracted a lot of positive attention
from visitors to the garden. The dianthus and verbena were quite
attractive early in the season but succumbed to either heat or disease
during the heat of the summer. Heat-loving plants like pentas and
vinca didn't perform as well as expected due to a variety of reasons;
the vinca succumbed to disease early in the season while the slow
establishment of the pentas remains a mystery. Shade- preferring
plants such as impatiens and begonias were also trialed in the full
sun of the GTG. The begonias fared better than did the impatiens.
Sunflowers, annual phlox and the ornamental strawberry, Berri Basket
were also trialed. The sunflowers were at their peak mid-summer
while the strawberry and phlox were best in the Spring and again
in the Fall.
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