Annual Plant Trial Field Day: Aug. 6, 2019

Erik Runkle<runkleer@msu.edu> - July 27, 2018

Growers, landscapers, plant enthusiasts and ornamental aficionados are invited to the MSU Plant Trial Field Day. This event is held during the two-week Michigan Garden Plant Tour.

Wander through the gardens at the MSU Plant Trial Field Day. Photo by Erik Runkle, MSU

Join fellow growers, landscapers, plant enthusiasts and ornamental aficionados at the annual Michigan State University Plant Trial Field Day on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, at the MSU Horticulture Gardens in East Lansing, Michigan. This event features several morning presentations focused on greenhouse trends, new garden plants, noteworthy herbaceous perennials and the best-performing plants in the 2019 MSU Plant Trials. There’s time in the afternoon to wander through the annual displays and trial gardens as well as the 4-H Children’s Garden, roof-top gardens, demonstration vegetable garden and more.

Registration for this educational event is required. You can save $10 if you register by July 30th, and even more if you register with at least two others from the same company. The low registration fee includes morning refreshments, lunch, a trial booklet, and the program. For details and registration information will be available in late spring.

This event is held during the Michigan Garden Plant Tour, which is a coordinated two-week open house of leading young plant producers of ornamentals and MSU. Each participating site features intensive garden displays of a wide variety of plants. Highlights include:

New 2019 Proven Winners and Proven Selections varieties on display at Four Star Greenhouses in Carleton, Michigan.
Over 1,200 varieties of plants and 400 combination planter pots at Mast Young Plants in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Fourteen acres of beautiful landscapes of annuals, perennials and woody plants at the MSU Horticultural Gardens in East Lansing, Michigan.
Over 1,000 varieties with over 500 large hanging baskets and containers at Raker-Roberta’s in Litchfield, Michigan.
Over 1,000 varieties of new and classic herbaceous perennials with expansive display gardens at Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan.

Take a day trip to visit a couple of sites or spend two to three days visiting them all. The Michigan Garden Plant Tour is completely free, but the companies would appreciate a call or email in advance so they know you are coming. The Tour runs from June 29 through Aug. 9. Visit the Michigan Garden Plant Tour Facebook page to see the most recent photos of the Tour sites and to get the latest scoop on the Tour activities.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).