Featured Four: Favorites from MSU Trial Gardens

Heidi Lindberg<wollaege@msu.edu> and Caitlin Splawski<splawski@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - September 12, 2024

Looking for tried and true performers for the upcoming season? Read Part 3 of our series about favorites from this year’s Michigan Garden Plant Tour trial sites.

A landscaping — Photos 1 and 2. Annual trial gardens at Michigan State University during 2024. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Every year Michigan State University and Michigan’s leading young plant producers host a free open house at their trial sites and display gardens to give growers, landscapers and retail operators the opportunity to learn about a wide range of ornamental crops. Industry professionals can see for themselves which new varieties perform the best under various conditions, including in the ground and in containers. The tour lasts for two weeks and was held this year from July 29-Aug. 9, 2024.

Parts 1 and 2 of this series covered Michigan State University Extension’s favorites at the trial gardens at DGI Propagators and Four Star Greenhouses. This article will feature plants with excellent garden performance from the Michigan State University (MSU) Trial Gardens.

Featured Four from Michigan State University Trial Gardens

The MSU Horticulture Gardens include 14 acres of beautiful landscapes highlighting annuals, perennials and woody plants. The Amien Carter Annual Gardens house their annual trials (Photos 1-2). They evaluated over 300 varieties, including annuals, perennials and vegetables this year. The top four favorites from this year’s trials as chosen by Michigan State University Extension were:

Helianthus Suncredible ‘Yellow’ – Proven Winners
Dahlia Virtuoso ‘Pinkerific’– Proven Winners
Argyranthemum Grandaisy ‘Pink Halo Improved’ and ‘White’ – Suntory Flowers
Celosia ‘Burning Embers’ – Sakata

Helianthus Suncredible ‘Yellow’

Since its release in 2019, sunflower Suncredible ‘Yellow’ (Photos 3-4) has earned dozens of awards for its garden performance from many university trials, including the MSU trials. It is still a winner and was very showy when entering the trial gardens this year. It blooms all summer, resists deer, is a pollinator champion and has a bush-habit. It is excellent in a large container alone, as a thriller in a container or as a back of the border landscape plant.

Photos 3 and 4. Sunflower Suncredible ‘Yellow’ still steals the show at the MSU trial gardens in 2024. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Suncredible ‘Yellow’ was planted next to other entries in the sunflower category, including our 2024 favorite pick from DGI Propagators, sunflower Sunfinity ‘Double Yellow’ (Photo 5). Both varieties were showy and eye-catching.

Photo 5. Two stellar sunflowers planted next to each other: Sunfinity ‘Double Yellow’ planted in front of Suncredible ‘Yellow.’ Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Dahlia Virtuoso ‘Pinkerific’

This summer has been the year of powdery mildew here in Michigan after extremely hot weather during June and regular rains throughout July, excellent conditions for the pathogen. While dahlias are usually powdery mildew magnets, Dahlia Virtuoso ‘Pinkerific’ (Photos 6-7) showed excellent garden performance, had vibrant hot pink flowers with a small yellow center on top of neat foliage. It would augment any container or landscape design with its burst of color.

Argyranthemum Grandaisy 'Pink Halo Improved' and 'White'

Two argyranthemums really caught my attention at the trial gardens. I was drawn to this cute pink variety, ‘Pink Halo Improved’ (Photos 8-9). The yellow-centered pink flowers were very attractive, and the plant created a nice carpet within the plot. Another in the Grandaisy series, the white was so floriferous and showy (Photo 10). I was surprised at their excellent garden performance during August considering they serve as an early season crop often offered in the spring alongside Osteospermums.

Photos 8 and 9. Delicate pink and yellow flowers of Argyranthemum Grandaisy ‘Pink Halo Improved.’ Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Photo 10. White carpet of Argyranthemum Grandaisy ’White.’ Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Celosia ‘Burning Embers’

Celosia ‘Burning Embers’ was eye catching with its fiery red flowers and crimson foliage (Photo 11). It has already been noticed in the trials as it has earned its place as a 2024 All American Selections Winner. It has a long bloom time, is quite compact (about 12 inches tall) and withstands heat and humidity well. Celosia has been increasingly popular to feature in fall combinations alongside chrysanthemums for its flower power and fall hues.

For more top 2024 varieties, check out the other articles in our series for more favorites of 2024:

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).