ANNUAL PERENNIAL & VEGETABLE TRIALS
Franklin Park Conservatory's Botanical Gardens has completed the 3rd year of the Annual, Perennial Trials Program. Breeders of new plant varieties from around the world sent Franklin Park Conservatory the newest annual, vegetable and perennial varieties to be evaluated to find those that perform best in Central Ohio. 
        
The trial gardens were designed to feel, not like typical research plots, but like a secret garden oasis filled with season long color and interest.  Adjacent to the gardens is a rental patio space, available for smaller outdoor gatherings and weddings.  The gardens are open daily and located just north of the conservatory and the historic Carriage Path. The vegetable trials are located in the Scotts Miracle Grow Community Garden Campus.

We highly encourage you to visit the trial gardens, not only to learn about new plant varieties, but to be inspired!

About the Evaluations

Annuals are evaluated every three weeks throughout the growing season for vegetative quality, flowering performance, disease/pest susceptibility, and overall presentation.  Photographs are also taken.

Perennials are evaluated over a three-year time period.  Each variety is evaluated for flower number and flower duration weekly while vegetative quality, disease/pest susceptibility, and overall presentation are evaluated monthly.
In early April, in each of the subsequent three years, entries are evaluated for winter hardiness. 

Vegetables are evaluated every three weeks throughout the growing season for vegetative quality, fruit/ crop quality, disease/ pest susceptibility, harvest length and overall presentation. Photographs are also taken.  

All the annual, perennial and vegetable evaluations are based on a 1-5 rating scale, with 1 being poor, and 5 being excellent.  Annual and vegetable results are posted yearly. Final data on perennial varieties will be posted after trial year three.  Trial results are sent participating growers and published on our website. Visit this webpage soon to see the 1st round of perennial evaluations that have completed the 3 year evaluation.

2011 Annual Trials Results

The 2011 Annual Trials results are now available online. Please take look at the annual varieties that ranked as FPC Top Performers” in 2011.

 A condensed copy of the 2011 Annual Trials Report is also available.  Click here to download the file, formatted as a Word document.

PARTICIPANTS

We also want to recognize the following companies for helping us grow plant materials by donating materials/ time and greenhouse space:

Wilson's Greenhouse
Dill's Greenhouse
Bakers Acres