With the 2016 trialing season coming to a close in many parts of North America, the National Plant Trials Database has announced there are now more than 50,000 plant ratings in this online repository of trial data. With trialing data and ratings on a large number of varieties, brokers, growers and garden retailers will find this information extremely valuable when making purchasing decisions. The data can be accessed by going to www.planttrials.org, click on “Register to View” and fill out a short application form. Almost immediately, applicants will be notified of their user information.
Trialing details by year:
2012 – 1,655 varieties with more than 5,600 ratings from 8 trial grounds
2013 – 2,463 varieties with more than 9,400 ratings from 12 trial grounds
2014 – 3,651 varieties with more than 15,500 ratings from 19 trial grounds
2015 – 2,928 varieties with more than 9,800 ratings from 20 trial grounds
2016 – 2,806 varieties with more than 11,600 ratings from 20 trial grounds
In total, this means there are now over 50,000 ratings for varieties you are or might be considering purchasing.
The initial idea for an online repository of trialing data came out of a collaboration between
All-America Selections, the University of Georgia and numerous breeding companies. After identifying and establishing standardized trialing protocols and scoring, the system was built in 2012 and is supported by the following breeding companies:
- Danziger “Dan” Flower Farm
- Dummen Group
- Ernst Benary of America
- Floranova Ltd.
- PanAmerican Seed/Ball Horticultural
- Proven Winners
- Sakata Ornamentals
- The Suntory Collection
- Syngenta Flowers
Special thanks and recognition to the 2016 participating trial grounds that have entered data thus far:
Boerner Botanical Gardens
Colorado State University
Cornell Long Island
Cornell University Ithaca
Jardin Daniel A. Sequin
JC Raulston Arboretum – NCSU
Kansas State University
LSU Ag Center – Hammond Research Station
Mast Young Plants
McCrory Gardens at South Dakota State University
MSU - South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station
Mississippi State University – Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station
Ohio State University Cultivar Trials
Raker Trial Gardens
University of Guelph
University of MN West Central Research and Outreach Center
University of Tennessee Jackson
University of Tennessee Trial Gardens
University of Wisconsin West Madison Ag Research Station
Walt Disney’s Horticulture Bedding Plant Trials
William Dam Seeds
Users will see significant upgrades to the system that have recently been completed:
- Ability to view data for a given variety over multiple years
- Being able to select multiple trial gardens to create a personalized ‘region’ and then see trial results only from the trial gardens in that region
- The addition of statistical summary data for each variety
Additional functionality, including a mobile friendly version of the site, will be completed in early 2017.
At this time, information is accessible to the industry and media but eventually will become a tool for home gardeners as well.