Horticulture: Extension: Gold Medal Plants

2004 Gold Medal Winners at a Glance

• Summer annual, 4 to 8 inches tall prized for its vibrant yellow-green foliage
• Provides non-stop foliage color from spring to fall
• Works well in containers; also a good complement to magenta, purple or blue
• Compact, mounded growth habit, 4-8 inches tall and 6 to 12 inches wide
• Ideal for edging, formal gardens or planters
• Performs well in morning sun/afternoon shade; most colorful in full sun
• Prefers moist, well-drained soils; moderate irrigation for best results
• Lightly pinch back periodically to maintain compact form
• Fertilize with complete slow-release product at planting
• Season-long interest with care

• Herbaceous perennial herb preferring full sun and well-drained soil
• Licorice-scented foliage is resistant to deer; virtually pest-free
• Showy blooms from May to October; attracts hummingbirds and butterflies
• Apricot Sunrise: 18" tall; orange-apricot tubular flowers 1-1½" long
• Firebird: 24-36" tall; copper-orange tubular flowers
• Tutti Frutti: 36-48" tall; raspberry-rose-pink tubular flowers
• Blue Fortune: 36-40" tall; abundance of compressed blue-purple tubular flowers in the form of a flower spike at its terminal
• Drought tolerant once established; lightly prune to promote branching and additional blooms
• Apply slow-release fertilizer at planting and early each spring

• Upright deciduous flowering shrub growing 4-8 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide
• Vibrant white flowers borne in flat clusters on top of brances, causing a layered effect
• Continuous blooms from spring to fall; bright red fruit in late summer fading to black in fall
• Good transition plant -- in bloom when others are not
• Wine-red fall color; nice with evergreens (Little Gem Magnolia, Anise-tree, Cryptomeria)
• Set 6-8 feet apart; prune as needed after spring flowering by thinning excess branches
• Plant as a single specimen or groups of 3-5 plants for added interest
• Few pest problems; drought and wet feet can cause leaf scorching or die-back
• Prefers moist, well-drained soil; full sun ideal if irrigated; morning sun/afternoon shade OK
• Once established, apply 2-3 light appications 16-4-8 fertilizer (or similar analysis) during growing season

• Native deciduous conifer growing 50-80 feet tall and 20-30 feet wide; attractive, pyramidal growth
• Adapted to both wet and dry soils; prefers acidic soils
• Stately tree for large spaces; attractive reddish-brown bark with age; pyramidal form
• Soft bright-green foiage turning bronze-orange in fall before dropping
• Best used in large, open spaces such as parks or large residential properties
• Spectacular when used in clusters of three or more along a pond or lake
• Pest tolerant and low maintenance; little pruning required
• Difficult to transplant from the wild; best planted from containers
• Fertilize established trees on upland sites once in spring with 16-4-8 or 12-4-8
• Avoid fertilizing trees growing in standing water so as not to harm the ecology of the pond or lake

Compiled by Billy Skaggs, Hall CEA

top