Horticulture: Extension: Gold Medal Plants

2005 Gold Medal Winners at a Glance

• Medium-sized deciduous tree, growing 30-40 feet high/wide.
• Award-winning selection from Dirr's plant evaluation program at UGA.
• Leaves finely toothed, 2 to 3 inches long and 3 inches wide with five distinct pointed lobes.
• Dense canopy providing nice shade; well-suited to small lots.
• Selected for vigorous growth rate, brilliant fall color and landscape adaptability.
• Thrives in full sun; drought tolerant but requires good soil drainage.
• Provides wide range of all color, including purple, fluorescent orange and yellow.
• A "clonal" selection, growing on its own rootstock; this eases production.
• When established, fertilize in spring with a complete garden fertilizer such as 16-4-8 or 12-4-8.
• Prune as needed to thin branches and to develop desired shape.

• Summer annual preferring filtered shade.
• Fast growing with leaves and flowers larger than typical begonias.
• Grows to 12-15 inches tall and 15-18 inches wide; large glossy-green, wing-shaped leaves 2-5 inches long.
• Well-branched and dense without pruning; red and pink flower colors available.
• Prefers well-drained soil enriched with organic matter; works well on raised beds.
• Fertilize with Osmocote or other slow-release at planting.
• Water with liquid fertilizer (20-20-20 or 15-3-15) every other week through the season.
• Single plant will fill a 10-inch hanging basket; five plants will fill a whisky barrel.
• Spectacular when combined with tropical plants with bold foliage (bananas, cannas, gingers).
• Cuttings root very easily; can be brought inside for winter.

• Fast-growing evergreen ground cover growing 3-6 inches high and spreading 3 to 6 feet wide.
• Full sun is best but will adapt to partial shade; winter hardiness a problem in extreme north Georgia.
• Creeps along by forming runners; aggressive but not invasive.
• Adapted to tough sites including hot, dry, erodible slopes and areas with moisture fluctuations.
• Coarse-textured leaves with deep veins; 1.5 inches in diameter with three to five lobes.
• Spring/summer: leaves appear shiny, dark green above and gray-green below.
• Fall/winter: leaves turn burgundy; white flowers in summer but not showy.
• Tiny, raspberry-like fruit in late summer but not very abundant.
• Plant 4 to 6 feet apart to allow room to spread. Avoid overhead irrigation.
• Fertilize with 16-4-8 or 12-4-8 in early spring.

• Herbaceous spreading perennial growing to 4-6 inches tall and 2 feet wide.
• Needs well-drained soils, good nutrition essential, drought- and heat-tolerant.
• Small, evergreen leaves about 1 inch long, elliptical shaped and finely toothed.
• Foliage is dark green in summer and burgundy-bronze in winter.
• Sky-blue flowers from February to April attract bees and butterflies.
• Dramatic color contrast when planted over bulbs such as daffodils.
• Works well planted against rocks and in containers.
• Bi-monthly application of 10-10-10 during the first season will get plants off to a good start.
• Once established, fertilize lightly with 16-4-8 or similar analysis in early spring and late summer.
• Can be grown from seed or propagated by dividing established plants in spring or fall.

• Evergreen shrub selected from Dirr's breeding program at UGA; prefer sun/partial shade.
• Rose Creek selected for its low mounding growth habit (2-3 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide), crimson stem color, fragrant white flowers and long bloom period (May to frost).
• Rose Creek has evergreen leaves that emerge with a pinkish cast, turn lustrous dark green in summer, then darken to purple-green in winter.
• Rose Creek has season-long clusters of white, fragrant, tubular flowers about a half-inch long; below each flower are small, light pink modified leaves called the calyx, which remain on the plant after the flowers fade and provide even more pizzazz to the floral display.
• Canyon Creek grows 4-6 feet tall/wide; great hedge or background for mixed perennial border.
• Canyon Creek's leaves emerge with a coppery-pink cast, turning a soft yellow, then green, then rosy-bronze in winter; season-long fragrant, tubular, light pink flowers borne in clusters.
• Flowers of both plants are surrounded by a star-shaped, reddish-pink calyx that persists long after the flowers drop, giving the appearance of two flower forms at the same time.
• Both are drought-tolerant, deer-resistant and have few pests; attractive to butterflies and bees.
• Other than occasional light pruning, plants look best when left natural/informal.

Rose Creek Abelia - Flowers and Foliage
	Canyon Creek Abelia - Flowers and Foliage
Photos courtesy of Michael Dirr

Compiled by Billy Skaggs, Hall CEA

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