POPLARVILLE —
South Miss. Branch Experiment Station, located in Poplarville, is one of 22 select All-America Selections (AAS) Display Gardens competing in the 2012 AAS Landscape Display Contest. The contest will highlight the 80th anniversary of All-American Selections by infusing past winners into 50 percent of the overall display design. The station is located at 711 W. North Street, close to Pearl River Community College, and the display is located in the rose garden of the facility.
Dr. Gene Blythe, Assistant Research Professor of Horticulture, oversees the trial gardens and show gardens on the facility. He is responsible for testing plants for distributors such as Ball Seeds, PanAmerican and Dinari who sell their seeds to brokers. The brokers then sell the seeds to retailers or end users through catalogs.
AAS works with a select few qualified judges, such as Blythe, and prominent breeders who need their seeds tested. Only when a seed has been judged successfully in flowering, foliage, disease, pest resistance, uniformity, uniqueness and growth against past winners can it be declared an AAS Winner.
“The gardens are available for public viewing,” says Blythe, “we have people from all over come to see them. The trial gardens are beautiful to look at as well.”
This year’s All America Selections Display Garden features winning varieties from 1995, such as Rudbeckia “Indian Summer,” to present such as Salvia, “Summer Jewel Pink” and Vinca “Jams ‘N Jellies Blackberry.”
Salvia “Summer Jewel Pink” is a dwarf sized, compact plant which has a prolific bloom count throughout the growing season. The 2012 AAS Bedding Plant Award Winner was bred by Takii & Co., Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan and blooms from late spring through fall. It is described as pollinator friendly and highly attractive to both hummingbirds and bees.
Vinca “Jams ‘N Jellies Blackberry” is described as a “velvety deep purple with white eye flower... a superb accent plant.” Blythe says, “They chose the name because of its close color resemblance to blackberries. It is very unique; it is bred by PanAmerican Seed. The plant is great for our area because of its high tolerance of heat (it prefers full sun) and ability to survive in dry times.”
Winners of the All-America Selections Display Gardens will be chosen in October. There are three categories which are defined by attendance which range from fewer than 10,000 to over 100,000 per year. The Poplarville Station is in Category 1 (for under 10,000 visitors a year).
Blythe says, “In addition to what you see now, there will be more varieties blooming as the season progresses.
For more information on the South Miss. Branch Experiment Station, contact 601-403-8774.
Lifestyles
Related Photos
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Above from left: Debbie Murchison, Dr. Gene Blythe and Christine Ladner stand in the middle of their All-America Selections (AAS) Display Garden, located at the South Miss. Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville. Jodi Marze
South Miss. Branch Experiment Station in All-America Selections Design Contest
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