Our Blue Chip winners are the true standouts of our warm season bedding trials. The following five plants made the best of the best for 2021!

1. Artist Ageratum - more than just fluff! These ageratums stood out amongst other warm season trials, continuously producing blooms despite the wet weather. Also known as flossflower, these ageratums have small, fluffy, button-like flowers. They have a compact and mounded habit, providing dense color and unique texture for foregrounds. We trialed both Blue and Pearl varieties, both performing exceptionally.

2. 'Prince Tut' Egyptian Papyrus - add something unique to the landscape! It's not all bedding color at Hammond Research Station. 'Prince Tut' is a vigorous grower from the Graceful Grasses line, providing bright green color and texture to the landscape. Their sturdy stems are topped with mop-like clusters of fronds for dense coverage. As a dwarf version of the Proven Winners 'King Tut' variety, it reaches between 18-30 inches tall.

3. Lucky Pink Lantana - a new member of the Lucky lineup! While other lantanas struggled to bloom in this wet weather, Lucky Pink bloomed and bloomed! This medium-sized lantana has a neat, mounded habit and bright pink blooms with yellowing centers. We are looking forward to watching its performance through the rest of summer!

4. Butterfly Argyranthemum - a cool-season show stopper that also graced our warm season! This Marguerite Daisy bloomed profusely from early May until early July, long after other cool season annuals had been replaced! Flowers are brightly colored and clean, attracting many pollinators. We trialed both Pure White and Golden varieties and were extremely pleased with their long performance!

5. Ms. Belle Daylily - Louisiana born and bred! These daylilies have exceptional landscape performance and are the result of rust-resistant breeding by Mr. Dale Westmoreland of Westfarms Nursery in Franklinton, LA. The abundant blooms are large and robust, and pinkish peach in color with soft yellow centers. These plants are vigorous growers, with healthy green foliage that doesn't succumb to daylily rust!