50,000 Plant Ratings Now Available in Plant Trials Database

Jennifer Zurko

The National Plant Trials Database is pleased to announce there are now over 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 eight 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
Dümmen Orange
Ernst Benary of America
Floranova Ltd.
PanAmerican Seed/Ball Horticultural
Proven Winners
Sakata Ornamentals
Suntory
Syngenta Flowers

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. 

For more information, contact Diane Blazek at blazekdiane@gmail.com or (630) 963-0770, or Timothy Howard at timothy@clarity-connect.com or (919) 577-9901. GT