One way that I know a plant could work well in my garden is that I look for the red, white, and blue logo of All-America Selections on seed packets, on bedding plant tags, or in catalogs. Even AAS winners from several years ago are more likely to prove successful than non-winners.
The AAS testing program is an independent nonprofit organization that tests new plants. It has about 80 test gardens from Alaska and Canada to California and Florida. It also has almost 200 display gardens all across the continent that are not used for judging but are used to show gardeners how well the plants grow locally.
