Prairie Star Flowers

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K-State general bedding plant and the Prairie Star trials are conducted at four sites.  East to West and North to South, encompassing two cold hardiness zones and two heat tolerance zones, the trial sites in Olathe, Haysville, Hays and Colby cover the regional climates of Kansas and the prairie.  The four sites are spread across a 375 mile range east to west and 140 miles north to south.  The sites encompass two USDA cold hardiness zones, 5 and 6 and two AHS heat zones, 7 and 8.  Visual ratings of each cultivar were made mid-month in June, July and August at each of the trial sites.  

Cultivars were rated for vigor and floriferousness.  Vigor was related to the growth, strength and substance of the vegetative portion of the plant.  Floriferousness was defined as the visual impact of the floral display, a combination of flower size, number of blooms and how the blooms were held and displayed on the plant.  A scale of 1 - 7 was used to rate each of the cultivars for the two characteristics, vigor and floriferousness.  

Prairie Star flowers are a select group that exhibited superior performance in previous year’s general cultivar trials.  They are then tested for a second year.  Those that receive an overall score of 6.0 or higher for each of the two years are selected and designated as “Prairie Star” varieties.  

The winners for this year are listed below.  Many varieties are relatively new and seed may not be widely available to homeowners.

Source: K-State Research & Extension. 

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