This year, The Ohio State University Cultivar Trial is comprised of about 115 cultivars of annual plants in total, in which the objective of is to observe the performance of new and recently introduced cultivars under the environmental conditions of central Ohio.
Tasks undertaken to maintain these cultivars at CALG involves regular watering, routine fertilization, deadheading, mulching, hand weeding and applying pesticides if necessary.
Evaluations
Each year, a team of nearly 20 volunteers evaluate our Cultivar Trials from May - September. The results are posted on our website at the end of the growing season here.
In 2023, Chadwick Arboretum invites everyone to submit a one-time evaluation of each cultivar group. These evaluations will be compiled and given to the breeders to help them understand how the general public feels about their newest cultivars in Central Ohio conditions.
Ready to go? Open the evaluation form on your phone and start rating each cultivar group at Bed 1 (along Fyffe Ct.).
Evaluating typically takes 20-30 minutes. To evaluate, consider each grouping of cultivars (there are typically 6 of each). A rating of “5” means the plants are looking great and thriving – real winners. A “1” means the plants are dead, damaged, or look terrible. You can also add any comments that you would like to add.