1. What is All-America Selections?

2. “A non-profit organization that promotes new garden seed varieties judged to have superior garden performance in impartial trials throughout North America.”

3. AAS continues as the oldest, most established international testing organization in North America.

4. Entries Breeders enter new, never-before-sold cultivars to be judged in one of four categories: 1. Flower 2. Bedding Plant 3. Vegetable 4. Cool Season Bedding Plant

5. AAS Trials Sites 1. Flower – 37 sites in U.S. and Canada 2. Bedding Plant – 26 sites in U.S. and Canada 3. Vegetable – 27 sites in U.S. and Canada 4. Cool Season Bedding Plant – 22 sites in U.S. and Canada

6. Horticulture professionals Seasoned trialing experts Unpaid – they volunteer their time Unbiased - cannot judge entries from their own company The basis of our trialing program AAS Trial Judges

7. AAS Scoring Judges score each entry from 0 to 5 All entries have 2-4 comparisons 0 to 1 = same or inferior to comparison 2 = better than comparison 3 to 4 = superior to comparison 5 = breakthrough breeding, Gold Medal Winner Final scores based on averages and percent of judges who score it a 2 or higher.

8. Introduction Criteria Breeder gives the variety a marketing name Breeder submits publicity photos Has seed-in-the-bag Gone through germination testing Product is priced and ready to ship By now, it can be declared an “AAS Winner”

9. Publicity Program Information distributed to: Seed Companies Distribution chain Growers Retailers Garden Writers Consumers

10. Publicity Program Display Gardens Over 186 public gardens grow and display the past five years of AAS Winners.

11. Publicity Program Preview Gardens Select garden writers/bloggers grow and evaluate the past five years of AAS Winners in their own gardens then are able to write about garden performance first hand.