The East Texas Horticultural Field Day will feature more than 500 ornamental plant trial varieties for public viewing on July 22 at theĀ Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Overton.

Purple flowers appear up front and people are walking through rows of plants at the East Texas Horticultural Field Day
The East Texas Horticultural Field Day will be open to the public on July 22. The open-house event features hundreds of ornamental plants being trialed at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Overton. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Adam Russell)

This yearā€™s field day will allow in-person attendance from 8 a.m. to noon for a free, ā€œopen house-styleā€ event, said Brent Pemberton, Ph.D.,Ā Texas A&M AgriLife ResearchĀ ornamental horticulturist, Overton. COVID-19 protocols prevented attendance by the public last year. Ā 

ā€œWeā€™re excited to open the event back up to the public,ā€ he said. ā€œWe missed the interaction with our fellow gardeners last year and the responses the plants get from people who show up for their first time or who have been making the field day an event they put on their calendar every year.ā€

Pemberton started the field day in 1993 to showcase the ornamental trials for commercial seed companies, local nursery managers and gardening enthusiasts.

The field day will begin at the centerā€™s Bruce McMillan Jr. East Farm, 2 miles east of Overton on Texas Highway 135 N.

The ornamental trial garden is on County Road 133 just past the former Kilgore College Demonstration Farm.

There will be signs to guide visitors, Pemberton said.

Ornamentals on display

Orange cannas up front with people in the back viewing the flowers at the East Texas Horticultural Field Day.
Cannas were a popular stop among more than 500 ornamental plant varieties at the last annual East Texas Horticultural Field Day open to the public in 2019. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Adam Russell)

With around 500 ornamental selections growing under various trial conditions, Pemberton said gardeners and ornamental lovers should expect a wide array of petal and foliage colors and shapes that are available to the public or being tested for potential release.

Pemberton said petunias, vincas, zinnias, coleus, geraniums, salvias and new selections of New Guinea impatiens are all looking exceptional this year. A variety of the newest Texas Superstar plants ā€“ ornamental sweet potatoes, including new climbing varieties ā€“ are also on display.

Several new varieties of sunflowers and a growing slate of perennial plants including phlox, heuchera and coneflowers should also be of great interest to attendees, he said.

This yearā€™s field trials also mark the first-time participation in theĀ All-America SelectionsĀ program, which tests varieties in gardens across the nation.

ā€œThe event is later into the season than usual, but this will give attendees a good idea how well these plants perform in the heat and how they progress through the season,ā€ he said.

A tour of ornamental trials at the demonstration garden, which includes a variety of container selections, will follow at the Overton Center.

The center headquarters is about 2 miles north of downtown Overton at 1710 Farm-to-Market Road 3053. For driving directions to the center or the East Farm trial site, go toĀ https://flowers.tamu.edu/field-day/Ā or call 903-834-6191.

Pemberton said he is interested to see how attendance numbers rebound after cancellation of in-person attendance last year.

ā€œWeā€™ve been fielding a lot of calls about the event and whether people can visit in person this year,ā€ Pemberton said. ā€œLike a lot of things after dealing with the pandemic, all of a sudden weā€™re back and I think a lot of folks are looking forward to getting out.ā€

ARTICLE BY :

Adam Russell is a communication specialist for Texas A&M AgriLife. Adam is responsible for writing news releases and feature articles focused on Texas A&M AgriLife Extension programs and science-based information generated by Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists across the state. He also generates the weekly Texas Crop and Weather Report and handles public and media relations.
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