In order to give all new varieties of seeds a careful, impartial test under diverse conditions after the war, a cooperative organization known as All-America Selections was set up in 1946. Samples of any new variety were sent to seed-testing stations in many parts of the country. Each sample of seed had a number, but no name, and its originator was not announced. After a thorough testing, the new variety was given a rating. If good enough, it received a silver or a bronze medal. Just to receive a rating as an All-America selection was a high honor for the originator. It meant recognition for the new creation from the start, and assured profits from wholesale as well as retail sales.
All-America selections in 1946 included four flowers and one vegetable-a petunia trio contributed by W. Atlee Burpee Company, a dianthus from Bodger Seeds, Ltd., and a snap bean from Rogers Bros. Seed Company. The silver medal went to petunia “Colossal Shades of Rose”‘; the dianthus was named “Westwood Beauty”; and the bean was “Longreen.” Those new petunias were something quite special. “Colossal Shades of Rose” was the first giant, all-double petunia ever-created in America, and is the biggest petunia ever known, many blooms growing more than five inches across.
In the past growers lent rather heavily on the Japanese for petunia creations. Among new varieties, there was the new rose introduction, “Peace.” It was a creation of the French hybridist, Francis Meilland. In 1942 it was rated “the finest rose in France. Conard-Pyle brought it to America, and it was awarded All-America honors for 1946, being acclaimed by rose breeders and fanciers everywhere. It is a yellow, many-petalled flower, suffused with pink. At the United Nations Conference in San Francisco, a specimen flower of “Peace” was presented to the head of each delegation by the American Rose Society-an appropriate gesture, at such a time, for a lovely flower with a 20.
Such work was behind the seed catalogue name that is a symbol of hope for all mankind. W. Ray Hastings, executive secretary of All-America Selections, predicted a bright future for new creations since many new varieties had been held back because of wartime shortages of labor and other difficulties. “With peacetime we may expect some fine new kinds to be entered in the near future from holdbacks and new developments,” he said.