8525 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas 75218

The Trial Gardens

  • Snapdragons in the All American Selections Trial Garden
  • Chrysanthemums in the All American Selections Trial Garden
  • Beautiful Autumn Color in the All American Selections Trial Garden
  • Autumn Color in the All American Selections Trial Garden
  • Pansies and Tulips in the Trial Garden
  • A Beautiful View of the Trial Garden

Named Gardens

The Trial Gardens

The Trial Gardens at the Dallas Arboretum were created for the purpose of expanding our research efforts and providing information to the public. The focus of the trial program is to grow and evaluate many different plants in the drastic climate of the Metroplex and North Central Texas. Information generated from the trials is provided to commercial plant producers, retailers and home gardeners. Between 3,000 and 5,000 plants are trialed yearly from over 150 plant breeding companies. These gardens represent the cutting edge of horticultural research into heat-tolerant plants.

Beautiful Spring Plantings in the Trial Garden

2024 Dallas Arboretum Plant Trials

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden hosts its annual Plant Trials Field Day on July 10, 2024, to give results and awards from the acclaimed trial garden program at the garden. These results include data on what plants performed well and which ones survived the Texas weather in late 2023 through spring 2024.

For more information, please visit or contact Megan Proska, Director of Horticulture, at 214-515-6592 or mproska@dallasarboretum.org.

Register

Summer Plantings Taking the Heat in the Trial Garden

All-America Selections Trial Garden

In 2002, the Dallas Arboretum became the 31st “All-America Selections Trial Garden.” The Trial Gardens opened to the public in March 2003.

In North Texas, there are many environmental challenges that make selecting the right plants crucial to successful gardening. Although most catalogs and books provide information about plant requirements, many of these descriptions are based on growing experience in northern states. Dallas has weather conditions that require resilient plants. Our winters can be mild, but we occasionally experience sudden sharp drops in temperature. We ask a lot of our ornamental plants, as they must also tolerate periods of too much rain or no rain at all and extreme temperatures in the summer.

The Trial Gardens at the Dallas Arboretum were created for the purpose of expanding our research efforts and providing information to the public. The focus of the trial program is to grow and evaluate many different plants in the drastic climate of the Metroplex and North Central Texas. Information generated from the trials is provided to commercial plant producers, retailers and home gardeners. Between 3,000 and 5,000 plants are trialed yearly from over 150 plant breeding companies.

Petunias in the All American Selections Trial Garden

Related Gardens

The All American Trial Gardens host some of our other trials.

Visit the Plant Trials Website

Information includes a full plant and photo library along with educational resources.