Rate My Professor Allan Armitage

Professor Allan Armitage is a distinguished Professor Emeritus of Horticulture at the University of Georgia within the Agricultural and Veterinary Science faculty. Internationally recognized for his expertise in herbaceous perennials and annuals, Armitage dedicated 30 years to the university, retiring in 2014. He pioneered the evaluation and introduction of new ornamental crops suited to southeastern climates, notably co-developing Verbena 'Homestead Purple' with Dr. Michael Dirr, alongside sweet potato 'Margarita', the Sunlover series of Coleus, Tibouchina 'Athens Blue', Plectranthus 'Athens Gem', Dicentra 'Athens Yellow', and rosemary 'Athens Blue Spires'. In 1982, he co-founded the University of Georgia Trial Gardens with Michael Dirr, transforming a modest plot into one of North America's 30 All-American Trial Gardens, which serves as a vital research, teaching, and outreach facility.

Armitage authored eight influential books, including Herbaceous Perennial Plants: A Treatise on Their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes (second edition, 1998), recognized by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 most important horticultural books of the last 75 years; Specialty Cut Flowers (second edition, 2003), which received the Educational Media Award from the Professional Plant Growers Association; and Armitage's Garden Perennials: A Color Encyclopedia (2000). He also published over 250 articles and papers, and developed two CD-ROMs: Photographic Library of Herbaceous Plants featuring 7,200 images and The Educated Gardener (1999). His contributions earned him prestigious honors such as the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award from the American Horticultural Society (2012), the Distinguished National Educator Award from the same society, the Medal of Honor from the Garden Club of America, Educator of the Year from the Georgia Green Industry Association, and the Gold Medal of Achievement from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A prolific speaker, Armitage has delivered more than 1,000 lectures across the United States, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and beyond, solidifying his impact on the horticultural community.