As a new growing season unfolds each spring, garden communicators receive an influx of dozens of as-yet-unavailable sample plants from breeders and growers, tasked with evaluating their potential.
One of those experts meticulously tests these new varieties. Some are integrated into existing beds and garden borders, others are placed in containers, while a dedicated “maternity ward” – a meter-deep strip of soil – houses the rest. This rigorous observation continues throughout the season.
The purpose of this extensive evaluation is to provide consumers with informed recommendations. When these plants arrive at garden centers the following year, the expert will be able to safely highlight those that demonstrated superior performance.
Although there are personal preferences for certain colors, shapes and textures, the evaluation prioritizes objective merit. Key criteria include the plant's ability to thrive, its reliability in flowering, and its resistance to disease or infestation. This knowledge is crucial for gardeners before investing their hard-earned money on new introductions, regardless of their initial appeal.
This spring marks the commercial debut of plants tested last year, and the most impressive performers are now available to the public.
Digitalis Arctic Fox 'Lemon Cream' and 'Rose' foxgloves
Suitable for horticultural zones 5 through 9, old garden biennials with bell-shaped flowers rising on 18- to 24-inch spikes are known to attract hummingbirds and pollinators. They survived a particularly harsh winter in my zone 7 garden and are blooming profusely as I write. Note: Digitalis is very poisonous, so it should be grown out of the reach of small children and pets.
Mexican Agastache Summerlong Series
Also known as hummingbird mint, the plant is available in coral, lilac, peach, magenta, and lemon. Suitable for zones 7 to 10, it grew without problems, flowered well for a first-year plant, and returned nicely in the sunny street-facing border outside my fence. When mature, it is expected to reach 16 to 22 inches tall and 16 to 22 inches wide.
Calibrachoa Superbells 'Double Magic Grapefruit'
These stunning 'million bells' plants produce beautiful lemon yellow buds that open to reveal double flowers, which take on a soft pink hue, creating a beautiful pink and yellow mottled effect. Suitable for sun and partial sun, this drought-tolerant plant reblooms through frost and trails nicely over the edges of hanging baskets in full sun.
Harlequin Anemone 'Cameo'
This perennial, hardy in zones 4 to 9, produces joy-inducing pink, daisy-like flowers with ragged petals and bright yellow centers on mounded plants from early summer until frost. Suitable for full sun or partial shade, the plant should reach 14 inches tall (26 inches, including flower stems) and 18 inches wide.
French Echinacea Tips
Full disclosure: I am partial to echinacea (coneflowers) of all colors and sizes. But I found this variety especially interesting for its pink petals with white tips reminiscent of a French manicure. The flowers fall at different heights on plant mounds that attract pollinators and bloom almost non-stop from summer to fall. Hardy in zones 4 to 9, they are expected to reach 20 to 24 inches tall and 24 inches wide at maturity. And like most coneflowers, they are considered deer resistant.
Lobelia Laguna Royal Blue Pearl
These airy plants remain covered in deep blue flowers with white centers all summer, densely filling sunny containers. They would also work well as border plants or in rock and crevice gardens. Treated as annuals, plants are 8 to 12 inches tall with a spread of 10 to 12 inches and are more heat tolerant than previous Lobelias.
Supertunia Mini Vista Pink Cloud
These petunias bloom continuously through frost as a container or garden plant. Their wavy petals distinguish them from standard petunias, and the faded white center of each flower provides a striking detail against their cotton-candy pink petals. Expect them to grow 6 to 12 inches tall and to grow up to 24 inches in a pot.
White Hula Begonia
This one calls for another disclaimer: I've never been interested in begonias (something to do with their thick stems). But that all changed when I received this unique variety with a spreading habit and dense branching that allowed the cheerful white flowers with yellow centers to completely obscure those stems. Plants grow 6 to 10 inches tall and 20 to 27 inches wide in either sun or shade.
Light pink lighthouse and blue pearl impatiens
Beacon Impatiens is always an excellent choice for its resistance to downy mildew, a deadly disease that often affects the heterosexual species Impatiens walleriana. These new varieties produce vibrant yet elegant and unobtrusive flowers that work like champions in full or partial shade. They spread abundantly and bloomed from spring to fall. They would work equally well in beds or trailing up the sides of containers, growing 14 to 18 inches tall and 12 to 14 inches wide.
Spreading Petunia's Shockwave Rose Vein
These bicolor beauties spread while maintaining a somewhat bulbous shape, so they did not spread out of control, as some petunias might. And its brightly colored, two-tone flowers with a central star-shaped pattern draw attention without clashing with nearby plants. Grow them in full sun and expect them to reach 7 to 10 inches tall and 20 to 30 inches wide.
