2013 Favorite New Plants
BrazelBerries Collection
This new collection of dwarf-sized berry plants is easy to grow with amazing fruit. ‘Raspberry Shortcake’ is the world’s first dwarf, thornless red raspberry perfectly suited to large patio containers or small spaces. ‘Jelly Bean’ is a compact blueberry that produces super sweet fruit. The dwarf ‘Peach Sorbet’ blueberry has sweet berries, plus its leaves turn a rich eggplant purple in winter. Grow in full sun.
Want More? The National Garden Bureau has proclaimed 2013 as the Year of the Watermelon, ideal because every part of the plant is edible—the flesh, the rind and the seeds.
photo by Monrovia
Crape Myrtle ‘Coral Magic’
A beautiful rounded, dense shrub, ‘Coral Magic’ is an exciting development in crape myrtle breeding. Loaded with salmon-pink flowers in early summer, it will bloom again in late summer if the flowers are deadheaded. Grows in full sun, six to ten feet tall and wide.
Want more? Try ‘Midnight Magic’ crape myrtle from plant breeder Michael Dirr. It’s a fast grower to 12 feet tall with deep purple foliage and large clusters of mauve pink flowers.
photo by Bailey Nurseries
Distylium ‘Vintage Jade’
This lovely shrub with dark green evergreen foliage will form a low spreading mound in the landscape. In late winter small, maroon flowers bloom. Tolerates drought and wet soil, this distylium is resistant to insects and diseases. Grows two feet tall and spreads five feet in full sun to part shade.
Want More? ‘Blue Cascade’ distylium has blue-green foliage with the same spreading habit and reddish-maroon flowers in winter.
photo by Bailey Nurseries
Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’
A 2013 All-America Selections award winner, ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ is a new coneflower mixture with bright blooms of cream, yellow, gold, orange, scarlet, red and purple. Perfect in perennial beds, this heat and drought-tolerant plant blooms from midsummer into fall without deadheading. Grows two feet tall and wide in full sun. Try pairing it with red flowers of the new ‘Mercury Rising’ coreopsis.
Want More? Other new Echinacea include the bright orange ‘Julia’ dwarf variety and the butterfly-attracting ‘Cleopatra’ with three-inch sunny yellow petals and orange center.
photo by All America Selections/National Garden Bureau
Evovulus ‘Blue My Mind’
True blue flowers cover this entire annual from spring until frost. Commonly called dwarf morning glory, Evovulus ‘Blue My Mind’ loves hot weather (though it needs protection from even light frost). The mounding-trailing habit makes it a good “spiller” plant in a container or window box. Drought tolerant. Grows 12 to 24 inches in full sun and doesn’t need deadheading.
Want More? Another heat-tolerant trailing annual, ‘Blushing Princess’ alyssum is a vigorous grower but will need evenly moist soil to keep it hydrated. Use larger containers that hold more water.
photo by Proven Winners
Helleborus Gold Collection ‘Merlin’
Hellebores bring a totally new look to the winter and early spring garden. The Gold Collection, known for its large, forward-facing
blossoms, has added a new color, ‘Merlin’. Its light pink blossoms deepen to cranberry and then to a rich ebony purple. Grows in partial to full shade 10 inches tall and 15 inches wide.
Want More? The helleborus ‘Winter Jewel’ series features double flowers in a range of pinks and whites like ‘Rose Quartz’, ‘Cotton Candy’, and ‘Peppermint Ice’.
photo by Skagit Gardens
Hydrangea Everlasting Revolution Series
Gardeners will love the mop heads of the Everlasting series with their variety of colors in deep pink, maroon, or blue with green highlights as the flowers mature. Each stem is a bouquet, and even a young plant makes a show worthy of a Mother’s Day bouquet. It’s a repeat bloomer, flowering on new and old wood from spring through summer. Grows to 30 inches tall and wide in full sun or part shade in moist, well-drained soil.
Want More? Try ‘Bobo’ hydrangea with its massive white flower heads that slowly turn to pink in the fall.
photo by Visions/Plants Nouveau
Physocarpus ‘Amber Jubilee’
This amazing new ninebark has a rounded and dense habit. Its bold array of orange, yellow and gold leaves will stand out in your garden. A four-season showstopper with delicate white blooms in spring and red and purple fall foliage, ‘Amber Jubilee’ was a best of show winner at the New Varieties Showcase in Oregon. Grows in full sun up to six feet tall and four feet wide.
Want More? ‘Crimson Fire’ loropetalum is a compact two-foot by two-foot shrub with rich ruby-red foliage throughout the year. Vibrant neon pink flowers are a bonus in spring.
photo by Bailey Nurseries
‘Popcorn’ Drift Rose
The disease-resistant, repeat-blooming Drift roses continue to take the market by storm. This year’s new color, ‘Popcorn’ is a mutation of the popular ‘Peach’. It starts out yellow and fades to a creamy white, reminiscent of buttery popcorn. Grows one to two feet tall and spreads up to two feet in full sun.
Want More? The David Austin experts consider ‘Lady of Shalott’ one of the best roses they have produced. Ideal for novice growers to passionate rosarians, this large, bushy shrub rose has some 60 petals colored in salmon pink on the upper side and golden-yellow on the reverse.
photo by Conard-Pyle
Superbells ‘Lemon Slice’ Calibrachoa
The unique pinwheel pattern of white and bright yellow is new in calibrachoas and will add “wow” to your containers and landscape. It produces hundreds of flowers that look like small petunias. Just six inches tall with two foot long trailing branches, this annual will cascade over the sides of containers and across flowerbeds. It needs excellent drainage or the roots will rot and full sun. No need to deadhead as it is self-cleaning.
Want More? Put more wow in your garden with begonia ‘Sparks Will Fly’. Its dazzling tangerine flowers bloom until frost and will brighten up the shady spots in your landscape.
photo by Proven Winners