Key facts
- Ten new plant varieties have been identified as top performers for the current gardening season.
- The selected plants were trialed for their resilience, bloom reliability, and resistance to disease and pests.
- Digitalis Arctic Fox 'Lemon Cream' and 'Rose' foxgloves are noted for attracting pollinators and surviving harsh winters.
- Agastache mexicana Summerlong Series, or hummingbird mint, offers multiple color options and grows well in sunny locations.
- Echinacea French Tips coneflowers are deer-resistant and bloom nearly nonstop from summer through fall.
- Beacon Impatiens varieties are highlighted for their resistance to downy mildew.
Gardening expert Jessica Damiano has identified ten new plant varieties that excelled in her trials and are now available to consumers. Damiano evaluated dozens of sample plants from breeders and growers, assessing their performance in her garden based on resilience, bloom reliability, and resistance to disease and pests.
The selected plants include Digitalis Arctic Fox 'Lemon Cream' and 'Rose' foxgloves, suitable for horticultural zones 5-9, known for attracting pollinators and surviving harsh winters. Agastache mexicana Summerlong Series, or hummingbird mint, is available in coral, lilac, peach, magenta, and lemon, thriving in zones 7-10 and expected to reach 16-22 inches tall and wide.
Other notable varieties include Calibrachoa Superbells 'Magic Double Grapefruit' with its unique mottled pink-and-yellow double flowers, which reblooms through frost. The perennial Anemone Harlequin 'Cameo', hardy in zones 4-9, offers daisy-like pink flowers from early summer until frost. Echinacea French Tips, a coneflower variety hardy in zones 4-9, features white-tipped pink petals and blooms nearly nonstop, while also being deer-resistant.
Lobelia Laguna Royal Blue Pearl provides dense clusters of deep blue flowers with white centers and is more heat-tolerant than previous varieties. Supertunia Mini Vista Pink Cloud petunias offer continuous bloom with ruffled petals and a fading white center. Begonia Hula White is noted for its unique spreading habit and cheerful yellow-centered white flowers.
Beacon Impatiens, in light pink and blue pearl, are highlighted for their resistance to downy mildew and abundant blooming from spring through fall. Lastly, Spreading Petunia Shock Wave Rose Vein offers attention-grabbing bicolored blossoms with a star-shaped center pattern and a manageable mounded habit.