NEW HYDRANGEAS
1 Cloud Nine hybrid hydrangea
Hydrangea '18/1'
Southern Living Plant 1 Collection/Sunset Plant Collection This unique new hydrangea offers white lacecap flowers that line its stems from spring to fall. With their frilly edges, the kite-shaped petals contribute fascinating detail in the garden or a vase. The pure white color stands out against the dark green foliage and brightens shady spaces.
Cloud Nine grows three to four feet high and wide. It requires part sun or shade conditions and moderate water. USDA Zones 7b-10.
2 Endless Summer Pop Star bigleaf hydrangeaHydrangea macrophylla ‘Bailmacsix’
Bailey Nurseries
Pop Star is a natural fit for the border, low hedge or large pot. Its lacecap flowers provide visual texture while catering to pollinators, and its thick leaves hold up well in hot summers. Pop Star is exceptionally quick to rebloom, with new buds appearing just four weeks after a hard cutback. (This treatment is not recommended; it was a test mimicking a bud-killing winter or accidental fall pruning.)
Pop Star grows 18 to 36 inches tall and wide. Its flowers will be neon blue or bright pink depending on soil pH and the presence of aluminum. Provide regular water and sun or part shade. Zones 4–9.
3 Seaside Serenade Glacier Bay bigleaf hydrangeaHydrangea macrophylla ‘CAMCHO45’
Monrovia
Sturdy black stems support the crisp white lacecap flowers of Glacier Bay, which reblooms throughout the summer and into fall. With its rounded habit and substantial foliage, this bigleaf cultivar can be massed in the landscape or used singly as an accent in the garden. Its flowers hold up very well when cut for arrangements.
Glacier Bay grows three feet tall and wide. Plant it in part sun or filtered shade. It needs moderate watering. Zones 4–9.
4 Invicibelle Sublime smooth hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens ‘SMBHRL’
Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs
This cultivar ushers in a new day for full-sized smooth hydrangeas. Its tourmaline-green mophead flowers float above the plant on super-sturdy stems. The very dark green foliage sets offthe lively green of the blooms. Introduced as an improvement over the cultivar Lime Rickey, Invincibelle Sublime offers better color and heat tolerance. Its green hue looks lovely combined with the white and pink flowers supplied by other cultivars of H. arborescens, a native of North America.
Invincibelle Sublime grows three-and-a-half to five feet tall and wide. It needs full to part sun and moderate water. Flowering occurs on new growth; cut all stems back to 12 inches in early spring. Zones 3–9.
5 Puffer Fish panicle hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata ‘NCHP1’
Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs
Think of Puffer Fish as a larger version of the beloved cultivar Bobo (which remains in production). Fluffy blooms engulf the entire plant, nearly obscuring the foliage. The flowers open pure white. As they age, they turn lime green and then a fresh sprig of white flowers emerges from the tip of the panicle. Unlike most panicle hydrangeas, Puffer Fish’s flowers do not turn pink. This makes it an ideal hydrangea for inclusion in a moon garden.
Puffer Fish grows three to five feet tall and wide, with stems strong enough to support its heavy blooms. Provide full to part sun and moderate water. Zones 3–8.
6 Sweet Starlight panicle hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Pan1782hydr’
Bloomables
An abundance of bright white blooms stud this compact panicle hydrangea, which produces strong stems that promise to remain upright throughout the growing season. As early as July, a soft pink will begin to show up on the flowers, which will continue to age to a beautiful dark pink.
Sweet Starlight reaches four feet tall and three to four feet wide. It grows in full sun to part shade with moderate water. Zones 4–8.
NEW ROSES
7 Heavenly Ascent Pink
Rosa × ‘Meictarus’
Monrovia
The roses of Heavenly Ascent Pink bring beautiful fragrance and a creamy pink color to the garden and bouquets. This climbing rose is relatively small and a perfect addition to the cottage garden, where it will bloom continuously through the growing season.
Heavenly Ascent Pink reaches to eight feet tall. Like all roses, it needs full sun and regular watering. Provide it with a wide trellis or other support to climb, remembering that climbers produce more flowers when their canes, or stems, are trained to run horizontal rather than vertical. Zones 5–9.
8 Raspberry Cupcake
Rosa ‘KORcarmsis’
Bloomables
The flowers on Raspberry Cupcake produce a very strong scent of rose water, lemon and raspberry. The plant reblooms throughout the season in an attractive shade of pink to purple. This rose has excellent resistance to mildews and rust and it performs well against black spot on the East Coast.
Raspberry Cupcake rose grows a bushy four feet tall and two to three feet wide. Plant it in full sun and provide moderate water, especially as it is getting established. Zones 6–10 (possibly 5 with protection).
9 Reminiscent Crema
Rosa × ‘BOZFRA121’
Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs Reminiscent is a new rose series that combines old-fashioned beauty and fragrance with fuss-free reliability and disease resistance. These cultivars were bred in Serbia by Pheno Geno Roses, a team of women scientists.
Reminiscent roses perform like modern shrub roses but boast strong fragrance, color and petal count. They provide continuous bloom from summer through fall without deadheading. They resist disease, tolerate heat and need just an annual cutting back in early spring. All need full sun and moderate watering. Zones 4–9.
Reminiscent Crema blooms in a pale buttery white. It grows two to three-and-a-half feet tall and two feet wide.
10 Reminiscent Coral
Rosa × ‘BOZFRA221’
Reminiscent Coral has dark coralpink petals surrounding a copper center. It grows two to three-and-ahalf feet tall and two feet wide.
11 Reminiscent Pink
Rosa × ‘BOZFRA021’
Reminiscent Pink blooms in a light cotton-candy hue. It grows three to four feet tall and two feet wide.
12 Top Cream
Rosa × ‘Meiroguste’
Bloomables
Top Cream is a white hybrid tea rose with very large and fully double flowers. The flowers sometimes take on a pink blush. They offer a strong fruity fragrance similar to a ripe pear. The plant shows excellent resistance to disease.
Top Cream grows six feet tall and two to three feet wide. Provide full sun and regular water. Zones 6–10 (possibly 5 with protection).
NEW PERENNIALS FOR SUN
13 Yellow Ombre coneflower
Echinacea × hybrida ‘PAS1303304’
Kieft Seed/Ball
This new cultivar joins the Echinacea Artisan series, a collection of coneflowers produced from seed rather than cuttings. Its highly branched, full plants promise a heavy cover of flowers in summer, beckoning bees and butterflies.
Yellow Ombre coneflower grows an upright 24 to 34 inches tall in flower and reaches 10 to 25 inches wide. It needs full sun and moderate watering. Zones 4–10.
14 NOVA ‘Blue’ catmint
Nepeta ‘Blue’
Terra Nova Nurseries
This catmint puts on vigorous growth with lemon-scented, gray-green foliage and bee-loving, deep violet-blue flowers. It forms a tight, dense mat, but it doesn’t travel out of bounds. Compared to other catmints, it starts blooming early and resists flopping. It is recommended for challenging sites like the ground between the sidewalk and the curb.
NOVA ‘Blue’ catmint grows to four inches tall and two feet wide. It needs full sun, good drainage and average water, though it will survive dry spells after its first season. Avoid rich soils. Zones 5–9.
15 ’Bluesette’ Russian sage
Perovskia atriplicifolia
‘Bluesette’
Kieft Seed/Ball
‘Bluesette’ stands apart from its species and older cultivars with its controlled, compact habit and earlier bloom time. It works at the front of the garden and it can also grow well in a patio container. It produces the expected pleasing sage fragrance and attracts bees and butterflies while resisting deer.
‘Bluesette’ Russian sage grows 14 to 22 inches tall and wide. It requires full sun. Once established, it tolerates drought. Zones 4–9a.
16 ’Bubble Bath’ allium
Allium ‘Bubble Bath’
Walters Gardens
Summer flowers top strong stems above a clump of strappy foliage in ‘Bubble Bath’. It can be compared to ‘Millenium’, but its flowers are lighter in color, leaning toward pink. ‘Bubble Bath’ is also an earlier bloomer among the clump-forming alliums, and its wide, blue-green leaves add interest with their slight twist. It draws pollinators to the garden and it’s unlikely to be browsed by rabbits or deer.
‘Bubble Bath’ allium reaches about 26 inches tall and wide. It takes full sun or part shade and moderate to low water. Zones 4–8.
17 PICKABLES Color Pop dianthus
Dianthus ‘Pie168’
Southern Living Plant Collection/ Sunset Plant Collection
ColorPop is a dianthus with bright, hot pink petals surrounding a lavender eye. Narrow evergreen foliage provides great contrast to the vivid flowers, which appear in spring and repeat in autumn.
ColorPop dianthus grows 10 to 12 inches tall and wide. This perennial needs full sun, good drainage and low water. Trim back after the spring bloom to promote a better second flowering. Zones 5–10.
18’Goldblitz’ black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘
Goldblitz’
Kieft Seed/Ball This award-winning black-eyed Susan differs from other cultivars because it blooms in its first year and a bit earlier in the growing season, from midsummer into autumn. It caters to bees and butterflies with its daisy-type flowers and to songbirds with its seed heads. Compared to the popular ‘Goldsturm’, it is a smaller plant, with proportionately smaller leaves and flowers.
‘Goldblitz’ reaches 24 to 28 inches tall and 14 to 18 inches wide. It needs full sun and moderate water. Zones 3–9.
19 ’Lion Cub’ rudbeckia
Rudbeckia ‘Lion Cub’
Terra Nova Nurseries
With its fluffy yellow flowers, this unique rudbeckia is as cute as its namesake, and it will be the pride of the garden. Plentiful quilled rays surround each chocolate-brown eye on flowers that keep coming from early summer to the fall frost. The deep yellow rays develop a red edge over time but do not fade. The plant thrives in heat and retains a neatly mounded habit.
‘Lion Cub’ rudbeckia grows to 10 inches tall and 18 inches wide. It prefers full sun and moderate water. Zones 8–10.
20 ’Niagara Falls’ switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
‘Niagara Falls’
Proven Winners Perennials A new addition to the Prairie Winds collection of native grasses, ‘Niagara Falls’ mimics miscanthus with its arching foliage, only in a distinctive powder blue. This cultivar offers a moderate height among switchgrasses, as well as interesting texture and movement with its gracefully drooping foliage. Cream-colored seed heads appear in fall.
‘Niagara Falls’ switchgrass reaches four feet tall and wide. It needs full sun and low to moderate water. Zones 4–9.
21 ’Queen Nectarine’ agastache
Agastache ‘Queen Nectarine’
Proven Winners
Perennials This new hummingbird mint boasts a tall, full growth habit and improved hardiness and vigor along with the drought tolerance gardeners expect from its kind. The size and upright shape of ‘Queen Nectarine’ makes it a good option for mixing with ornamental grasses and coneflowers at the middle or back of a perennial border. From mid- to late summer, soft peach flowers stand out from mauve calyxes lining the stems. These tubular blossoms attract pollinators.
‘Queen Nectarine’ agastache reaches 30 to 36 inches tall and wide. It requires full sun and low to average water. Zones 5–9.
22 ’Red Velvet’ bee balm
Monarda ‘Red Velvet’
Proven Winners Perennials
This is a new addition to the UPSCALE series of monarda, whose members stand taller than other recent beebalm introductions. And ‘Red Velvet’ is the tallest of the series, making it a good candidate for massing or for placing in the middle of the mixed border. Its new leaves emerge with a bronze cast, but its large, mid- to late summer flowers provide the real draw as they bloom in cherry red.
‘Red Velvet’ beebalm grows 32 inches tall and 36 inches wide. It is mildew and deer resistant. It takes full sun or part shade and moderate water. Zones 4–8.
23 Skyward Blue veronica
Veronica hybrida ‘Balskywlue’
Darwin Perennials/Ball
This veronica offers a high flower count on a dense, upright habit and provides a continuous bloom of substantial florets. Durable and compact, it blooms on sturdy stems from late spring into summer. Its foliage resists powdery mildew, deer and rabbits while its flowers sustain bees and butterflies.
Skyward Blue veronica grows 14 to 18 inches tall and wide. It prefers full sun and moderate water, although it can adapt to other conditions. Zones 4b–9a.
24 Skyward Pink veronica
Veronica hybrida ‘Balskywink’ Skyward Pink veronica differs from Skyward Blue only in its flowers, which bloom a warm rose.
25 Sombrero Poco Hot Pink
coneflower Echinacea × hybrida ‘Balsompotin’
Darwin Perennials/Ball
The Sombrero Poco series mimics Sombrero coneflowers in everything but size. Hot Pink is an aptly named addition that blooms heavily from late spring to late summer. Its bright flowers attract butterflies. Regular deadheading will prolong the show.
Sombrero Poco Hot Pink grows 14 to 16 inches tall and wide. It needs full sun and good drainage. It will tolerate some drought once established. Zones 4b–9.
26 SUNDIAL
‘Zenith’ coneflowerEchinacea ‘Zenith’
Terra Nova Nurseries
Anemone-like flowers crown this new echinacea, with pale rays surrounding a green-and-gold central cone. Among yellow-blooming cultivars, ‘Zenith’ has larger and longer-lasting flowers and an improved upright habit that resists flopping. It is a good subject for pots.
‘Zenith’ coneflower grows 14 inches tall and 18 inches wide, with strong branching from its base. It requires full sun and moderate water. Zones 4–9.
NEW SHRUBS
27 Banana Split daphne
Daphne odora ‘Monzulzay’
Monrovia
Variegated foliage makes this an exciting daphne. The flowers offer a strong, sweet fragrance when they appear in late winter or earliest spring, emerging white from rosy pink buds.
Banana Split daphne grows four feet tall and wide. It takes part sun or full shade and moderate water. Evergreen. Zones 7–9.
28 Better Boxwood
Buxus cvs.
Southern Living Plant Collection
Better Boxwood is a collection of four cultivars bred to resist blight. Each one fills a different role.
Skylight (shown) grows six to eight feet tall and half as wide, good for topiary and medium-height hedges. Babylon Beauty, three feet tall and four to five feet wide, works as a ground cover or in layered shrub borders. Heritage is three to four feet tall and two to three feet wide, ideal for a lower hedge or punctuation. At one to two feet tall and wide, Renaissance edges well.
Better Boxwood cultivars take full sun to part shade and moderate water. Evergreen. Zones 5–9.
29Junior Giant arborvitae
Thuja × ‘Junior Giant’
Plants Nouveau
‘Junior Giant’ is a dense arborvitae that matures to just one-third the height of ‘Green Giant’, suiting it to smaller spaces and trimming-averse gardeners. Its foliage maintains a uniform deep green color all year.
‘Junior Giant’ arborvitae reaches 15 to 20 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide. It needs full sun and moderate water. Evergreen. Zones 5–8.
30 Midnight Sun weigela
Weigela florida ‘Verweig9’
Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs
This dwarf weigela’s colorful foliage and small size makes it a great replacement for coleus—and it comes back every year!
Midnight Sun weigela grows 12 to 18 inches tall and wide. It takes full sun or light shade, with moderate water. Deciduous. Zones 4–8.
31 Raspberry Lemonade ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
‘ZLEYel2’
Plants Nouveau Raspberry Lemonade is sized just right for smaller gardens, and the short distance between leaves creates an incredibly dense look. Its foliage retains its yellow color from its emergence in spring through summer and into fall. White flowers and coral-red, bird-feeding fruits round out the appeal. This is a great alternative to barberry (Berberis).
Raspberry Lemonade ninebark grows to four feet tall and wide. It prefers full sun and moderate watering. Deciduous. Zones 3–7.
32 Shadow Magic crapemyrtle
Lagerstroemia ‘Baillagtwo’
Bailey Nurseries
Dark pink blooms and deep purple leaves identify Shadow Magic. Its glossy foliage stays healthy all season, while other dark-leaved crapemyrtles can struggle with powdery mildew. Its naturally compact, shrubby size help it avoid misguided pruning.
Shadow Magic grows seven to nine feet tall and five to seven feet wide. It needs full sun and moderate water. Deciduous. Zones 7–9.
33 Spicy Devil ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius
‘ZLENatalie’
Bailey Nurseries
Spicy Devil is a great structural shrub with leaves that emerge orange and yellow and mature to a vibrant reddish-purple. Pinkish white flowers appear in spring. The mildew-free leaves offer a dark backdrop for perennials and annuals.
Spicy Devil ninebark grows three to four feet tall and wide. It prefers full sun and moderate water, but it resists drought and adapts to wetter soils. Deciduous. Zones 3–7.
34 Spring Fling forsythia
Forsythia ‘UMNFOR01’
Bailey Nurseries
Forsythia are beloved for their explosion of brilliant flowers that mark winter’s end. Spring Fling fulfills that expectation while remaining an ideal size. It’s large enough for a hedge but small enough to fit the back of the border. Because of its moderate dimensions, it doesn’t need pruning, which often misshapes forsythia.
Spring Fling grows five to six feet tall and wide. It needs full sun and moderate water. Deciduous. Zones 5–8.