California Spring Trials (CAST) 2026 daily blog

Pink Treat is the newest (and surprising) color in the Timeless bidens collection. Compact, colorful and covered in blooms, Pink Treat thrives in warm conditions with little to no PGR needed. It’s pollinator-friendly and heat-tolerant, two characteristics that will appeal to consumers. Use it in quart programs.

Capella Inked and Rose Ink petunias

Pictured: Capella Inked

You’ve likely wondered how some breeding companies land on plant, series or collection names. When it comes to Capella Inked, this white petunia looks like a skilled tattoo artist created the dark lines in the center.

Another new color in the Capella series is Rose Ink. The pink and white petals pair beautifully with the burgundy lines in the center.

Plants in the Capella series offer a naturally controlled habit for quart production. However, the plants will gain size to fill a larger pot or once planted in the landscape. They flower early and have proven to be heat tolerant in trials.

Express Seed Company

Express Seed Company made its first appearance at California Spring Trials in 2026.

In the above video, senior business manager Scott Mozingo shares how the company seeks to solve problems for independent garden centers and garden retailers.

Dümmen Orange 

Some visitors call it CAST’s most killer view. Dümmen showcased its newest selections and some long-standing collections at the Corbett Canyon Vineyards again this year.

BlooMix

With years of experience designing combinations, the breeder launched a new program that blends first-year flowering perennials with cold-tolerant annuals.

BlooMix is designed for spring and summer production, and 11-inch pots need just one input from each variety for most mixes. Finish time is typically 16 weeks. 

Dahlia Summer Bees

New colors in the Dahlia Summer Bees series include Red Star and Salmon Bicolor. Red Star has a 3D quality, with large outer petals and smaller ray-like inner petals. Salmon Bicolor has shown mildew resistance, a quality that will be part of future releases into the Summer Bees series.

Agastache Honeysticks Gold

Agastache Honeysticks Gold is the latest color in the Honeysticks series. Featuring an upright habit with bright golden yellow flower spikes and highly aromatic foliage, it’s a pollinator magnet and works well in containers or in the ground.

We also traveled to the Netherlands without actually leaving the U.S. during CAST 2026.

In the above video, Tosca Ferber, chief technology officer at Dümmen Orange, led us on a virtual tour of the breeder's research facility in the Netherlands.

HilverdaFlorist 

Picture Perfect dianthus

Editorial Director Kelli Rodda with the Picture Perfect dianthus display.

Strike a pose for Picture Perfect dianthus, a compact pot plant with high flower count that does not need PGRs.

Flowers retain their bright red and magenta color, and the long shelf life makes it ideal for garden centers and florists. It can be marketed for both indoor and outdoor use, and it flowers from March through November. 

Gerbera Melodiva

The new pot gerbera Melodiva series was developed as an indoor/gift program for greenhouse production in 4- to 4.5-inch pots. On the benches, the breeder says at least 90% of plants are ready for sale at the same time, each with three blooms and two buds.

The series offers nine colors, including a bicolor. Point-of-sale materials are available.  

Garden Gerbera Garvinea Sweet Pastry

New to HilverdaFlorist's Garden Gerbera Garvinea series is Sweet Pastry, a semi-doubled subtle pink with a black center.

This compact selection flowers from March to November and is well-suited for the patio or the garden, with strong weather tolerance and quick, uniform cultivation.

American Takii 

Rudbeckia Claire Orange

Rudbeckia Claire Orange is a pollen-free hybrid that flowers early, and its naturally branching habit provides its floriferous attribute. Claire Orange grows 12 to 15 inches high and 12 inches wide. Use it in containers, mixed combos or in the landscape.

The breeder says the absence of pollen may lead to better blooms, since the plant is channeling its resources toward petal development instead of seed formation. This selection is also a 2026 AAS winner.

Glow Collection

The Glow Collection is built around a simple idea: transformation. Each Glow planter is made up of thoughtfully designed color stories that deliver immediate visual impact.

There are five color stories in the collection: Golden, Moon, Rosy, Bold and Soft.

The bright yellows of Golden Glow include Canna Cannova Gold Leopard, Zinnia Belize Double Yellow and Celosia Castle Yellow.

The white plants behind Moon Glow are Digitalis Hanabee White, Dianthus Telstar White and Petunia Trilogy White.

The pinks of Rosy Glow are Canna Cannova Rose Dark Bud, Petunia Trilogy Rose Vein and Zinnia Belize Double Bright Rose.

The high-energy blend of colors for Bold Glow includes Melampodium Jackpot Gold, Petunia Trilogy Purple and Zinnia Belize Double Bright Rose.

The gentle colors of Soft Glow are Agastache Arizona Sunset, Petunia Trilogy Cherry Morn and Zinnia Belize Double Pink Bicolor. 

Sahin 

Takii’s seed division for specialty growers always tends to be a quiet spot at CAST, but it never fails to bring a couple of very interesting plants.

All of Sahin’s plants are from seed, and the majority are open-pollinated so that seeds are true to type.  

Coreopsis Boom! 

New to Sahin is coreopsis Boom! Why the exclamation? The smallish flowers of this coreopsis have a striking red center with yellow edges, evoking an explosion or a firework. Additionally, the edges of the petals are uneven and jagged, adding to the fiery feel.

The plant is well-branched and dense, and the small flowers provide good visual interest close up. But when planted in mass, the flowers hovering above the foliage on sturdy stems create an orange cloud of color when viewed from a distance. 

Salvia Touch of Scent

Also new to Sahin this year is salvia Touch of Scent. This salvia has long, sturdy stems with flowers arranged from top to bottom.

The small purple and white blooms are interesting, but more unique is the smell the stems (not the blooms) produce when they are disturbed. Running a hand along the stem produces a scent that rests somewhere between bubblegum and citrus. It's perfect for gardeners who want to get hands-on.  

Sakata 

Playlist combo series

Sakata continues developing its Playlist selection of combos. Each combo is available as either a recipe or a kit, depending on the culture differences between the constituent plants. Either way the combos are ordered, they finish together for retail and carry a musically inspired name.

For 2026, Sakata was showcasing thriller inspirations, which can be ordered as drop-in for the finished combos, including Flamma celosias and gomprhena Pinball purple.  

Among the new Playlist combo options was Seasons Change, comprised of three of Sakata's new Sunpatiens Petite colors: Scarlet Red, Purple and Orange. The combo presents a seasonal color gradient rendered in vibrant petals.

The SunPatiens Petite line has been created for shade, heat and disease resistance, and the plants maintain a bushy flower-filled habit. The new colors in the line will be standouts in lower-light garden corners.

Supercal Premium

There are three new colors in the Supercal Premium family: Pink Star, Sunset Orange Improved and Purple Ice. The Supercal Premiums provide well-branched plants with a mounding habit and large flowers.

Touted for excellent outdoor performance, Supercal Premium selections stand up to heat and rain. 

Kientzler 

Glechoma ‘Dappled Light’

New to North America is Glechoma ‘Dappled Light’. Glechoma is an ivy-like creeper or trailer that can tolerate a wide variety of garden and growing conditions but prefers its namesake in terms of light.

The leaves are rounded with a toothy edge and cascade down long trailing stems, showing a lovely, dappled chartreuse. On display in the greenhouse was a 12-week-old plant with easily 2 feet or more of cascading foliage, making it an ideal hanging combo basket spiller.   

Ajuga Feathered Friends

Pictured: Ajuga Feathered Friends Rosy Robin

Kientzler has partnered with breeder Chris Hansen to offer four new selections in the Ajuga Feathered Friends collection. Plants are winter-hardy (Zones 4 to 9), grow in full to partial sun and offer year-round color.

The new selections are Rosy Robin, Raspberry Wren, Cordial Canary and Fancy Finch, with foliage colors ranging from bronze to chartreuse. 

Jammin’ Jamesbrittenia 

Jammin’ is a new series of Jamesbrittenia that is bold enough to stand alone, but it also works great as a trailing component plant. This heat-tolerant plant flowers prolifically in spring and summer. The colors are Lilac, Pink, Coral, Wine 2027 and Pink Passion. 

One more day to go! Come back tomorrow for our final report from CAST 2026!

Mystal, PlantHaven’s Miscanthus program, features four selections ranging from ultra compact to extra large. Little Miss grows to 2 feet high, Gentle Breeze is the next size up at 3 feet, with 6-foot Fire Dragon falling in next and Tiger Tail at 8 feet rounding out the program.

They’re well-suited for containers, borders and landscape plantings. Each selection is hardy to Zone 4. Finish times for quarts are 6 to 8 weeks and 8 to 12 weeks for a 1-gallon. 

Pacific Plug & Liner 

PP&L love a good CAST theme, and 2026 is no different, as the grower hopped on a bicycle and went off to the races through its selection.

Hellebore Frostkiss Magico

At the start of the “tour de fleurs” was a new option in the Frostkiss hellebore series. Magico offers a lovely greenish white two-tone bloom with purple petal edges. It is a more compact hellebore and later to bloom like the other Frostkiss hellebores, meaning retailers can place them in the heart of spring sales, instead of earlier in the season, when foot traffic is sparse.  

Lewisia Sunset Glow 

Also new this year is a literal standout. Lewisia Sunset Glow is an alpine plant with incredibly vibrant reddish orange blooms. What makes it a standout? Lewisia is known to hide its blooms in the foliage. Sunset Glow keeps flowers right on top. Because it’s an alpine plant, it’s hardy to Zone 4. PP&L reps believe it’s likely to bloom until snow arrives. It will be available in 72-count liners in the fall. 

Aloe Azara

At the finish line of the tour was an experiment of sorts. The aloe Azara is not yet in production and is still in development, but PP&L is testing the succulents at Smith Gardens, and it will soon go into production trials.

Hopefully, it will make the cut. The thick aloe is architectural and spiny, and it arrives in four colors, including one with rose-kissed leaves. In Santa Barbara, many had thrown up delicate flower spikes with orange and yellow blooms, something these plants are capable of in ideal greenhouse conditions at 38 weeks.  

Suntory Flowers

While many of the Suntory offerings premiered at TPIE in January, they were still showing well in Santa Barbara.

Sun Parasol FiredUp Magic Pink

The newest of the bunch is the Sun Parasol FiredUp Magic Pink, which won a Garden Center Group Cool Product Award in Fort Lauderdale during the tropical plant expo. Like all plants in the FiredUp series, it does not require a trellis. The pink blooms start pale and darken as they age, making it a multi-tonal plant. 

Surfinia petunias

Pictured: Heavenly Peach Horizon

Pictured: Heavenly Blue Violet

Surfinia petunias have some new colors this year. Heavenly Peach Horizon has a pale peachy bloom with a dark eye, making for good contrast in combos. Heavenly Blue Violet is a vibrant purple with dark veins. 

Over the last few years, Suntory has also focused on updating legacy genetics of popular varieties to meet the needs of growers. This year is no different.

Of note, they have improved the popular Surfinia Trailing Sky Blue. Where it was once untamed and rangy, the new genetics keep it less wild and more under control for compactness in production and shipping. Similar updates have also come to Surdiva Purple scaevola, which has also been improved for a tamer, compact habit. 

Beedance Petites Bidens

While not an update, there are also new genetics in Beedance Bidens with Beedance Petites. While the plants still offer tons of bright flowers, the habit is far more compact and squat for growers who want to maximize production.   

Hishtil 

Rosemary

The perennial grower known for its large variety of herbs was showing some interesting experiments in rosemary. The breeders had started working on a rosemary ideal for essential oils, but in working with the plant, serval interesting mutations arose with fascinating characteristics.

While not all will find their way into production, some show promise, like a rosemary with a unique white stem, which offers distinct visual interest and also resistance to powdery mildew.

Japanese and Corsican mint

Pictured: Japanese mint

Pictured: Corsican mint

New to production from Hishtil are two unique mints. Japanese mint is a variety that carries all of the characteristics of mint but offers a different leaf form. Instead of the classic pointed leaf, Japanese mint has rounded leaves and a mounding habit.

Corsican mint, on the other hand, looks more like a groundcover, with incredibly small lobe-shaped leaves arranged in compact clusters along the stem. 

Zoregano

Another new herb is what Hishtil is calling Zoregano, a cross between oregano and marjoram. While the herb has the scent and culinary qualities of oregano, the cross has made it highly resistant to rust, which is a bonus for southern climates.  

Green Trade Horticulture

The tissue culture experts were showcasing a few new varieties in Santa Barbara this year, including some unique flower-filled standouts.

Inca Ocean alstroemeria

Inca Ocean alstroemeria is a new addition to its line. It fits into the series by adding a pale purple to the color options but keeps the qualities the company's alstroemerias are known for. It is compact and uniform with a sturdy stem and produces flowers across the entire plant with a high bloom count. 

Digitalis Lucas Pink

Pictured: Digitalis Lucas Light Pink

Another compact option is Green Trade’s new tissue culture digitalis. Digitalis Lucas Pink can be scheduled for cropping and provides uniform compact flower spikes. The flower bells are packed tightly along the stem, with white throats and an outer purple blush. They finish in 14 to 15 weeks.  

Scabiosa Skyrocket

Finally, for fans of cut flowers, scabiosa Skyrocket premiers this year. Big, ruffled, ball-shaped flowers sit atop long, sturdy stems. The blooms have green to white centers that become dark purple in the outer petals.

In California, Green Trade reps note that it has been flowering since January and continues to produce blooms months later. Once cut, the flowers themselves can keep their color and interest for up to seven days, making them ideal for arrangements or bundled together in a single vase.  

Begonia Whopper Rose Espresso

Whopper Espresso is not the newest jumbo size at Starbucks. It’s what Benary CEO Matthias Redlefsen calls a begonia breeding breakthrough. Whopper Rose Espresso is a Begonia x benariensis F₁ with nearly black, shiny foliage, which provides a striking backdrop for the rose-pink flowers.

Redlefsen says in trials, this selection does not lose its dark foliage color in full sun. More colors are in the works. As its name implies, it fills out beds and containers with vigorous plants. The series is exclusively available as Whopper through Ball Seed in North America.

Begonia Wookie White Splash and Wookie Pink Splash

If Obi-Wan Kenobi were at CAST: These are the begonias you are looking for. Wookie White Splash and Wookie Pink Splash are the first colors in this new series of “hairy” hybrid begonias.

The stems and leaves are covered in trichomes, which provide them with drought tolerance, and, while not officially trialed and proven, have the propensity to keep deer at bay. This free-flowering multiflora type features continuous blooming power until frost.

Learn more about these new begonia varieties from Redlefsen in the above video.

Benary combos

Benary moved to Por La Mar Nursery, its new CAST location, this year. The Santa Barbara-based nursery does some of its own breeding, such as tropicals, miniature roses and gladiolas.

As a nod to its new host, Benary potted up some of its selections with Por La Mar’s for some stunning combos for CAST attendees. 

Autumn Velvet

The opulence of velvet looks dramatic in textile form, and the same is the case with the newest color in the storied Encore Azalea collection.

Autumn Velvet features magenta-colored single flowers that bloom heavily in spring, summer and autumn. It’s a compact selection, growing to 4 feet tall and wide. It’s hardy in Zones 6 to 10, and liners are available to the trade this year. 

Carex Moon Falls

Brighten up shady spots with Carex Moon Falls, a compact clump-forming grass that offers yellow to dark green foliage with a broad white stripe. Market it for containers or as groundcover or edging. It grows up to 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Moon Falls is hardy in Zones 5 to 10. 

We're having a great time in California and are excited to visit more breeders over the next two days!

Editor Patrick Alan Coleman

Editorial Director Kelli Rodda

The first day of the 2026 California Spring Trials was jam-packed. We visited Green Fuse Botanicals, Westhoff, Hem Genetics, Beekenkamp, Bloomin' Easy, Schoneveld Breeding and the Ball Horticultural Company brands, which include Ball FloraPlant, Darwin Perennials, Ball Seed, PanAmerican Seed and Selecta One.

Here's everything we saw.

Green Fuse Botanicals

Ipomea Sweet Georgia White Splash

All photos by Patrick Alan Coleman and Kelli Rodda

Ipomea are well-known for being vigorous in their growth, with the capability to essentially eat a combo if you leave it to its own devices. Green Fuse is now offering a tamer ipomea featuring white and green foliage with a pale mottled pattern.

Green Fuse says White Splash is naturally less vigorous without need for production inputs due to the fact it has less chlorophyl. Its more compact habit still offers some trailing, and and it's an excellent filler for combos without the danger of taking over a porch pot. 

Firefly petunia, second generation, now in color 

The first thing you notice about the second generation of Firefly is not the glow; it’s the color. Where the first generation of the glow-in-the-dark petunia was only white, it will now be available in a soft pink and pink bicolor for a more saleable variety.

Susie Raker, vice president of Raker-Roberta's Young Plants, which produces Firefly in conjunction with Green Fuse Botanicals and Light Bio, told us that Firefly’s second generation also glowed brighter. And truth be told, in the dark room, the new Firefly was much quicker to show its glow, making it a better fit for urban environments.  

Because the new colors glow about as bright as the first generation, Firefly will now be marketed under three brand names. Firefly Twilight is the classic white second generation, offering improved vigor and brighter glow, while Firefly Moonlight will eventually have five to seven colors, including pink with a more subtle glow. There will also be a Firefly Nightlight version that can be grown indoors in an aeroponics container.

In the above video, Tyler Duncan, national accounts director for Raker-Roberta's, shares the details on where these petunias will perform well.

Click here to read Greenhouse Management's January 2025 cover story on the Firefly petunia.

Pentas Phenom Double Blue

Depending on your generation, you’ve heard how "Some Like It Hot" from Marilyn Monroe or The Power Station. And now you’ve heard from it from Steve Jones, president at Green Fuse Botanicals, about Pentas Phenom.

The California-based breeder amplified this genus with double flowers. New this year is Phenom Double Blue (paired with single-flowered Phenom Blue). Both the single and double flower varieties love the heat, which makes Phenom an ideal series for southern growers and retailers. Available from tissue culture, this series shines on its own or blends beautifully in combos. 

Monardella Monarch Deep Red 

While we’re on the subject of hot climes, Monardella may be a genus that’s new to you, unless you’re a desert dweller. Sometimes called mountainbalm or hummingbird mint, Monardella grows in rocky soils, is extremely drought tolerant and is a pollinator magnet. Green Fuse CEO Jim Devereux explained Monarch Deep Red has a richer hue than the plant he found growing in a crevice in Utah. The day-neutral perennial is hardy in Zone 4. 

In the above video, Green Fuse CEO Jim Devereux shares more about Pistachio Pink tradescantia; White Splash sweet potato; Double Pink and Double White pentas; and Monardella Monarch, which he calls "probably the best pollinator plant I have ever seen in all my breeding experience."

Westhoff 

Crazytunia Frogger 

Westhoff Sales Manager Bart Hayes explained that Westhoff wanted a reason to bring people to CAST to explore their plants. The solution? The CAST exclusive premiere of Frogger. As Hayes explained, Frogger fits in perfectly with the Crazytunia series due to its green and white flowers with almost frilled edges, adding an interesting white to the the palette of Crazytunia plants. 

Discoball Black 

The Discoball hybrid petunia series, with its white spattered petals, already has bright tones in magenta and pink. But some depth was needed in the series. Enter Discoball Black. Its super dark petals sport the white splashes in a way that truly evokes a dark room lit only by a mirrored ball.

Callisia Dragon Scales

Combos continue to catch the eye of consumers, so combo components are critical to sales. Sure, the “thriller” gets a lot of attention (its name says it all), but the spillers and the fillers are just as important to tie it all together.

Westhoff has an entire program dedicated to those spiller and filler components called FanciFillers. New this year in the program is Callisia Dragon Scales, which was bred and introduced to replace Lysimachia. (Delaware banned creeping Jenny in 2022, deeming it as invasive.) Dragon Scales features dainty green foliage on top and rosy purple undersides. The stem color matches the undersides of the leaves. 

Beekenkamp Plants 

Calibrachoa Oasis series

Beekenkamp has launched a new calibrachoa series called Oasis. The breeder notes that these calis flower early, allowing growers to get them out sooner and extend the sales window. They also tout good branching with minimum hassle. They premier in North America in three colors, including Pink Ladybeetle and Orange Firefly, which the Beekenkamp staff noted keeps a true orange even in non-ideal conditions.

LaBella Dahlia series

Dahlias are the darlings of the garden. It’s tough for any consumer to pass a bench full of dahlias without taking one (or a few) home. With six sizes in the LaBella Dahlia series, Medio offers compact double-flowered dahlias that grow 10 to 16 inches tall in the garden. Two new colors were added to the series: Sorbetto (a yellow and rose bicolor) and Maroon Frost (a wine/maroon with white margins).Uniform with an upright habit and good branching, the LaBella series works as a standalone or in a mixed container.

Schoneveld Breeding

Sweet Lips Cyclamen  

Looking to add more love into an early Valentine’s-focused growing program, Schoneveld is going big this year in the promotion of its Sweet Lips cyclamen. These compact plants work well in 4- to 6-inch pots and offer mid-sized blooms in a two-tone hot pink lipstick hue that fades to white petal tips.

In the above video, Kathy McKay, area manager for North America at Schoneveld, shares more about these two-tone dark and light pink plants that are well-suited for 4- or 6-inch pots.

Bloomin’ Easy 

Solar Sisters Rudbeckia 

If you walked past Solar Sisters, you could not be blamed for thinking it was a dahlia or some other complicated or exotic bloom. It would be unlikely you’d call it a rudbeckia. But that’s exactly what it is.

These plants start producing big, ball-shaped double blooms beginning in May and June and then continue to flower through August as the blooms age. In fact, the most rudbeckia-like quality is their color: a deep yellow with hints of orange, emanating from a fuzzy green center in newer blooms.

Bloomin' Easy Plants President DeVonne Friesen shares more about this unique variety in the above video.

Hem Genetics 

SunGlobe Coreopsis

Reduced production times equal increased profits, and SunGlobe Coreopsis from Hem Genetics fits the bill as a first-year flowering perennial. Semi-double flowers are held up on short stems with a mounding habit. The breeder says it flowers up to two weeks earlier than other coreopsis on the market. SunGlobe is also a 2026 All-America Selections winner.

DoubleShot snapdragon series

The DoubleShot snapdragon series features open-faced double flowers on heavily branched plants. Sturdy stems help make the series wind-resistant. Plants grow up to 24 inches tall and work well both in the ground and in containers. New colors this year are Hot Pink and Lemon Purple Heart, as well as an improved Yellow and Peach. 

Ball FloraPlant

CitraNova Petchoa series

Petchoa is a petunia and calibrachoa cross and a new crop for Ball FloraPlant. The CitraNova series features the bright colors of calis and the large blooms and strong root systems of petunias. The series was selected for its long blooming time and floriferousness.

Lemon Zest offers large white blooms with equally large yellow centers. This color features a semi-mounded and trailing habit.

Limone is a bright, deep yellow and holds its fresh-squeezed lemon color in high heat and humidity. Limone flowers early, and like its counterpart, it offers the same type of habit. 

Dollarita Rose Violet and Blue Radiance fuchsias

When consumers are looking to light up a shady spot, Ball FloraPlant answered with new fuchsias: the Dollarita series and Blue Radiance.

Dollarita Rose Violet is a medium-vigor fuchsia with large, double flowers. It flowers earlier than some competing varieties and is ideal for medium baskets.

Blue Radiance is best suited for baskets and large pots because of its large, double flowers and its strong, upright habit that doesn’t split. This day-neutral, free-flowering selection is covered with color from top to bottom. 

PanAmerican Seed

Lanna Lace African marigold

African marigolds are staples in the garden, and PanAmerican Seed brought some excitement to the program. Lanna Lace F₁ is a dwarf creamy white selection with fully double flowers. Lanna Lace sheds water well and isn’t subject to turning brown. Best in beds and mixed containers, it grows up to 12 inches tall and spreads up to 10 inches. The name Lanna Lace is a nod to Thailand, where it was bred.

Always Sunny Gold sunflower

Social media has proliferated the dreamy idea of being a cut flower grower. With PanAmerican Seed’s new sunflower, consumers can have a piece of that dream in their own garden. Always Sunny Gold is the first color in the Always Sunny series of F₁ Helinathus. This series flowers all season on well-branched plants. Growers will rejoice, as no pinching is required for a fast finish. Plants are also more compact in the greenhouse.

As mentioned, this series makes a lovely cut flower, and consumers will appreciate the lack of pollen on the flower. However, no pollen does not mean it’s not pollinator-friendly. Always Sunny Gold is full of nectar to feed the insects.  

In the video above, senior product manager Robin Ruether shares about this new sunflower's unique qualities, including being pollen-free while still attracting plenty of pollinators.

Selecta One

Divina Compact and Divina MegaFlora Mandevilla 

Pictured: Divina MegaFlora

The delightfully tropical plant with its trumpet-like flowers has arrived at Selecta in two distinct series. Divina Compact has three new colors: Pink, Red and White. These bush-type mandevilla require no trellises and have strong branching with less need for pinching. Its mounded habit is ideal for quarts and gallons and can be leveraged for high-capacity production. 

Divina MegaFlora, on the other hand, offers massive hand-sized flowers. While it is vining, it fills the pot before it begins climbing and can arrive with an optional medium-sized trellis. It is tangle-free and is ideal for pots larger than 8 to 12 inches.

Calynopsis Calceolaria Series 

Selecta’s Calceolaria is maybe the biggest sleeper in Selecta’s offerings. On show, and one of three new colors in the series, was the wildly spotted Yellow Leopard. These plants sporting pouch-like, alien-looking blooms are endlessly fascinating but should be treated as premium potted plants for early season sales.  

Ball Seed 

Sedum Spectacular 

The first sedum to be released by Ball Seed, Spectacular offers an alternative to vegetative production. This compact sedum is early to arrive in the garden and provides color all year — qualities that likely contributed to its AAS win.

The compact habit is thanks to beefy stems that keep the dense flowerheads from flopping over. The subtle mid-century-style pink varies across the plant, creating depth and contrast in large landscape plantings. 

Darwin Perennials   

DayScape daylilies 

There hasn’t been a lot of big news in daylilies for awhile, but Darwin has decided to revitalize the category. The breeder is doing so with a project spanning 20 years. The plants were originally sourced decades ago from a hobbyist and have been in development ever since as Darwin has worked to improve them.

The headline is that DayScape daylilies are highly rust-resistant, meaning they can thrive in the south, where rust has caused daylilies to decline. Other important qualities include early and plentiful blooms that can last longer than a day. Also, the flower pods will open in the cold. They are hardy up to Zone 3 and arrive in nine colors, including the striking Coral Frill with frilled edges.

Dream Catcher (Panicum virgatum) has three selections that are hardy in Zones 4a to 8a. Lightning Bolt remains upright in rain and wind and works well as an accent or specimen. Smoky Rose is a compact variety with billowy tops that flower from mid-summer into fall. Tumbleweed was named for its rounded, beachball shape when in flower. This compact selection also holds up well to wind and rain.

Free Spirit native grasses

The Free Spirit series (Schizachyrium scoparium) also has three selections hardy in Zones 4a to 8a. Blue Arrow is compact with steel blue foliage from spring through fall. Comet has an upright habit with sky blue foliage from spring through summer that changes to red, purple and green. Mystic Purple features a vaselike habit that grows up to 30 inches tall with a spread up to 24 inches.

Stay tuned for our day 2 report, coming tomorrow morning!