Say hello to new plants in the new year

Here are some of the hot new annuals, perennials, and shrubs for 2019, and some you might have missed last year.

Everyone loves sweet potato vines because they grow so large in one season. They’re available in both chartreuse lime-green and dark foliage, adding a great pop of color, and they require very little care. The Solar Tower series is a climbing sweet potato vine that will easily cover a trellis or obelisk in one summer.  

Senecio Angel Wings is a hot new foliage plant. It has large, silvery leaves that resemble dusty miller. It loves the sun and makes a great accent in a container, growing only about a foot tall.

Canary Wings Begonias have bright-yellow foliage along with a showy, bright-red flower. They need enough sun to make the foliage turn yellow but not too much, which will burn it. Like most begonias, they like to stay on the drier side and do great in pots.

Great for hot, dry areas, Vinca cannot be beat! A new line is coming out this year called the Tattoo series. It includes four colors – raspberry, papaya, tangerine, and black cherry. The petals are two-toned and look like they are airbrushed with dark centers. Vinca needs warm temperatures and dry conditions to thrive, so keep it out of irrigation spray.

Celosia plants have also seen a lot of improvement. Old-fashioned types are seed grown but are very drought tolerant. New series now are produced vegetatively (by cuttings) and have much larger, showier flowers. They also make great cut flowers. Series to look for include Intenz and Kelos. Some new introductions this year were developed to combat prior common disease problems.

Gardeners remember the demise of Impatiens due to Impatien downy mildew a few years ago. This fungus causes Impatiens to become leafless and stunted almost overnight and die shortly after. Suddenly, Impatiens were impossible to find as major producers stopped growing them. Imara Impatiens has come along to change that. In trials, these impatiens have shown extreme resistance to downy mildew. They are available in six colors with more coming in future years. They love the shade and have the blooming power of traditional impatiens.

Basil has its own version of downy mildew that is decimating plants in mid- to late summer. Basil Amazel from Proven Winners has also shown high resistance to downy mildew. It is a sweet Italian type that is sterile so it doesn’t make seed, which makes the plant produce more leaves – hence, more pesto! On the shrub side, next year we will see a boxwood that is highly resistant to boxwood blight, which is destroying formal old boxwood hedges.

The perennial of the year for 2019 is Stachys Hummelo. While this is not a new perennial, it is one that has been overlooked for far too long. It has lavender rose-colored spike flowers that bloom for several months in the summer. It likes sun, and deer tend to leave it alone. It is also a great attractor of pollinators like bees and butterflies.

The 2018 perennial of the year is going to be quite popular this year, with many more cultivars available. New ones include Medusa and Blue Eddy. Allium Millenium is a low-growing ornamental onion that will bloom for months, and attract butterflies and bees as well. The rose-purple blooms are globe-shaped. Allium Millenium does well in drier conditions and full sun.

There is a new hydrangea in the Endless Summer Collection. Summer Crush has intense raspberry blooms, or neon-purple in more acid soils. They have sturdy stems to hold up the large flowers on a more compact plant. Hardiness goes to zone four, so losing flower buds to cold winters shouldn’t be as much of a problem.

Rose of Sharon is seeing some major improvements in breeding. A new series call Pillar is very narrow but can reach 8-10 feet in height, making it perfect for a small space. It would be great as a hedge or privacy plant in a tiny yard. Purple Pillar has been out a few years, but this year, White Pillar is being added to the series. Purple Pillar has a lavender edge with a bright magenta ring in the center, while White Pillar is a pure, clear white.

Look for all these plants on garden center shelves this year.