2025 101 NEW VARIETIES ANNUAL REPORT
Each spring, we set out to see what’s next... walking greenhouses, snapping photos, and talking with breeders to get the real story behind their newest varieties. The result? This EHR 101 New Varieties Report, a curated look at the plants that stood out and made us pause (and occasionally circle back for a second look).
We’ve compiled the annuals that caught our attention at California Spring Trials and beyond. Whether it’s bold colors, better branching, or traits that solve grower headaches, these are the varieties to watch!
Field Notes
FROM OUR TEAM THAT AT tENDED CAST 2025, CHECK OUT THE FIELD NOTES THROUGHOUT OUR REPORT - STRAIGHT FROM OUR NOTEBoOKS AS WE VISITED WITH EACH BReEDER AT THE CALIFORNIA SPRING TRIALS!
Courtesy
Courtesy
Photo
Photo
1
Aptenia Golden Cascade
KIENTZLER
A bright, trailing alternative to Mezoo, this newbie brings a fresh pop of chartreuse gold to your combos. Golden Cascade stands out with a vigorous habit and vivid foliage that holds color even in high heat. While foliage isn’t always the ‘top pick,’ using this one to diversify mixed combos certainly makes it a high-value pick.
4
2
3
Begonia BIG® DeluXXe Salmon Bronze Leaf
BENARY
Bigger and bolder than ever, this salmon-flowered beauty pairs vibrant blooms with rich bronze foliage. It's touted for serious landscape performance, thriving in sun or shade, and bouncing back from weather stress. With a more controlled, mounded habit than earlier BIG types, it’s tidy but still impactful. Ideal for large beds, baskets, or containers where color and durability matter.
Begonia Mega Cool Series
BENARY
A modern take on tuberous begonias, Mega Cool is bred for big blooms and big performance. Benary notes that flowering is 10 days earlier than the Top Hat series. Compact and upright, it shows off oversized, semidouble flowers that hold up well in the elements. There are 4 colors plus a mix to choose from, all with excellent branching. A great fit where traditional tuberous types fall short!
BEGONIA
SYNGENTA FLOWERS
This fun new series is all about bold color and strong structure. iCandy’s unique interspecific breeding means you get the best of both worlds: non-stop bloom power and high heat performance. Uniform habits and clean foliage make it retail-ready, while the five-color lineup (Coral Pink, Inferno, Lemon Yellow, Sunset, Vanilla Cream) hits every palette.
Field Notes
WHOLE SERIES GREAT, REAllLY LOVED CORAL PINK & VANIlLA CREAM (FRIlLED PETALS!) THE DARK FOLIAGE IS INSANE!
DIANA REAVIS EHR SALES REP
Courtesy of Kientzler
Courtesy of Benary
Calendula Power Daisy Series KIENTZLER 5
This isn’t your average calendula. Power Daisy offers vigorous trailing habits, excellent heat tolerance, and a longer flowering window than most with a nice compact habit. New colors Mango, Buttermilk, and Tango add modern tones that mix beautifully in combos or hold their own in baskets.
AND FRESH TAKES ON FAMILIAR FAVORITES
Cheerful
Field Notes
FLAGgED AS A MUST-WATCH AT TRIALS!
DAVID JONES EHR SALES REP
Calibrachoa Rainbow Series Additions DUMMEN ORANGE 6
The Rainbow Series brings a more uniform basket habit across a wide color range, and these three new intros are as bold as they sound. Paloma Pink is crisp and clean, Dragon Berry pops with a pink bloom and bicolor center, and Iced Blueberry is a frosty, cooltoned standout. Parisian Pink 2026 is an upgrade addition to join them. Add one or all... they fill, trail, and flower like champs.
Paloma Pink
Iced Bluebe R ry
Dragonbe R ry
Bu T termilk tango mango
Parisian Pink 2026
Field
CHECK OUT STRAWBERrY PICOTe A NICE TWO-TONE TWIST TO SERIES.
Notes 5 . P
LINDA LEDONnE EHR SUPpORT SPECIALIST
7
Catharanthus (Vinca) Soiree® Flamenco Series
SUNTORY FLOWERS
Soiree Flamenco is a showy, sun-loving vinca series with a flair for the dramatic! Series additions Plum Velvet, Electric Salmon Eye, and Strawberry Picotee all bring a depth of color, but what makes these additions really special is the ruffled petal shapes. All should hold up beautifully and bloom through the dog days without skipping a beat.
Calibrachoa Superbells® Magic Double Grapefruit
PROVEN WINNERS
This double beauty shifts in color from lemon yellow to a soft peach or coral blush, always eye-catching with unique ruffle-like blooms. It’s a natural fit for spring baskets and combos, especially where something more elegant or unexpected is needed. Like all Superbells, it's noted as having reliable bloom coverage and a mounded trailing habit.
Cyclamen Super Serie Dragon F1
SCHONEVELD BREEDING
This is the first F1 blue cyclamen! Blue and Deep Blue are two of the truest, richest shades we’ve seen and they sit atop a delightfully compact plant. Upright, tidy, and consistent, they add high value to cool-season programs. Schoneveld notes that Blue is approximately 10 days faster than Deep Blue.
Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners
Coleus Premium Sun Sweet Paprika
Coleus TerraScape™ Series Additions 10 11
PANAMERICAN SEED
Sweet Paprika has that saturated, spicy-sunset color you didn’t know you were missing in your coleus mix. Upright and versatile, it should perform just as well in sun as in shade, holding its color without fading. Pair it with cool tones for high contrast or let it heat up warm-color combos. Seeing the spectacular display alonside its collection companions, we're betting it's hard to pass up on the benches.
KIENTZLER
If you missed TerraScape last year, now is the time to pay attention. This landscape-grade coleus series is making waves; earning “wow” status across multiple trial sites last summer. Our team crowded around the display at CAST, and for good reason: bold color, tidy yet vigorous growth habits, and garden-tough structure. These new additions, from upright to mounding, make the top of our shortlist in this serious workhorse series of coleus!
BEST NEW SERIES OF COLEUS!
LARGE LANDSCAPE TYPE FOR FUlL SUN, ROYAL DELIGHT IS THE TOP PICK.
JORDAN HOLTKAMP EHR SALES REP
Midnight Majesty upright
Pink Ri B bons upright
Royal Delight upright
Al L That Lava mounding Top Pick!
Dahlia Labella Grande Chocolate Series
The Chocolate Series builds on everything growers love about the Grande line, but adds a rich twist with dramatic bronze foliage that instantly elevates retail appeal. Pair that contrast with oversized, fully double blooms in warm tones, and you’ve got a bench-ready stunner that turns heads all summer. You can expect about 1 week longer to finish, due to the dark leaf. Great structure, lush texture, and standout color present in 4 varieties: Rose, Amber, Red, and Apricot.
Dahlia Summer Bees Series
DUMMEN ORANGE BEEKENKAMP
A brand new series, Summer Bees delivers garden performance that’s both functional and fabulous. They are loaded with oversized single blooms in two bi-color options, Purple Bicolor and Red Bicolor, each with glowing yellow centers. The open form is a true pollinator magnet, but what really sealed its spot in our report is the flower power. It’s touted as strong crop with rich ornamental value and a long bloom window, ideal for summer-fall color in quarts, patio pots, or mixes.
Dahlia Venti™ Series Additions
SELECTA ONE
Two fresh bursts of energy for the Venti series! FireBurst brings the heat with red-orange petals streaked in yellow, a knockout in bold combos. PinkBurst cools things down with soft pink blooms and golden centers that glow against upright foliage. Both pack the classic Venti structure: upright, vigorous, flower-packed plants that perform in gardens and on retail benches. Big blooms, bold color, and no drama.
Apricot
Rose
Red Amber
15 16 17
Helianthus Sunfinity® Yellow-Red Bicolor
SYNGENTA FLOWERS
This new Sunfinity intro is everything we love about the series (long blooming, branchy, low-maintenance) but with a bold red halo. Yellow-Red Bicolor delivers the same extended bloom power that made the original famous, now with warm fall tones perfect for late-season sales. Great for large containers or garden beds, blooms continuously, and holds up like a champ in the heat.
Impatiens Beacon® Series Additions
PANAMERICAN SEED
Proven performance, fresh colors. Blue Pearl and Light Pink expand the Beacon lineup with softer, versatile hues, bringing even more flexibility to shade programs. These plants keep the promise Beacon is known for: seasonlong color, strong habit, and downy mildew resistance growers can rely on. It’s a go-to series that keeps getting better.
Impatiens Harmony Colorfall Flamingo DANZIGER
This one stopped us in our tracks. Colorfall Flamingo is the first trailing New Guinea impatien to hit the market and it’s a showoff. Lush, hot-pink blooms spill over baskets and containers, combining the flower size and saturated color of NGIs with a brand-new form. It’s a totally different look for shade spaces and a fresh option for mixed baskets where structure and pop are key.
Gerbera Garvinea® Series Additions HILVERDAFLORIST 18
These true garden gerberas bring bold color and seasonlong blooms with impressive durability. Majestic Yellow Imp. features larger, double blooms in a brighter yellow, ideal for lush, voluminous impact. Sweet Chili, the first true red gerbera with a black center, offers daisy-like charm with spicy flair. Both thrive through heat, cold, and rain... perfect picks for vibrant, lowmaintenance garden color.
Impatiens SunPatiens® Compact Series Additions SAKATA 19
These new intros keep the SunPatiens momentum strong. Pink Flash delivers a bicolor blush with tropical flair, while Royal Magenta Imp. is saturated and rich. Both varieties perform just like you’d expect... thriving in sun or shade with loads of flowers, great branching, and unbeatable durability. They’re ready for high-impact retail, landscape installs, or anything in
Happy 20th TO
royal magenta improved
pink flash
Ipomoea Sweet Caroline Medusa™ Black
PROVEN WINNERS
With deeply lobed, almost starshaped foliage, Medusa Black brings a dramatic, architectural twist to the ipomoea game. It's jet-black leaves should stay clean and full all season– no thinning, no fade. We are drawn to it for the refined shape and touted ability to fill space without overwhelming companions. A bold thriller for premium combos, and an eye-catcher at retail.
Top Pick!
Lantana Bandolista™ Pink Lemonberry
SYNGENTA FLOWERS
This one’s all about the color in a fan-favorite series. Pink Lemonberry bursts with creamy yellow and bubblegum pink blooms that fade and blend for a painterly, everchanging effect. Sharing attributes of other Bandolista varieties, it has extra vigor and loves the heat. A great season extender and pollinatorfriendly pick that works in anything from quarts to upscale baskets.
Field Notes
OKS LIKE IT WIlL STAY TIGHT! A GREAT COLOR AdDITION.
BEN FISCHER EHR SALES REP
Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners
Lobelia Firefly Series
WESTHOFF FLOWERS
The Firefly series brings bicolor blooms in two striking options: Blue, with a slightly upright-mounding habit and early to medium flowering, and Pink, which appeared more compact and uniform at CAST with an earlier bloom time. While not positioned as a heat performer like the Hot® series, Firefly stands out as a promising option for spring programs and mixed containers. We’re especially eager to see how both perform in trials this summer, with Pink as our early favorite.
Mandevilla SunParasol® FiredUp™ Coral
Following the bold debut of Orange, FiredUp Coral brings that same standout form in a color with broader design appeal. This non-vining mandevilla has a compact and bushy habit perfect for patios, containers, and thrillers. The pinwheel-shaped blooms glow with rich rose-coral petals and a yellow throat, delivering tropical impact in a softer palette that mixes easily with both brights and pastels. No trellis required, just nonstop blooms and easy care.
WAVEM AKERS &Showstoppers
TAKII SEED 24
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum) Baby™ Series Additions
This AAS-winning seed series is all about tidy growth and nonstop flowers. The Baby Series stay naturally compact, with rounded habits and saturated blooms that sit right above the foliage. Edible, pollinator-friendly, and easy to grow, these are a charming solution for packs, bowls, and color-focused spring programs. New varieties for 2026 are Baby Gold and Baby Yellow.
Field Notes
FLOWERS ON TOP OF CANOPY, 1ST ORANGE IN A SPREADING PANSY!
MELANIE BYRNE EHR SR. VP OF OPERATIONS & PLANT PRODUCTS MANAGER
Pansy
Top Wave™ Series
PANAMERICAN SEED 25
Pansy Top Wave delivers what growers need most: a dependable, fastfinishing pansy line with consistent habits and bright, uniform flowers. Top Wave is bred for performance, with excellent branching and a tight flowering window that makes scheduling a breeze. These colors are ready to mix, match, and move. We're told to expect less vigor than Cool Wave, with one week longer to finish.
baby gold
baby yel L ow
Showstoppers
Osteospermum Besties™ Series DANZIGER 26
Field Notes
This new osteo series is packed with personality and made for retail benches that want to pop. Besties deliver strong early flowering, tidy habits with rich, saturated hues. Each of the 7 colors are expected to bloom within 7-10 days of each other. This is a series made to sell fast and grow easily... a spring showstopper with plenty of shelf appeal.
Petchoa SuperCal® Series Additions
SAKATA 27
SuperCal delivers rich color and all-weather performance, and these additions keep the momentum going. Two intros to the standard series (trailing) are Coral Star, a luminous coral-orange with starry center striping, and Yellow Sun Improved, a brighter, clearer yellow with excellent coverage. In the Premium line (mounding) Blue Eyed Rose brings glowing blue-purple blooms. Tough, tidy, and vibrant!
Blue Eyed Rose premium
coral star
Yel L ow sun improved
Postive yel L ow
Inspiring orange
Dynamic bicolor
devoted purple
Che E rful gold
trusty amethyst
Optimistic Pink
SYNGENTA FLOWERS 28
Big I M PAC T
Pea PETUNIA
Bright and beaming, Sanguna Sunshine offers goldenyellow blooms that are still a rarity in the petunia world. Its saturated hue, consistent mounding habit, and strong flower count make it a musttry for baskets and combos needing a sunny lift. We should expect the same vigorous performance that defines the Sanguna line... weather tolerance, even branching, and long-lasting color from early spring into summer.
Petunia Capella™ Series Additions DANZIGER
Capella petunias are compact and early, and these new intros raise the bar. Hello Sunshine is a lemony yellow that feels fresh and fun for retail. Berry Lace pairs a deep berry center with a delicate lavender-pink edge. Both offer strong weather tolerance and tidy, mounded habits, ideal for small pots or upscale combos with a softer palette.
BERrY LACE
SUNSHINE
Sanguna®Sunshine PETUNIA
Pink Pearl adds a soft, glowing tone to the Easy Wave lineup, with blush-pink blooms that catch the light beautifully. It stands out as an easy-togrow, reliable pastel that pairs well with almost anything, whether you’re designing in cool tones, sunset shades, or all-pink palettes.
This intro debuts in the 30th year of the Wave® brand, alongside their new Wave Pansies!
making waves! 30 YEARS OF
Petunia Cascadias™ Series Additions Petunia Crazytunia® Series Additions
Cascadias petunias are known for trailing power and vivid color. Romancero has dramatic purple-pink blooms edged in white with a yellow eye, while Lavender Ice softens the look with icy lilac tones and a crisp, clean finish. Both thrive in baskets and planters, with excellent weather resistance and reliable branching.
Field Notes
FLOWERS
Crazytunia continues its reign as the wild child of the petunia world! Bananarama is yellow with a dark center; Blackberry Syrup has rich purple-black tones; Inkblot has dramatic high-contrast; and Yello is sunshine in a pot. With that signature Crazytunia spunk, this lineup is made for premium retail and fearless combos.
Field Notes
Headliner continues to be a go-to for early flowering and retail-ready presentation. These new intros include a true Crimson, the bright and clean Crystal Pink, a deeper Red 26, and the eyecatching Strawberry Picotee Headliner’s medium-vigorous habit fills baskets and pots quickly, and its bold color range offers something for every program – from impulse sales to coordinated seasonal displays.
Petunia Headliner™ Series Additions
YElLO
CRIMSON
CRYSTAL PINK
STRAWBERrY PICOTeE
Inkblot Photo Courtesy of Westhoff
CONNECTING people & plants
Main Stage Series Additions
Big, bold, and unapologetically orange, Inferno lives up to the hype. This petunia brings extreme saturation and a fiery glow that will surely turn heads at retail. It’s bred to be uniform, early, and durable –no fading or washing out in the sun. With a name like THE ORANGE!, it’s practically built for social media buzz and in-store drama. A must-have for anyone wanting to make a color statement!
Field Notes
Main Stage petunias are bred for impact and that they do! The series gains Blueberry 26, White 26, and Light Blue Vein, but it's other newbies that snagged our attention Burgundy Sky offers a rich tone with yellow specks. The “Glacier Sky” types (Magenta and Merlot) have frosty edges that pull the eye. All keep the robust, upright mounding habit Main Stage is known for.
This new Surprise petunia adds a little shimmer to the mix. Sparkle Blue Vein has icy lavender petals with subtle veins and a touch of 'glitter' that gives the blooms a frosted appearance. The effect is delicate but unmissable! With strong branching and a tidy habit, it should hold beautifully at retail. A standout in cooler tones and a fun texture contrast for foliage-heavy mixes.
PETUNIA
PETUNIA
TM
Merlot Glacier Sky
Burgundy sky
Magenta Glacier Sky
Pink Cloud is electric, with layers of glowing blush and magenta that practically float over tidy green foliage. The blooms are consistent, eye-catching, and full of movement, creating a dynamic mound that looks like it was styled by a florist. Whether it's Mother's Day or summer color that you’re planning for, this variety delivers retail pop and garden staying power.... elegant, saturated, and a total standout.
This mix of E3 Easy Wave varieties brings a cool twist with Blue, White, and future intro Midnight Marble. Cooler temps (below 50°F) bring out more white in the pattern while warmer conditions bring out deeper blue tones. With the series’ uniform, mounded-spreading habit and fast coverage, Deja Vu is designed to deliver a balanced, eye-catching blend for baskets, planters, and landscapes.
Pink Cloud is the latest headline-maker in the Supertunia Mini Vista series, widely featured by influencers and industry writers since its announcement. Its vibrant cotton candy pink blooms have a uniquely ruffled texture and a crisp white eye that gives depth to the mass of color. Don’t be fooled by “Mini” – this variety is noted to be vigorous, flower-packed, and quick to fill hanging baskets or containers with nonstop bloom.
Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners
Scaevola Fanatix Series TM
Top Pick!
40
SYNGENTA FLOWERS
Fanatix brings a whole new level of polish to scaevola. These varieties are compact but incredibly floriferous, branching tightly with loads of fan-shaped blooms. All 4 varieties are early flowering.
With excellent heat tolerance and retail shelf appeal, Fanatix is a smart upgrade for pots, hanging baskets, or sun-loving combos. We can expect White and Pink options in upcoming seasons.
spirit mix A TOP PICK! THE NEW FANATIX SERIES WIlL REPLACE THE BOMBAY SERIES, MORE COMPACT. MATtHEW MIlLER
Notes
dark blue
42 mix it up!
Thunbergia
Series
The Uprising series reimagines thunbergia with a fresh, manageable habit and six vibrant colors: Orange, Pink, Red, Terracotta, White, and Yellow. These vining annuals are designed to work beautifully in gallon pots, as Green Fuse noted they respond well to PGRs for neater, more retail-friendly plants. Perfect for growers seeking premium spring options and for consumers looking to bring cheerful “windowbox-to-wall” color to patios and entryways.
At CAST, the trellis display was beautiful, a suggestion for vertical installations or even retail displays.
TERr ACOT tA, PINK, & WHITE
Tagetes patula Mango Tango
BENARY 41
This marigold is as zesty as the name. Mango Tango delivers bright two-toned flowers, orange with golden centers or marbled blends depending on the bloom. While the compact size and mounded habit are great, it's the 'different' flower form (and size of it!) that make this variety standout. Bonus: It holds well through the heat of summer without fizzling out, so it keeps color in the garden when others start to fade.
On the Radar MORE NEWBIES TO WATCH
Summer trials may tell the story, but these 2026 newbies are also on our radar! Some caught our eye at CAST, and others we’re eager to see in action for the first time.
DAHLIA DALAYA® RED LACE
PENTAS PHENOM SERIES
VERBENA TAPIEN® MAGENTA
PENTAS GRAFfITI® FAlLS ROSE
PETUNIA SUPERTUNIA VISTA® CoOL JAZZ™
JAMESBRIT tENIA SAFARI® LAVA FLOW
PETUNIA DURABLoOM® MAGENTA HALO
COLEUS MAIN STReET FRANKLIN STReET
Calibrachoa Aloha Kona Hula Pink 2026
PERICAlLIS POP! SERIES
SELECTA ONE GREEN FUSE BOTANICALS
SUNTORY FLOWERS
BENARY PROVEN WINNERS
PROVEN WINNERS
DUMMEN ORANGE BEEKENKAMP
Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners
RED STAR!
Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners
DUMMEN ORANGE
DUMmEN ORANGE'S GARDEN PARTY MIX AT A VINEYARD @ SYNGENTA FLOWERS!
KICKING IT OFF
REFLECTIONS ON A REMARKABLE CAST
What a spring we had! From all-things-plants to reconnecting with industry friends, CAST 2025 brought fresh introductions, bold ideas, and plenty of inspiration for the season ahead (and a few great road trip memories).
With summer trials already underway, we’re keeping tabs on how these new introductions perform in real-world conditions. Stay tuned for our EHR THRIVE REPORT at the end of summer!
GLOW-IN-THE-DARK PETUNIAS!!!
EHR 101 is our curated guide to the newest plant introductions we’ve scouted on the road... part California adventure down Highway 101, part essential cheat sheet for growers and retailers preparing for the next season. We’ve done the legwork, sifted through hundreds of varieties, and distilled our picks into a practical tool to spark conversations and inspire.