Bigger, Better, Tougher? A Look At 2023's New Garden Plants

Most gardeners have favorite plants that thrive in their climate and make them happy. For me it's echinacea, catnip, liatris, cheramsha, daylilies, black eyed susan and so many tomatoes.

But every year I manage to find at least a little room for something new waiting for me on the shelves of garden centers or in the pages of a catalog.

Behind these customer-focused outlets, breeders work tirelessly to create innovative plants with big buds; good disease resistance; improve tolerance to cold, heat and shade; Long flowering period and even higher nutritional value.

perennial

The 2023 season will bring us several new additions, including the world's first ground cover Leucanthemum 'Carpet Angel' from Green Fuse Botanicals. Named All-American Selection of the Year 2023 by the independent nonprofit organization that tests and awards new introductions, the extremely hardy plant begins flowering earlier than other cultivars and continues to flower in zone 4a through 'autumn. -10 b.

Proven Winners has added two new hummingbird mints to its bee collection, Royal Raspberry and Royal Nectarine, which, as the name of the group suggests, are loved by bees. Last year I grew the latter in my test garden and was surprised to see clay buds covering most of the plant from mid-summer through fall. Hardy in zones 5 to 9, the trailing perennial should reach 30 to 36 inches in two to three years.

Also a winner, I tried the new Premium Red Velvet Bee Balm, another local product that attracts pollinators to the garden. Adapted to partial sun in zones 4 through 8, bee balm emerges from dormancy with bronze leaves before emerging with tall, cherry-red flower centers in spring and summer. The deer resistant plant grows up to 32 inches tall.

Sedum Breeder's Rock 'n Round 'Bright Idea' hybrid adds a splash of yellow to my sunny trial garden with its red stems, serrated green leaves and bright yellow star-shaped flowers. This salt-tolerant perennial, 10 to 12 inches tall, attracts bees and butterflies, is resistant to rabbits, and grows well in hot, dry areas of zones 3 to 9.

PanAmerican Seed's 'Artisan Yellow Ombre' Echinacea, another AAS winner, is a bushy, multi-branched Echinacea that produced bright yellow flowers in my test garden. Grow it in full sun in zones 4a-10b and watch the pollinators emerge.

Breeder's new Rudbeckia 'Goldblitz' is a vigorous 28 inch Black-Eyed Susan with glossy green leaves and abundant flowers. Sun Lover blooms about three weeks earlier than other varieties and blooms well into fall. Hardy on 3a-9b.

Winner of the National Horticulture Bureau's Green Thumb Award, Dark Side of the Moon is a long-lived, shade-tolerant perennial that attracts bees and repels deer and rabbits. The leaves are initially yellow with dark edges before turning rich chocolate brown when its red buds open to reveal pink-purple flowers. The plant is hardy in zones 4 through 9 and grows up to 22 inches tall with long spikes.

Annually

Shade tolerant, powdery mildew resistant, Ball Flora Plant Double Impatiens Glimmer resembles miniature roses and comes in a variety of colors including apple, bright red, burgundy, dark red, hot pink, salmon and white. Plants are 10 to 16 inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide.

A beautiful Calocasia 'Royal Hawaiian Waikiki' Tropical Elephant Ear, bred by University of Hawaii Pathologist Emeritus John Cho, PhD, has been awarded the National Horticulture Bureau's 2023 Green Thumb Award. Its large, glossy leaves with creamy white centers and pink veins are often supported by dark brown stems strong enough to withstand wind and rain. Grow it as an annual in zones 7 and below

Another Green Thumb Award winner, Starflower 'Paper Moon' Scabiosa, is a pollinator-friendly annual from Sahin/Taki EU. Its 36-inch stems bear round clusters of purple-veined light blue flowers that give way to decorative papery bronze seed heads that can be used in fresh bouquets or dried arrangements. For best results, grow it in full sun.

Hemes Genetics' Snapdragon 'Double Shot' Orange Bicolor has unique heavy stems with orange-red white double flowers that pollinate as the season approaches. All-American Winner grows 18 to 20 inches in full sun.

edible

The National Bureau of Horticulture named PanAmerican Seed's Sun Dipper Tomato as the Best New Edible Plant of 2023. Designed for easy dipping, the orange peanut-shaped fruit is perfect for a wet plate. Last summer I grew an indeterminate plant resistant to Fusarium wilt, tobacco mosaic virus and gall nematode. It was the only tomato that made it through a very hot and dry season.

Vivacious, another new tomato available to grow from seed this year, is packed with nutrients. Farmer W. The plum-shaped orange fruit, about 3 inches long, is rich in beta-carotene, and just one tomato provides 40 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A, Utley Burpee claims. Each plant promises to produce around 70 tomatoes. Season.

And the pitted peppers? Sugar Kick Proven Pot Winner Pepper is a small, sweet orange pepper that grows seedless when separated from other peppers to prevent cross-pollination. Erect plants grow 20 to 30 inches tall and are suitable for growing in containers as well as in gardens. Harvest green fruits after 54 days and orange fruits after 74 days.

Sweet Jade squash, a single-serving kabocha with crispy skin and dark orange flesh, gives high yields and has a long shelf life. America's winning fruit, harvested in the fall, weighs only 1-2 pounds at a time.

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Jessica Damiano writes a regular gardening column for The Associated Press. He publishes the award-winning weekly Dirt Newsletter. Subscribe here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

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