New 2021 plants for all the new gardeners, and some longtime ones
Are you ready to start gardening? I know I am. We’ve been cooped up far too long, so getting out and puttering in our green spaces will be a real treat. But what to plant this year? And will there be enough plants to go around? Or will gardeners stampede area garden centers again, buying up all the new offerings as they did last year? You can relax on both counts, as growers and suppliers say that although interest will be high again this year, plenty of new varieties are available and most garden centers are likely to have a good supply.
Karin Walters, vice president of product strategy at Walters Gardens, said plants are likely to sell well again this year because, according to more than one national garden group, 20 million new gardeners were counted last year.
Fortunately, she said her firm has more than 1,000 perennials, with 80 to 100 of them new for 2021.
“Retail customers who are buying from us are buying a lot more than they did last year. My guess would be that there will be more availability this year,” she said.
Walters Gardens is a wholesale perennial grower in Zeeland, Michigan. It doesn’t provide plants directly to the public; however, the firm’s website shows where its plants are available locally.
Jeanine Standard, media and public relations manager at Proven Winners, said she too anticipates 2021 will be another strong garden season.
“We are seeing lots of interest and very strong numbers” from consumers as well as garden centers. “And like last year, we are again seeing a strong interest in vegetable gardening as well as adding plants to landscapes,” she said.
Because of the surge last year, “we have adjusted (our sales) accordingly, and we are continuing to adjust as we watch the numbers throughout the ordering season,” she added.
Proven Winners represents breeders, and its plants are available at greenhouse growers here and on the company’s website.
Zannah Crowe, educational horticulturist at
Johnson’s Gardens in Cedarburg, said she doesn’t expect availability to be a problem either.
“We ordered more this year and we ordered earlier so we would have availability for our customers. And if customers know they want a particular plant, they can contact us and reserve a plant,” to be sure they get what they want, she added.
She said last year the demand was so intense “we couldn’t keep up with it.”
“We sold out of plants. We sold more hanging basket than ever. We didn’t have a single herb left. People were gardening like crazy. They were home, it’s a healthy happy thing to do, and they had the time,” she said.
Her garden center is the retail branch of Johnson’s Nursery, Menomonee Falls, which deals in hardy plant mater.
Jerry Schmitt, live goods buyer for all 16 Stein’s Garden & Home stores in Wisconsin, said there was an “incredible demand for plants last year no one could have anticipated” … but that this year, “the industry is ramping up” and his stores will have plenty to choose from.
Make them pop in a pot
But should the unthinkable happen, and garden centers run low on stock again this year, experts say you can still get a great look and a lot of bang for your buck by picking plants that stand out in some way.
Pots that have just one dramatic plant in them are a good option, as are tropicals, which are “a huge trend,” Standard said.
Her firm has 22 new varieties of annuals this year.
“There is a lot of flexibility with pots. You can move them around and put one kind of plant in each pot, then arrange the pots so you have a lot of color and texture variety.”
By doing this, Standard said, gardeners don’t have to worry about having plants with different needs when it comes to watering, fertilization and heat tolerances.
Some good choices for impact include petunias and elephant’s ears.
“Plants in the Supertunia Vista line will cover a 4-by-4-foot area and are good in large containers,” she said. A new color in the line is royal velvet, which is a deep blue/purple. It has medium to large flowers that bloom continuously, it’s heat and drought tolerant, needs no deadheading, and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. It has a slightly mounded habit so it can be used as both filler and a spiller in containers.
To help meet the interest in tropicals, Standard said, her firm introduced two new elephant’s ears.
“Coffee Cups is a fun plant,” Standard said. “When it’s out in the open, the leaves fill with water and will eventfully tip and empty the water, hence the name. It’s kind of a fun plant for kids of all ages, and it adds that tropical touch.”
“Heart of the Jungle gets about 60by-60-inches. It’s very easy to grow, and it likes a lot of water, so it’s good as a pond plant,” she said. It does best in sun to part sun, has strong stems, grows straight up, and adds color all season.
Here are some of the other new plants available.
Annuals
ColorBlaze Royale Pineapple Brandy (Proven Winners) is a new coleus that will do well alone or in a pot or with others said Standard. Part of the ColorBlaze line, it grows 20 to 30 inches high and 12 to 16 inches wide.
“It can grow in sun or shade. My plant easily got taller than the size shown. It was in an 18-inch container with a few other plants, and it was by far the most vigorous plant in the container.” She described it as a chartreuse color with red stems, and burgundy and bronze accenting. “It’s a plant that is extremely heat-tolerant. If it does wilt in the hot sun, just give it a little bit of water and (it) will be back up with no problem,” she added.
Double Delight Blush Rose (Proven Winners), another new annual to add drama, is a begonia with a trailing bloom, Standard said.
“I absolutely love the coloration because each bloom is a different color. It has substantial sized blooms that are scented,” and this plant also has unique foliage. It can get up to 14 inches high and spread 24 inches, she said.
Double Up begonia (Proven Winners) comes in pink, red and white. This vigorous plant has double flowers, dark foliage, and can get 18 inches tall and 14 inches wide. “They perform well in landscapes and in containers; have a dense, upright, globe shape; and will flower all summer,” Standard said.
Bee’s Knees (available at Stein’s) is a new petunia. “It’s probably the most stunning yellow petunia that has been seen for a while,” Schmitt said. “It’s a bright vivid yellow and has incredible garden performance and a nice rounding habit.”
Bolero Blue, Purple Polka and Magenta Mambo (available at Stein’s) are petunias in the Splash Dance series. They have speckled colors and a great mounded habit, work well in baskets, bloom early and get 18 inches high and 24 inches wide, Schmitt said. Bolero Blue is a rich blue with white speckles, Purple Polka, is purple with white speckles, and Magenta Mamba has magenta flowers with white speckles.
Perennials
Grape Crush and Pink Crush (Walters Gardens) are two favorite New England Asters that bloom in fall, Walters said.
“There is a tendency for people to go into garden centers and buy what is in bloom. If you are buying all plants that are blooming, then you won’t have anything blooming in fall,” she said.
She called these varieties phenomenal because they have strong stems, an attractive ball shape, and get 2 feet tall in full sun. “They’re attractive all year. Grape Crush is a grape purple and Pink Crush is a rose pink.”
Toffee Tart (Walters Gardens), a heuchera in the “Dolce Series,” is another pick from Walters due to its unique color.
“I like it for shade. By adding this plant you can have a spot of color throughout the year because you have the leaf color,” Walters said. In spring, newest leaves are amber with a silver overlay. Mature leaves are a ginger color with a silver overlay. In late summer, leaves mature to green. When it blooms, it has creamy white flowers on burgundy stems.
French Vanilla (Walters Gardens) is a hardy hibiscus with soft yellow flower buds that open to 7- to 8-inch creamy custard yellow ruffled flowers with a prominent red eye, Walters said. Compared to the industry standard Old Yella, this hibiscus retains its yellow color longer, has a more compact habit, has red stems and deeper green, a more attractive foliage, and prolific floral production. At 4 feet tall, it’s significantly shorter than previous yellow hibiscus.
Black Forest Cake and Ruby Tuesday (available at Stein’s) are heucheras suggested by Schmitt. Black Forest Cake has black foliage and pink flowers. It attracts hummingbirds, is clump-forming and easy to care for, and blooms in late spring to early summer, he said. Foliage reaches 6 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Ruby Tuesday has red foliage with white flowers and blooms in late spring to early summer.
The Price is White (available at Stein’s) is a new coneflower in the Color Coded series. “You can never get enough Echinacea,” Schmitt said; it has white flowers on dark green foliage, provides great winter interest, has fragrance, attracts bees and butterflies, and is deerresistant.
Trees and bushes
“Trees and bushes are the first thing you plant … they are the more significant additions and more permanent additions to a landscape,” Crowe said.
Firespire Musclewood (Johnson’s Nursery) is a new musclewood that gets roughly 20 feet high when mature and has an outstanding orange-red fall color, Crowe said.
“I am a huge fan of Musclewood. I believe this small native tree is vastly underutilized as a landscape plant,” Crowe said. “Its small size, attractive form and exquisite fall color are all notable assets. While Firespire was introduced awhile ago, production constraints have not allowed us to offer it for sale in significant numbers until this year.”
It is slow growing, has a dense canopy, and a slender, upright form that makes it an excellent small-stature specimen tree. Plant in full sun to full shade.
Spot On Spirea (available at Johnson’s Gardens and Johnson’s Nursery) a good choice for a dramatic bush because each leaf bears a red/maroon blotch that intensifies as the season progresses. In fall, it has an exceptional bright red fall foliage color, and abundant pink flowers in summer. It gets 3 to 4 feet high and 3 to 5 feet wide, is deerresistant, heat-tolerant, blooms in early June with sporadic summer rebloom, and has a mounded habit that needs little pruning.
Dream Cloud Lilac (available at Johnson’s Nursery) is a new lilac that has extra large (12 by 9 inches) panicles of pink, fluffy flowers that nearly cover the foliage in early summer. It’s exceptionally fragrant, has a rich purple/red fall foliage, and dense, compact habit. At maturity, it reaches only 4 to 5 feet.
Hydrangea Paniculata Firelight Tidbit (available at Johnson’s Gardens and Johnson’s Nursery) is a hydrangea Crowe believes is unique. “Panicle hydrangeas are the best performing hydrangeas for our growing conditions here in southeastern Wisconsin. The primary new characteristic it offers is its small size at 2 to 3 feet. Most panicle hydrangeas are too large for a small-scale garden.”
Its flowers age from white to rich pink and finally to deep red, and it has a powerful blooming ability, with a profusion of flowers on strong stems.
Sitting Pretty is a new rose from Will Radler of Greenfield, owner of Rose Innovations. Radler, who developed the Knockout Series of Roses, said this plant is a 2021 release, but was sold in limited amounts in 2020 through some sources here.
“It’s pink and gives lots of lots of blooms, and it’s very fragrant. It’s a shrub rose that gets about 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It’s disease-free, and you don’t have to cut off spent blooms,” he said.
Leah Palmer, public relations and social media manager at Star Roses and Plants, a breeding company in West Grove, Pennsylvania, that carries “Sitting Pretty” called it “a wonderful rose from Will Radler.”
“It’s one of my favorites due to its early flowering and strong flower power all throughout the season. It has a noticeable and consistent damask fragrance.”
Enchanted Peace (Star Roses) is a beautiful bicolored flower with excellent performance on its own roots, Palmer said. It has great fragrance and works well in containers.
Sunset Horizon (Star Roses) has a dramatic flower color-changing effect. Its color starts out bright yellow and then transitions through shades of deep pink to red as it ages. “The flower size can be quite large, and it has excellent disease resistance in the landscape,” Palmer said.
And one vegetable
Siam (available at Stein’s) is a cherry tomato. Because of increased interest, Stein’s has introduced a new line of indoor tabletop tomatoes called Kitchen Minis, including Siam.
These tabletop tomato plants can be grown indoors on a windowsill or any other bight light location year-round, but can also be taken outdoors when the weather is good.