23 great, mostly new plants for Wisconsin in 2023
New plants come out every year, and they are always spectacular. But some gardeners like to go the tried and true route.
For those who want the best of both worlds, many new and recently introduced plants have proven to be great additions to area gardens.
Some newer plants I’ve come to love are a petunia and a fern-like plant for sun; both came out last year and can be found at area garden centers.
The petunia is Supertunia Vista Jazzberry, part of the Vista Series from Proven Winners. It’s a vibrant fuchsia/ purple color, and when I put this annual in a large hanging basket in the sun, it filled it quickly, and the color was so intense you could see it from a distance.
Artemisia SunFern Olympia is a perennial that comes from Darwin Perennials. This plant looks like a fern but thrives in full sun with foliage so lush it looks a bit like a small shrub.
Here are 21 more plants — both annuals and perennials — that garden experts suggest for our area, giving you a total of 23 plants for 2023.
ANNUALS Colorblast Double Magenta Moss Rose
Zannah Crowe, Educational horticulturist at Heyden’s Gardens in Cedarburg, said she loves this newer Portulaca.
“It’s a superstar performer. We had it planted in our front containers at the store last summer, and it was the most admired annual we’ve ever had in those planters. This plant produces fluffy double flowers that open a brilliant magenta rose, with the center aging to sunset orange, creating a stunning multicolor effect. Flowers also stay open much longer than older varieties of moss roses.”
For sun. Available at Heyden’s Gardens, 8504 State Highway 60, Cedarburg.
Supertunia Mini Vista Midnight
Crowe also likes this petunia, a new color this year in the Supertunia Mini Vista series.
“It’s a deep royal purple with a near black throat. Like others in the series, this sun-loving plant grows vigorously, blooms continuously with no deadheading, and is unfazed by heat and humidity. Midnight was included in the “best of ” lists from several university trial gardens in 2022. I love the entire series as it comes in a wide range of colors.”
Available at Heyden’s Gardens.
Truffula Pink Globe Amaranth
This gomphrena “is a pollinator magnet that is distinguished from older varieties by its larger flowers and more prolific bloom, but mostly by its ability to bloom continuously with no deadheading,” said Crowe. “This bright pink sunloving plant makes a long-lasting cut flower and can be dried to provide winter color in potpourris or dried arrangements.”
Available at Heyden’s Gardens.
Colorita Katiana
Ron Peterson, head grower for Milaeger’s stores in Racine and Sturtevant, likes this newer pot alstroemeria (aka princess lily).
“It has variegated leaves and striking grouping of red flowers. We grow six varieties of alstroemeria in our greenhouse. I like it because you don’t see it here that much, it’s also high performing and easy to care for,” he said.
This sun-loving plant does best in pots, blooms all summer, gets 12 to 15 inches tall, and gets bushy. Available at Milaeger’s, 4838 Douglas Ave., Racine, and 8717 Durand Ave., Sturtevant.
Mirage Blue salvia
Peterson also recommended this annual, which likes sunny spots.
“Mirage Blue has small flowers, it’s shorter than a lot of salvias at 15 to 18 inches, and the flowers are the most brilliant blue. It starts blooming in early summer and goes all the way to frost. You could put in pots, but it’s beautiful in the ground. It’s also an extreme attractor for hummingbirds and honeybees,” he said.
Available at Milaeger’s.
Augusta Lavender Heliotrope
Jeanine Standard, media and public relations manager at Proven Winners, an online firm in DeKalb, Ill., that represents breeders, likes this one.
“It’s about 2 years old. It’s spectacular. It gets 12 to 24 inches tall, has purple blooms with yellow centers, is super heat and drought tolerant, and bees and butterflies love it,” she said. Part sun to sun. Available at area garden centers.
Rockin Deep Purple salvia
This annual salvia, in the Rockin’ Salvia Series, is improved for 2023, Standard said. It’s deer-resistant and likes partial sun to full sun.
“It’s more floriferous, it’s a little shorter, so it fits in with the rest of the colors in the series. It has really dark stems, so the purple really stands out. Bees, butterflies and hummers come back every year,” she said.
Available at area garden centers.
Clowning Around caladium
Standard likes this newer plant in the Heart to Heart Series for shady spots.
“This plant really caught my eye because it has a ruffled leaf. Usually they have smooth leaves. The leaves are pink, cream, orange and green,” she said. It
gets 15 to 20 inches high.
For shade, available at area garden centers.
Suncredible Yellow sunflower
“I have to buy at least two of them this year,” Standard said. “It came out about three years ago, and it’s won 48 garden awards.”
Suncredible Yellow has blooms 4 inches across that are yellow with a brown center. It looks great in containers, gets 2 to 3 feet tall, is deer resistant, and attracts bees and butterflies, she said.
For sun. Available at area garden centers.
Dragon Wing White Begonia
The Dragon Wing line of begonias has been around for a bit, but white is a new color this year, said Katie Rotella, senior public relations manager at Ball Horticulture in West Chicago, Ill., a breeder that supplies plants in southeast Wisconsin.
“It has glossy green foliage with a crisp white flower,” she said. “It brings an elegant and formal look to a garden and is great for moon gardens because it catches any kind of moonlight or twinkle lights.”
It’s a durable plant that bounces back when neglected, making it good for new gardeners, she said.
Shade to sun. Available at area garden centers.
Beacon Violet Shades Impatiens
This is a new member of the Beacon Impatiens line.
“It’s a bright magenta color, and it looks fantastic in a landscape,” Rotella said. “It has a tropical look to it and has a nice mounding habit.”
Like others in the line, this plant is not susceptible to downy mildew, gets about 18 inches tall, and is best in full shade or morning light, she said.
Available at area garden centers.
PERENNIALS Color Spires Azure Snow and Fashionista Moulin Rouge salvias
Great things are happening in sunloving perennial salvias, Crowe said.
“While older varieties continue to be fantastic performers with their exceptionally long bloom period and resistance to deer and rabbit browsing, newer varieties offer some exciting improvements in flower size and color,” she said.
The Azure Snow salvias produce eyecatching bicolor blue and white flowers, and the Fashionista has large, deep rosypink flowers that attract hummingbirds, she said.
Available at Heyden’s Gardens.
Vernonia Summer’s Swan Song Ironweed
This newly introduced plant provides the assets of older ironweed with improvements in form and habit.
“Ironweeds are stately North American natives that bloom in autumn, providing welcome color for the gardener and a valuable late-season food source for pollinators,” Crowe said. “Our native species (V. fasciculata) stands 6 feet tall, so it’s prohibitively large for many gardens. Its Southern cousin, (V. lettermanii) is shorter and has gorgeous fine textured foliage but tends to fall outward from the center. Summer Swan Song combines the best of both with narrow foliage, plentiful purple flowers, a height of 36 inches, and an upright structure resistant to falling outward.”
For sun, available at Heyden’s Gardens.
Dark Side of the Moon astilbe
Megan Hirsch, perennial grower at Milaeger’s, suggested this new astilbe.
“This is the first astilbe to have dark purple/chocolate colored leaves with a bright lavender flower. The combination makes the colors pop,” she said.
It’s sturdy and easy to grow, blooms in late summer and gets 20 to 22 inches high. It won the Green Thumb Award in the perennial division for 2023 from The National Garden Bureau.
Shade to partial sun. Available at Milaeger’s.
Prelude Purple nepeta
This nepeta, also known as catmint, is new for 2023. At about 3 feet, it’s taller than most nepetas, and it attracts pollinators.
“I saw it last summer in the trial gardens at Darwin Perennials in West Chicago,” Hirsch said. “My eye went to it immediately because it’s a very unique purple color and it has so many blooms. Nepetas are known for spreading all over the place, but this plant has a nice tidy habit.”
For sun. Available at Milaeger’s.
Midnight Masquerade penstemon
Hirsch likes this newer penstemon — also known as beardtongue — for its deep burgundy leaves that set off lavender and white flowers. It blooms from early to mid summer, gets 36 to 40 inches tall and attracts pollinators.
“I saw it at a booth at a garden event last year. It’s wonderful. It’s tall, and the burgundy leaves look so nice against other plants,” she said.
For sun. Available at Milaeger’s.
Salvia Blue by You
This sun-loving salvia is almost 4 years old but is a 2023 All-America Selection.
“It’s a typical blue/purple salvia, and it pops up in spring and lasts through the season,” Rotella said. “But sometimes salvia nemorosas fall over. This one refreshes with a quick cut back. You can get several seasons of color with this plant.
“It’s big with pollinators, has great heat tolerance, is hardy to zone 4B (generally through southern and central Wisconsin), and is deer resistant. You can plant it and forget about it.”
Available at area garden centers.
Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit
Rotella recommends this plant for its colors; it’s a mix of red, orange, purple, scarlet, cream, yellow and white blooms.
“In a one-gallon pot you might get three different colors,” Rotella said. “The larger the pot, the more colors. They are hardy to zone 4 and will attract finches and local birds that will eat their seed heads.”
For sun. Available at area garden centers.
Bottle Rocket ligularia
This newer ligularia is good for shady, wet areas, said Barb Balgoyen, technical customer care representative at Walters Gardens, a wholesale grower in Zeeland, Mich., that supplies plants for the Milwaukee area.
“It can grow along the edge of a pond in the shade. In summer it has beautiful yellow flowers that sit right on top of the foliage,” she said. “Its stems are chocolate colors, and it has green leaves.”
The ligularia blooms in midsummer, grows up to 34 inches high and 28 inches wide, and is hardy to zone 4.
Available at area garden centers.
Denim ‘n Lace sage
Balgoyen recommended this newer Russian sage for full sun and well drained soil.
“It’s amazing. It blooms from midsummer to midfall. Its leaves are very lacy, and it has bright sky blue flowers with a light purple calyx. It’s deer resistant, attracts pollinators, has a nice mounding habit, and can get 32 inches high and 38 inches wide,” she said.
Available at area garden centers.