Favorite new sun perennial introductions for 2025
The 2025 lineup of new sun-loving perennials offers plenty of exciting options for gardeners. This year’s introductions include fragrant peonies, hardy nativars that attract pollinators, and even a scented clematis for vertical appeal. With so many great choices, narrowing down your list will be the hardest part. Explore our top picks for the best new sun perennials to inspire your garden plans!
‘Last Dance’ false indigo (Baptisia hybrid)
Keep the color going in your spring borders with ‘Last Dance’ false indigo — it’s one of the latest varieties to bloom. White flowers age to cream on long stems that stay upright all year with a vase shaped habit. Its long tap root makes false indigo quite drought tolerant.
Type: Perennial
Best Feature: White flowers appear later than those of most other false indigos
Light: Full sun
Size: 42 in. tall and wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 4 to 8
Introducer: Chicagoland Grows®
Source: Local garden center
‘Rouge Harlequin’ peony (Paeonia hybrid)
Extra-showy flowers make this new herbaceous peony an irresistible part of any spring border. Large, 6-inch single blooms open in shades of pale pink with a swoosh of fuchsia that’s darker near the base. It has strong stems with a large main flower and up to four side buds so you can cut a few and still have plenty left in the garden.
Type: Perennial
Best Feature: Beautiful pink blooms brushed with fuchsia in mid- to late spring
Light: Full sun to part shade
Size: 3 ft. tall, 4 ft. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 2 to 8
Introducer & Source: Hollingsworth Peonies
Summerlong™ Coral agastache (Agastache mexicana)
Pollinators will be frequent visitors to your garden when you grow the long-blooming Summerlong agastache series. It flowers from late spring until frost with no deadheading needed. There are five colors to choose from: Lemon, Lilac, Magenta, Peach and Coral, above.
Type: Perennial
Best Feature: Lots of long-lasting flowers
Light: Full sun
Size: 16 to 22 in. tall and wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 7 to 10
Introducer: Darwin Perennials®
Source: Garden Crossings, 616-875-6355
Funyella® clematis (Clematis hybrid)
If you have a blank wall or a dull fence that needs some interest, Funyella will jazz it up. Bell-shaped double flowers with a light grapefruit scent bloom from midspring to midsummer. It shouldn’t need pruning except to remove winter damage or wayward stems.
Type: Perennial
Best Feature: Fragrant, double bell-shaped blooms
Light: Full sun to part shade
Size: 6 to 10 ft. tall, 3 to 4 ft. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 4 to 9
Introducer: Proven Winners®
Source: Great Garden Plants, 877-447-4769
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‘Rose Rhinestones’ penstemon (Penstemon barbatus)
Strong stems keep the big flowers of this colorful penstemon on full display in early summer. Hummingbirds love the tubular blooms but deer give plants a pass. Deadhead for another beautiful display in a few weeks.
Type: Perennial
Best Feature: Long-blooming colorful flowers stay upright
Light: Full sun
Size: 14 to 16 in. tall, 20 to 24 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 4 to 8
Introducer: Proven Winners
Source: Local garden centers
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‘Solar Fancy’ coreopsis (Coreopsis grandiflora)
These head-turning blooms will be the star of the border from early summer to frost. Plus, they’re great cut flowers. Plants’ mounded habit doesn’t flop and the disease resistant foliage looks good from spring through fall.
Type: Perennial
Best feature: Flashy cherry-red blooms with a yellow margin
Light: Full sun to part shade
Size: 18 to 20 in. tall, 12 to 16 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 4 to 9
Introducer: Concept Plants
Source: Easy to Grow Bulbs
‘Mocha Magic’ tall sedum (Hylotelephium hybrid)
You’ll never get bored with this tall sedum — it’s always changing! New spring growth starts out blue-green and matures to deep purple. By summer, big flower clusters create a tasty treat that pollinators can’t resist.
Type: Perennial
Best feature: Big clusters of milk chocolate blooms and color-changing foliage
Light: Full sun
Size: 26 to 32 in. tall, 30 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 4 to 9
Introducer: Terra Nova® Nurseries Inc.
Source: Local garden centers
‘Eye Liner’ pseudata iris (Iris x pseudata)
Extend your iris growing season with this early summer blooming cultivar. Its big blooms are great for adding height to a border. Though this hybrid grows just fine in drier conditions than its parents, be sure to water consistently for the best-looking plants.
Type: Perennial
Best feature: Impressive pearlescent blooms with yellow eye-zones that have a violet margin and veins
Light: Full sun
Size: 34 to 38 in. tall, 28 to 33 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 4 to 9
Introducer: Walters Gardens
Source: Local garden centers
‘Twilight Sky’ aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)
Later blooming than other aromatic asters, ‘Twilight Sky’ will keep migrating butterflies happy with loads of lavender flowers in late fall. It has sturdy, upright stems and better disease resistance than other varieties too.
Type: Perennial
Best feature: Lots of beautiful blooms later in the season
Light: Full sun to part shade
Size: 3 to 4 ft. tall, 4 to 5 ft. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 5 to 9
Introducer: Mt. Cuba Center®
Source: Local garden centers
‘Orange Pumpkin’ geum (Geum coccineum)
Visitors will look twice when you grow the 1- to 2-inch double flowers of ‘Pumpkin Orange’ geum near the front of the border or along a path. Even better, it has a light rebloom if you deadhead.
Type: Perennial
Best feature: Double orange blooms in early summer
Light: Full sun to part shade
Size: 16 to 20 in. tall, 12 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 5 to 9
Introducer: Growing Colors™
Source: Sooner Plant Farm
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