2025’s best new annuals & tender perennials
Get ready to meet your new garden must-haves for 2025! This year’s lineup of new plant introductions is packed with show-stopping annuals and tender perennials. From vibrant container fillers to border-brightening beauties, these fresh varieties will inspire. Let’s dive in!
Monarch Magic™ floss flower (Ageratum houstonianum)
With a wide, spreading habit and loads of flowers, Monarch Magic has plenty for butterflies to feast on from spring to frost. Grow it near the front of the border, in a hanging basket or let it spill over the edge of a container.
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best features: A spreading habit and lots of flowers
Light: Full sun to part shade
Size: 6 to 12 in. tall, 8 to 16 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 9 to 10
Introducer: Ball Floraplant®
Source: Garden Crossings, 616-875-6355
Glory Days Pink Bicolor geranium (Pelargonium hybrid)
Glory Days is a cross between ivy and zonal geraniums so the flower-filled plants have a slightly spreading habit that won’t get lanky. There are two colors in this new series so far: Red Orange Bicolor and Pink Bicolor, in the photo.
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best features: A full habit and lots of flowers
Light: Full sun
Size: 18 to 22 in. tall and wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 10 to 11
Introducer: Dummen Orange®
Source: Local garden centers
Sunfinity® Double Yellow annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Sunny yellow double flowers on well-branched plants mean you’ll get nonstop summer color from Sunfinity Double Yellow. And though powdery mildew can sometimes be a problem for sunflowers, this hybrid has good resistance so the leaves will remain healthy looking from planting to frost.
Type: Annual
Best feature: Lots of double yellow blooms early summer
to fall
Light: Full sun
Size: 32 to 40 in. tall, 24 to 30 in. wide
Introducer: Syngenta® Flowers
Source: Local garden centers
Stardiva® Blue fanflower (Scaevola aemula)
Instead of a traditional fanlike bloom, Stardiva Blue has star-shaped flowers with petals all the way around. These heat- and drought-tolerant plants will keep your containers colorful from late spring to fall. You’ll also find Stardiva Pink or White.
Enter Here For a Chance to Win a Box of Plants from Proven Winners This Spring!
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best feature: New flower shape for a fan flower
Light: Full sun
Size: 4 to 8 in. tall, 10 to 14 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 10 to 11
Introducer: Proven Winners®
Source: Local garden centers
City Lights™ Apricot Glow dahlia (Dahlia hybrid)
The bright blooms of Apricot Glow really pop against its rich green-purple foliage from late summer to frost. Grow it in a spot with plenty of sun so the leaves keep that rich, dark color.
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best features: Beautiful apricot-colored blooms
and rich dark foliage
Light: Full sun
Size: 12 to 14 in. tall and wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 8 to 11
Introducer: Selecta One®
Source: Local garden centers
Sun Parasol® Double Pink Blush mandevilla (Mandevilla hybrid)
Here’s a mandevilla with double pink blooms on bushy, upright plants that are easy to work into containers. This series flowers earlier than others, keeping your deck or patio colorful from spring to fall.
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best feature: Double pink blooms
Light: Full sun
Size: 12 to 24 in. tall, 24 to 36 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 10 to 11
Introducer: Suntory
Source: Garden Crossings, 616-875-6355
Minifamous® Uno Funtopia Blue calibrachoa (Calibrachoa hybrid)
A new color for the MiniFamous Uno series, Funtopia Blue has double the petals and a fun lavender-blue-and-white color combo. Each plant has a variety of patterns, so containers will be interesting from spring to frost.
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best feature: Double flowers in lavender-blue and white
Light: Full sun
Size: 8 to 10 in. tall, 10 to 12 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 9 to 11
Introducer: Selecta One®
Source: Local garden centers
Magic Star™ cordyline (Cordyline australis)
Add drama to your garden with this variegated cordyline that keeps its color year round. It makes an eye-catching addition to containers or borders. Where it isn’t cold hardy you can bring it indoors to grow in a sunny window through the winter.
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best feature: Gorgeous variegated foliage
Light: Full sun
Size: 30 in. tall and wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 8 to 10
Introducer: Southern Living Plant Collection
Source: Local garden centers
x Beaugonia Saffran Glow begonia (Begonia hybrid)
More heat- and drought-tolerant than traditional tuberous begonias, the new Beaugonia series is a versatile plant perfect for hanging baskets or containers on a sunny deck or patio. Because these tough beauties don’t set seed, they have plenty of energy available to produce lots of flowers during the growing season. There are 11 colors to choose from, including Saffran Glow above.
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best features: Tender perennial
Light: Full sun to part shade
Size: 12 to 15 in. tall, 15 to 18 in. wide
Cold hardy: USDA zones 9 to 11
Introducer: Westhoff
Source: Local garden centers
Unicorn Pink cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
You’ll get a bountiful harvest of sweet, crack-resistant cherry tomatoes from summer into fall with Unicorn Pink. This is an indeterminate tomato, which means it grows quite tall, so give it plenty of space and plan on using a tomato cage or stake.
Type: Annual
Best feature: Abundant 1-oz. fruit
Light: Full sun
Size: 60 to 72 in. tall, 36 to 46 in. wide
Introducer: Burpee Home Gardens
Source: Local garden centers
Poppin’ Passion™ passion fruit (Passiflora hybrid)
Grow exotic flowers and sweet-tasting fruit from summer to fall on compact vines with this new passion fruit introduction. Grow it in the ground or in containers for an easy-to-reach snack. You might even notice more butterflies hanging around — passion fruit is the larval host plant for gulf fritillary butterflies.
Type: Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual)
Best feature: You can grow this vine in containers
Light: Full sun to part shade
Size: 10 ft. tall, spreading
Cold hardy: USDA zones 9 to 11
Introducer: Bushel and Berry®
Source: Local garden centers
