Stacey and Rick kick off the show with a look at the National Plants of the Year for 2023:
Meet the 2023 Flowering Shrub of the Year™ – LET’S DANCE CAN DO!® Hydrangea × serrata
Innovation meets performance top to bottom: this hydrangea blooms dependably every year! This extra-hardy hydrangea hybrid sets its flower buds along the entire length of the stem, not merely at the tips like other re-bloomers. Feature in your entryway or most visible landscape areas because these lace-cap flowers are very showy. If you’ve been reluctant to try a big-leaf hydrangea, this one’s for you! Watch the video here.
Meet the 2023 Rose of the Year™ – RINGO ALL-STAR™ Rosa
A distinctive color blend of sunshine that will make you smile. Single flowers with a blend of melon-orange and pink age to lavender for a multi-colored effect. A cherry-red eye and sunny yellow stamens make the blooms even more intriguing. Beyond the “pretty,” this easy-care re-blooming shrub rose is tough and has healthy, disease-resistant foliage for reliable performance. Perpetual blooms are all the buzz, a magnet for pollinators in your neighborhood! Watch the video here.
Meet the 2023 Hydrangea of the Year™ – LIMELIGHT PRIME® Hydrangea paniculata
It’s prime time to add some hydrangeas to your landscape! Limelight Prime® panicle hydrangea has everything you love about Limelight panicle hydrangeas with a boost. A more compact habit, stronger stems, and healthy foliage, in its prime this hydrangea will turn heads and garner attention, year after year. Watch the distinctive lime-green flowers transition and finish to a rich punch pink color in fall. This beautiful classic has gone prime time! Watch the video here.
Meet the 2023 Landscape Shrub of the Year™ – PURPLE PILLAR® Hibiscus syriacus
Think of all the areas in your landscape where you could squeeze in a burst of summer color. You’ve never seen a rose of Sharon like this before! If you thought you didn’t have enough space ‘Purple Pillar’ is perfect for you. It’s upright columnar vertical habit has stems packed with lavender-purple and deep red center blooms perpendicular to your garden path. Squeeze the durable, easy nature of ‘Purple Pillar’ into a narrow space in your landscape. You’ll be glad you did! Watch the video here.
Meet the 2023 Annual of the Year™ – Truffula™ Pink Globe Gomphrena pulchella
Hot pink flowers that combine good looks with grit! Get ready for season-long fireworks that are a vertical exclamation point where you plant it. And don’t let the whimsy of the unique pink blooms fool you, this is one tough plant. Freewheeling flowering and an autonomous nature, the plethora of upright, airy blooms can be clipped for lovely long lasting bouquets too. With pretty perseverance, this is a unique and drought tolerant flowering plant. Plan on your neighbors ringing the doorbell to ask, “what are those gorgeous flowers?”
Meet the 2023 Caladium of the Year™ – HEART TO HEART® ‘Scarlet Flame’ Caladium
Want a plant that puts on the glitz and enjoys the spotlight? Turn up the heat with Scarlet Flame caladium! Imagine a leaf of vivid red color, then liberally mark it with pink and white speckles. Now tie it all together with a bright green margin around the perimeter. That’s ‘Scarlet Flame’ a true spectacle! The handsome strap-like foliage will give you the warm feel of the tropics.
Meet the 2023 Perennial of the Year™ – Dolce® ‘Wildberry’ Coral Bells Heuchera
A rich royal hue for your garden! As you walk through your garden you’ll notice the large glossy purple leaves look unflappable as they hold their color all season long. And as if the rich regal purple color isn’t enough, the ruffled foliage adds contrast and texture calling attention to this plant. Use in containers, or as a border plant, dot it throughout your landscape, make a mass planting or as a specimen focal point, Dolce® ‘Wildberry’ coral bells checks all the boxes on your wish list!
Meet the 2023 Hosta of the Year™ – SHADOWLAND® ‘Empress Wu’
Looking to make a big impression? This hosta has an aura of great standing, the largest known hosta available! A massive perennial plant it forms a gigantic upright mound of large rippled leaves. Grown for its dramatic foliage, the emerging summer blooms are a bonus sure to attract hummingbirds and pollinators. A plant with character, it will make a lasting impression on you and in your shade garden!
Meet the 2023 Houseplant of the Year™- Feeling Flirty™ Purple Tradescantia
Flirt with color to brighten your interior space. The variegated leaf looks as if someone used a paint brush to add silky green stripes to pink foliage. The pink is truly a “flirty” playful contrast! It knows its role as a “spiller” in a planter. A great easy-grow houseplant, it can also be used as an accent plant when grown outdoors in summer. ‘Feeling Flirty’ makes it easy and fun to bring nature inside. Add a vibrant tease of color to your kitchen, living room, bathroom or office!
