Best New Annual Flowers of 2017

January 17th, 2017

Plants that look like miniature sea creatures, two flowers that change color, and an Egyptian icon for the water garden are among the interesting new annual plants debuting in 2017.

Have a look at those and other newcomers:

Read Best New Fruits and Vegetables of 2017

Read Best New Perennial Flowers of 2017

Read Best New Trees and Shrubs of 2017

Coleus Miniature Under the Sea

Hort Couture, a Michigan-based plant introducer that supplies cutting-edge varieties to independent garden centers, has a head-turning new line of miniature Sea Monkey and Sea Urchin coleus in brilliant colors and unusual leaf shapes.

These include six choices that are down-sized cousins of the company’s popular Under the Sea coleus, which are reminiscent of crustaceans and crabs and grow in sun as well as shade.

The lobed-leaf Sea Monkey offerings come in three varieties – Rust, Apricot and Purple – and grow only 5 to 7 inches tall.

The Sea Urchin threesome of Neon, Copper and Red have more elongated leaves and grow a little taller than Sea Monkeys – to about 6 or 8 inches.

“These are perfect for use in miniature gardens, terrariums, rock gardens, borders and mixed containers,” says Hort Couture’s Kelly Staats.

Coleus ‘Macaw’ and ‘Quetzal’

A second super-compact line of 4-inch-tall coleus comes from Oregon breeder Terra Nova Nurseries.

Both ‘Macaw’ and ‘Quetzal’ in this series earned perfect 5 ratings in this year’s extensive flower trials at the Penn State Trial Gardens in Lancaster County.

‘Macaw’ also is the favorite 2017 annual of Erica Shaffer, manager at Highland Gardens in Lower Allen Twp.

“This one really caught my attention,” Shaffer says, mentioning the plant’s showy elongated, lobed leaves with maroon edges and creamy-yellow centers.

‘Quetzal’ has green leaves with red markings.

Dwarf Egyptian papyrus Prince Tut

Both Deb Shearer, one of the owners of Ashcombe Farm and Greenhouses in Monroe Twp., and Karen Adams, an annuals grower at the wholesale Quality Greenhouses near Dillsburg, pick this umbrella-shaped grass from Proven Winners as their favorite new annual of 2017.

“It’s half the height of King Tut but with the same-sized poms,” says Shearer. “Its sturdy stems won’t fall over like King Tut, and it makes a better impact that Baby Tut. We’ll be using it in many of our container recipes this spring.”

Adams says Prince Tut, which grows about 3 feet tall, also makes an excellent water-garden plant in full sun to part shade.

In the ground, keep it well watered.

Calibrachoa Chameleon series

Jason Smith, also an annuals grower at wholesale Quality Greenhouses, likes this new series of petunia look-alikes that change color with the season.

The line comes in eight different shades and patterns and works especially well as a hanging-basket or pot plant.

“It’s performed very well for us – always looking nice and no disease issues,” says Smith. “Even though there are a million different calibrachoas, Chameleon is truly unique.” (Sun or part shade.)

French marigold ‘Fireball’

“Marigold ‘Fireball’ is a plant-breeding breakthrough for two reasons,” says Chris Wallen, another wholesale Quality Greenhouses annuals grower who’s impressed by this easy-to-grow-from-seed newcomer.

“First, the flowers open a stunning, saturated, deep mahogany red,” he says. “Then as the flowers age, they gradually fade to orange-red, dark orange, and finally a golden yellow. One plant will show blooms of many different colors at the same time.”

Wallen says that the intense red color and color-changing characteristics are both more pronounced in cooler weather, making ‘Fireball’ an excellent late-season annual.

“It’s a fun new introduction, easy to grow, and like all marigolds, great for children,” Wallen adds. (10 to 12 inches tall, best in full sun)

Begonia ‘Unbelievable Tweetie Pie’

Sinclair Adam, director of the Penn State Trial Gardens in Lancaster County, says lots of new begonias did very well in the 2016 trials, but the top performer was a light-yellow bloomer called ‘Unbelievable Tweetie Pie.’

“This hybrid was loaded with blooms and was an excellent performer through October,” Adam says. “It features a medium compact habit, and very good branching.”

Ideal as a container plant, it can grow about 2 feet tall and wide in sun or part shade.

Adam also likes the Whopper, Megawatt and Big Leaf begonia series.

Ornamental pepper ‘Sangria’

Another new annual that caught Adam’s eye in the 2016 Penn State trials was this heavy-fruiting ornamental hot pepper.

“‘Sangria’ maintained a compact, uniform habit throughout the growing season,” Adam says. “The peppers emerge as violet-colored, then turn to a strong red as they mature. With the hot summer we experienced in 2016, the peppers basked in the sun and looked very good up to October 30. These plants could be good Halloween decorations when we don’t have frost or freeze.”

They’ll grow in the ground as well as containers. (Best in full sun.)

Pentas BeeBright

Those looking for a good new pollinator-friendly annual should like this new four-color line of compact pentas.

Kathy Beam, an annuals grower from wholesale Quality Greenhouses near Dillsburg, likes BeeBrights for their “tight, well branched habit” and clusters of umbrella-like flowers that come in red, white, pink and ‘Lipstick.’

“They flower non-stop and have outstanding heat tolerance, attracting bees and butterflies throughout the summer months,” says Beam. (12 to 14 inches tall, sun or part shade)

Celosia ‘Asian Garden’

This new annual has a bushy, 3-foot-tall habit and puts out a steady supply of bright-pink flower spikes all summer – and even through the season’s first fall frost or two.

‘Asian Garden’ did well enough in national trials that it won a 2017 All-America Selections award. The judges noted that it was especially good at attracting pollinating insects, making it another good choice for a pollinator-friendly garden.

It does well in heat and drought.

Vinca Mega Bloom Orchid Halo and Pink Halo

The newest two colors in AmeriSeed’s line of Mega Bloom vinca also performed well enough in national trials to earn 2017 All-America Selections awards.

Big 3-inch flowers are the main attraction, but Mega Blooms also hold up well in the heat and humidity that melt away some lesser varieties.

Orchid Halo produces rosy-purple flowers with white centers, while Pink Halo has soft-pink petals with white centers. Both grow about 1 foot tall and do best in full sun.

Verbena EnduraScape Pink Bicolor

And a third All-America Selections flower winner for 2017 is this trailing annual with dainty pink and white bicolor flowers.

EnduraScape Pink Bicolor is being billed as a “tough-as-nails” verbena that tolerates drought and heat as well as temperatures down into the low teens.

It’s also a long-bloomer that can be used as an edging annual in the ground or in a hanging basket or pot. Full sun or part shade.

Petunia Night Sky

The name of this new purple petunia comes from the white-spotted petals, making a mass of them look like stars in the night sky.

It’s a novelty look but one that was interesting enough for Night Sky to win Greenhouse Grower magazine’s 2016 Reader’s Choice award for best new annual flower, not to mention a Fleurostar award for its debut in Europe.

The plant has a trailing habit with a height of about 10 inches, making it ideal for use in pots and hanging baskets. (Best in full sun.)