Plant breeders never stop the quest for show-stopping blooms and enhanced performance, and gardeners love trying out new and improved selections. Your local independent garden centre is headquarters for new plants — keep this section handy for your spring shopping. Enjoy this roundup of new plants for 2019!

Does it perform in Ontario?

Two trial gardens in Guelph and Milton are great resources for helping Ontario gardeners succeed. Both gardens are managed by the University of Guelph, and reveal how new selections perform in real-life, southern Ontario conditions.

Several of this spring’s new cultivars were trialed; watch for the “Ontario Tested” logo, along with comments by trial garden manager Rodger Tschanz. Both gardens are open to the public. The Milton garden is at 7856 Fifth Line South, just east of Milton at the Landscape Ontario home office. In Guelph, gardens are located at the entrance of the Guelph Turfgrass Institute at 328 Victoria Rd. S. Instagram users can see more trial garden info at #guelphtrialgarden.
 

plant with tiny white flowers in a pot

 

PERENNIAL

Diamond Mountain spurge

This super-sized spurge is great for hanging baskets and extra-large upright containers. Grows two to three feet tall with a two- to three-foot spread. 

Trials show: The vigorous growth of this plant makes it a great choice for the landscape as well. In our trials it grew twice as large as Euphorbia Diamond Frost.

pink and green leafed plant

 

ANNUAL

Hippo Pink polka dot plant

The Hippo series is big and bushy with an upright habit, suitable for use as a thriller or filler in containers and landscapes.

Trials show: This very attractive plant has relatively large leaves, grows quickly and is tolerant of both sun and shade.

plant with almost black heart-shaped leaves

 

ANNUAL

SolarPower Black Heart
sweet potato vine

New heart-shaped leaf selections join the SolarPower series in 2019. Densely branched, it holds its shape and colour in the landscape and mixed combos all summer long.

Trials show: This ornamental sweet potato vine has large heart-shaped leaves that maintain their dark purple (black) colour throughout the growing season. With its slightly mounding habit, it’s a great annual ground cover for the landscape or “spiller” in mixed containers.

red and green peppers growing on a plant

 

EDIBLE

Primero Red habanero pepper

Primero Red is the earliest ripening habanero you can grow, with fruit ready to harvest and enjoy early in the season. Expect huge yields that are larger than other habaneros with just one-third the heat. Gardeners appreciate  rich flavour in fresh salsa and cooking.

Trials show: One of the trial’s containers had average yields of 170 peppers per plant during the outdoor growing season.

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