Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata) | Homer Trecartin of Twixwood Nursery
What emerging plant categories will growers and breeders focus on in 2025? We talked with folks in the know to find out what insights they could share and what they’re working on in the coming year.
First-Year Blooming Perennials
The trend of consumers loving perennials that will bloom for them in the first year continues, and growers and breeders are planning on giving them more options as we move to 2025.
“As the consumer continues to participate in this category, they’re researching and discovering new plants,” says Marta Maria Garcia, Head of Product Management, Marketing & Retail at Dümmen Orange. “Once they land on perennials, it’s game over. A perennial checks all the boxes — it’s pretty, it’s going to have beautiful flowers, and it’s going to come back again, so you’re checking the value box, which is very important these days.”
Perennials as a category have been increasing their market share, but the sales of first-year blooming perennials are rising at an even faster rate. Breeders are continuing to select for the trait and bring to market more of our old standbys like salvia and leucanthemum.
Leucanthemum ‘Sweet Daisy Birdy’ from Dümmen Orange. | Dümmen Orange
Bringing Back Scent
Several people mentioned scent as a trait receiving more attention from breeders, from bringing back the old-time fragrance of a rose to the sensory delight of herbs.
“Scent has kind of gone away from the rose industry over the last few years,” says Bradd Yoder, President at Star Roses and Plants. “When you breed for disease resistance, most times you lose the ability to have scent. What we’re very proud of is a line of roses and woodies called ‘Scentables’. It’s a collection of highly fragrant plants that offer beautiful fragrance. The roses in the collection have great forms that you can cut and take inside into a vase.” The disease resistance remains high, so the average gardener can buy these and be successful.
Edibles
The corollary to plants with scent might be plants you can eat. Plants that provide a snack are a growing category for breeders and growers. “Edibles, like our ‘Bushel and Berry’ line, are still hot. There was this huge jump during COVID-19 — people wanted to grow their own food. That didn’t go away after the pandemic,” Yoder says. “‘Bushel and Berry’ is continuing to grow, and we’re diversifying there. We’re adding a new passion fruit called ‘Poppin’ Passion’, which is self-pollinating and blooms and fruits in one year.”
Herbs
We wrote about trends in perennials for 2024, and lavender was on the list then — and still is.
“Lavender is another hot category. Anything that’s herbs continues to do well,” Garcia says. Trends in terms of food and beauty products don’t require an expensive study. Go to your local supermarket and see how many new lavender-flavored items are on the shelves. “We’ve focused a little bit more on lavender,” says Garcia. “It’s one of those plants that checks off a lot of requirements. It’s aesthetically pleasing, provides a great smell, and can withstand little periods of drought.” Herbs like lavender are workhorse plants people are discovering, Garcia tells us. “When consumers see how fantastic herbs are, they just stay. And our herb line continues to have fantastic sales.”
Lavedula stoechas ‘La Diva Big Night’ from Dümmen Orange | Dümmen Orange
Katie Tamony, Chief Marketing Officer for Monrovia, also discusses lavenders. “We’ve definitely added a lot of new varieties of lavender to our nurseries — different colors, including a reddish one called ‘Anouk Burgundy’ and another quite dark purple called ‘Anouk Purple Flare’. There’s been more of a demand for variety in lavender than we saw in the past.”
Climate-Impervious Everything
We used to call these plants drought tolerant. But changing weather patterns and more extreme events are making breeders look at cold and heat resistance, and even the ability to tolerate high rainfall events, i.e., a lot of moisture all at once.
“We’re looking at a whole series of low-water plants. California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona are always under water restrictions. But the Northeast went through a major drought last year. The Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest went through a drought this year, so we see a real need. With our network of growers and breeders we work with, especially in South Africa and Australia, we think we have a very compelling line coming,” says Yoder.
Breeding plants more resilient to extreme weather or changing patterns isn’t limited to drought. Heat and cold have garnered attention from growers and breeders.
“We have a perennial line called True North Perennials. It’s a group of our perennials that we’ve tested all the way up in Winnipeg, Canada. They’ve survived two winters, so we know these are tried-and-true Zone 3 perennials, and we’re launching that this year,” says Garcia. It’s getting a lot of attention, especially for the northern market. Their breeders are also working on selecting plants more tolerant to wetter conditions.
Plants that can take unseasonably hot weather, like we’ve seen in the past few summers, are also a focus area for breeders and growers.
Delosperma nubigenum ‘Ocean Sunset’ Violet Ice Plant | Monrovia.com – Doreen Wynja
“We’ve got a few new series of Delosperma, such as the ‘Ocean and Desert Dancer’ series. Delosperma is a great plant for so many uses and can take the heat,” Tamony says. “I think more areas of the country are needing that tough plant that can take hotter weather. It’s definitely an area that we’ve been growing in our development — plants that can take low water, intense heat, and are more cold-hardy. Drought conditions are frequently happening in regions where they didn’t before.”
Ornamental Grasses
Grasses don’t have the big flash and flower power of perennials and annuals in bloom at the garden center, but they are a rising category, and breeders are taking note.
Field production of ornamental grasses from Twixwood Nursery. | Homer Trecartin of Twixwood Nursery
“Grasses are definitely a big part. I would say that’s what I hear the most about. We grow a lot of grasses, so maybe that’s skewing what I’m hearing, but they’re talking about them,” says Homer Trecartin, Jr., Manager of Sales & Production Planning at Twixwood Nursery.
“Grasses are of growing interest to us, and we’re always looking at breeders who are introducing something new where the foliage changes with the seasons,” Tamony says. Interesting foliage grasses like ‘Blackhawks’ (Big Bluestem), ‘Little Red Fox’ (Little Bluestem), and Carex ‘Moon Falls’ provide multi-season impact.
Ground Covers
Ground covers in and of themselves are not new. But there’s been a shift in preference, and new plants within the category are becoming rising stars.
“It used to always be the big four — English ivy, coloratus (Euonymus fortunei), pachysandra, and vinca,” says Trecartin. But those old-time groundcovers have become invasive in many areas of the country. Warming winters are allowing plants to spread where they once stayed contained.
A newer emphasis on native or nativar groundcovers is emerging.
“The native groundcovers we are getting requests for and trying to add to our production cycle are bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula), Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens), and barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides).”
They are also seeing increased demand for creeping thyme and phlox, galium, sedum, and similar plants, as well as perennials that can be used as groundcovers like hardy geranium and veronica.
Privacy and Hedging
I’d be happy living behind a giant hedge of greenery where no one could see me as I nap in the hammock. Apparently, I’m not alone. Consumers are looking for screening plants and want options besides the old Thuja ‘Green Giant’ (although that’s still a hot seller). Breeders and growers are bringing more screening plants to market in 2025.
“With houses and yards getting smaller, people want more privacy. ‘Green Giant’ has been one of the top-selling woody plants for probably 10 years, but I think people are getting sick of just that option,” Yoder says. They’re working on breeding smaller screening plants and providing different options. “We already have some options, but we’re working on more. Screening is a big deal.”
“We’re interested in ilex right now, looking at different sizes and shapes, looking at a lot of the compact ilex like ‘LittleOne’ Blue Holly that make the great low front hedge people are looking for. It’s a great boxwood replacement,” says Tamony.
Monrovia is working with breeders and bringing some to market in the coming year. “We’re seeing new varieties coming out that we’re testing and trialing, but we’ve already trialed several enough to bring to market this year, and we see more continuing in the future.” Tamony explains a trend of not only privacy screening but also creating living green garden walls: “The feeling of being enveloped in your backyard, not just by a fence, but by greenery. I think that is driving a lot of interest.”
