The best high demand plants in 2023 (besides Hydrangea)

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This article was published 30/12/2023 (1026 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What did people buy at garden centres in 2023 and what plants will people love in 2024? Those are burning questions for garden writers and gardeners. We already know that hydrangeas are wildly popular. But what else piques our interest?

When I talked to independent garden centre retailers in fall about some of the best high demand plants in 2023, specific types of plants came up in the conversations again and again. One of them is Marmalade Dream Rose. Local gardeners are in love with Marmalade Dream in no small part because it was bred and developed right here in Manitoba by rose breeder Charles Pilgrim.

Introduced in spring 2022, Marmalade Dream rose has peachy-orange flowers with a glowing yellow centre, glossy disease-resistant foliage, and a high petal count in the range of 35 to 40 petals. Pilgrim is delighted by the response to his rose. “My goal was to breed a rose that has exceptional winter hardiness as well as good architecture even when it is not in bloom,” says Pilgrim. Jeffries Nurseries, Portage la Prairie, which was instrumental in helping to bring Marmalade Dream to the marketplace has also supplied a quantity of Marmalade Dream roses to Bailey Nurseries in Minnesota. Jeffries Nurseries is currently evaluating another rose bred by Pilgrim — a single flowered white rose that Pilgrim has unofficially named White Butterfly.

“People were after roses this year just for colour and performance in the garden,” says Monique Rampton, co-owner of Morden Nurseries and Garden Centre. Marmalade Dream was a good seller this year, says Rampton, as was Campfire Rose, a tri-coloured rose which came out of the Morden Research Station rose breeding program. “Both these varieties perform really well and keep blooming.”

Geraniums were hugely popular in 2023, says France Barrett who is one of the growers at Schriemer’s Market Centre, East Saint Paul. “This year everyone wanted the colour orange. Geranium Savannah Oh so Orange from Dummen Orange is so beautiful. I grew this variety in my own garden,” says Barrett, who also ordered 800 Savannah Oh so Orange geraniums for Schriemer’s for spring 2024.

Coleus continues to be one of the most popular annual foliage plants, says Barrett. “Schriemers offered 48 different varieties in 2023 and one of the top selling varieties was the Coleus ColorBlaze series from Proven Winners. You can put them anywhere — sun or shade. You don’t need to water them like crazy and they still look great in September.” ColorBlaze Cherry Drop and ColorBlaze MiniMe are new for 2024. Two customer favourites are Coleus Dragon Heart and Coleus Ruby Punch, says Barrett, and both will be available in spring 2024.

“Sumka’s is well-known for having a lot of coleus,” says MaryAnn Sumka, Sumka Brothers Greenhouses, “and there is a new coleus series called Down Town that we are excited about.” Varieties in this new series from Dummen Orange are named after popular downtowns in the U.S. “The varieties are a bit more compact plus they grow in both sun and shade and are great accents in mixed containers,” says Sumka. There are now eight varieties in the series which offers a small, serrated leaf shape. Down Town Greenville and Down Town Nashville are recent additions. This is a series with something for everyone. My pick is Down Town Vegas Neon which lives up to its name with vibrant pink-magenta colour.

“Everyone has their favourite petunia,” says Sumka, “and although Proven Winners petunias cost more now because they must be sold in a Proven Winners pot, the Supertunia Vista series is a customer favourite. It is consistent, you can mix and match all the varieties in the series, and one doesn’t overpower the other. People stick with what they know works and delivers.” Indeed, Supertunia Vista is immensely popular because they produce masses of flowers and are heat tolerant.

Proven Winners has introduced a collection of 10 new Supertunia Mini Vista. One of the varieties that Tyler Whitley, Red Valley Plant Market, will be growing for next spring is Supertunia Mini Vista Ultramarine which has rich royal purple flowers.

Dahlias continue to be a popular favourite. If you happened to be listening to the many visitors to Anthony Steffes’ north Winnipeg garden in July when it was featured on the Manitoba Master Gardener Association’s annual garden tour, you would have heard countless sighs of envy and admiration for his utterly beautiful collection of dahlias. Sheer perfection. Gardeners desire dahlias but not every gardener wants to start their own dahlia tubers at home. The Mystic Dahlias Collection by New Zealand breeder Keith Hammett is a ready-to-plant dahlia series that keeps growing in popularity, says Susan Jensen Stubbe, Jensen Nursery. Mystic dahlias have glossy mahogany-black foliage. “The Venti and Hypnotica dahlia series are also really popular. They are very disease-free and long-blooming.”

Jensen Stubbe also saw high demand this year for larger tropical plants such as Alocasia and Colocasia, both commonly known as elephant ears. There was also high demand for the Kimberly Queen fern. “Kimberley Queen ferns sell out really fast. We’re always trying to bring in more to meet demand. Kimberly Queen ferns are a little more upright than the Boston fern,” says Jensen Stubbe.

Ready-made hanging baskets and containers saw a lot of love this year, says Arielle DeCraene, Glenlea Greenhouses. “They are ready to display without the need for customers to make the tough decisions on what plants to put together for their space. With more people returning to the office and travelling more, DeCraene saw more demand for instant gardens. DeCraene also says that two of the most popular plants continue to be Proven Winner Supertunias and Proven Winners Superbells. Glimmer Double Impatiens was also an exciting addition, she says. “The rose-like double blooms look great in baskets and containers.” Glimmer Double Impatiens is highly resistant to downy mildew, a destructive disease.

“The hot item for 2024 is going to be the new PassionFruit Lantana,” predicts DeCraene. This new lantana is a trailing, scented variety with hot pink and yellow blooms that never cycle out of colour. Lantana has been a popular annual every spring but new introductions such as Shamrock Red and PassionFruit take flower power to a new level. Drought tolerant annuals proved their worth in the hot summer of 2023 and there is no going back.

The past year also saw increased demand for Mandevilla and Dipladenia hybrids. Dipladenia is in the Mandevilla family, but it has a bushier growth habit. Nothing is indestructible, of course, but Dipladenia comes close. Pests and disease are not a problem, and the plants bloom non-stop from spring through fall. Glenlea Greenhouses plans to offer Coral Orange Sunrise Dipladenia in spring 2024. “It adds a tropical flare to the dipladenia collection,” says DeCraene. Coral Orange Sunrise can be planted in containers or in the ground. The height ranges from 12 to 60 inches (30-152 cm). A trellis is required.

What were your favourite plants in 2023?

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