Meet the 2025 National Plants of the Year

susan martin | february 11, 2025

Wondering where to start when there are so many fun plants to grow? Choose these award-winning varieties that represent the best in their class and are poised to flourish in your garden. Proven Winners’ National Plants of the Year are chosen by plant experts for their outstanding garden performance, iconic appearance and being easy to grow. Who wouldn’t want more plants like that for their containers and landscape?

 

Let’s meet the Class of 2025!

2025 Annual of the Year

Supertunia Mini Vista® Yellow Petunia

What’s special: As one of the most vigorous varieties in the Supertunia Mini Vista line, it won’t take long for this special petunia to fill out your borders and containers. Small, citron yellow flowers blanket the foliage from planting time until frost with no deadheading needed. Like all Supertunia Mini Vista petunias, it has a dense habit that’s more mounding at first and becomes trailing over time. This flowering annual is perfect for brightening up the edges of pathways where it won’t sprawl out and become a trip hazard. It also holds up well in container recipes where it acts as a filler and slightly trailing spiller.

 

Stats: Grow in full sun if possible, or light shade if necessary, 6-12” tall x 18-24” spread, average moisture, attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, grows well in containers and landscapes.

 

Series: See all colors in the Supertunia Mini Vista® petunia line.

2025 Caladium of the Year

Heart to Heart® ‘Blushing Bride’ Caladium

What’s special: It’s like having two plants in one with ‘Blushing Bride’ caladium! The new leaves emerge bridal white with pink veins and green edges. As they mature, the leaves “blush” bright pink, so it appears as if you’ve planted two different colors of caladiums together while only needing to plant one. This special caladium tolerates both sun and shade conditions, but in the warmest climates it will appreciate some filtered sunlight in the afternoon.

 

Stats: Grows in sun and shade, 15-20” tall x 8-10” spread, average to moist soil, deer resistant, grows well in containers and landscapes.

 

Series: See all colors in the Heart to Heart® caladium line.

2025 Perennial of the Year

‘Jack of Diamonds’ Brunnera

What’s special: This super-sized brunnera is a vast improvement over older cultivars, a fact that will be easy to see once you observe it in your own garden. The silvery heart-shaped leaves can reach enormous size, up to 10 inches long. Once the baby blue spring flowers are finished, the plant will pour its energy into growing that gorgeous foliage. Another key improvement is disease resistance. Whereas older brunneras tend to turn black due to foliar disease by late summer, ‘Jack of Diamonds’ typically remains healthy all season.

 

Stats: Best in part shade to full shade, perennial in zones 3-8, 14-16” tall x 28-32” spread, average to moist soil, attracts pollinators with its spring blooms, deer resistant, grows well in landscapes and large containers.

 

Series: See all of the brunnera varieties we offer.

2025 Hosta of the Year

Shadowland® ‘Miss America’ Hosta

What’s special: Gone are the days when you’d feel the need to cut off a hosta’s flowers as soon as they appeared. Indeed, they are one of the best features of this stunning, large variety! In midsummer, five foot tall, white scapes carrying near-white flowers with lavender veining will tickle your chin as you pass by. Pollinating bees and hummingbirds enjoy them, too. When not flowering, the beautifully variegated, two-toned green and white leaves provide eye-catching interest and lush texture in the shade garden.

 

Stats: Best in part shade to full shade, perennial in zones 3-9, mounded foliage is 19” tall x 55” spread, average to moist soil, attracts pollinators and hummingbirds, grows best in landscapes.

 

Series: See all varieties in the Shadowland® hosta line.

2025 Landscape Perennial of the Year

‘Cat’s Meow’ Catmint (Nepeta)

What’s special: This easy-to-grow, long-blooming perennial is one you’ll find yourself planting more of once you experience its amazing garden performance. The mounded habit of ‘Cat’s Meow’ is much tidier than older varieties of catmints which tended to sprawl over its neighbors and split open halfway through the summer. It should need little to no pruning to get the look you see here, but shearing the spent flowers back after the first round is finished in early summer will reward you with a repeat show from midsummer into fall.

 

Stats: Grow this perennial in full sun (all day if possible) and drier, leaner soils, perennial in zones 3-8, 17-20” tall x 2-3’ spread, attracts pollinating bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, deer and rabbit resistant, grows best in landscapes.

 

Series: See all of the catmint varieties we offer.

2025 Flowering Shrub of the Year

Scentara® Double Blue Lilac

What’s special: An extra dose of classic lilac fragrance exuded from double flowers is what you’ll love about this gorgeous lilac. It blooms prolifically every spring with large clusters of cool lavender blue, double florets – plenty to spare for a few fresh bouquets. Grow a whole hedge of them and you’ll be able to enjoy their fragrance all the way from inside the house with the windows open. Good disease resistance keeps the foliage looking healthy all season. Note: This is not a reblooming lilac. If you are looking for reblooming varieties, shop our Bloomerang® series.

 

Stats: Grow lilacs in full sun where there is plenty of space for them to reach their full potential without much pruning, hardy in zones 2-8, 6-8’ tall and wide, average moisture, attracts pollinating bees and butterflies, deer resistant, grows best in landscapes.

 

Series: See all fragrant Scentara® lilac varieties.

2025 Rose of the Year

Reminiscent® Coral Rose

What’s special: Think of every desirable attribute you’d like to see in a rose and this stunning variety has it – fragrance, fully petalled blossoms, rich color, a long bloom time and excellent disease resistance. Deep coral pink flowers have a classic rose shape and are produced in abundance from summer through fall. They make fantastic cut flowers for bouquets, and if you grow them organically, you can use their sugared petals for culinary purposes, too. Reminiscent Coral is just one of the amazing roses in the Reminiscent series. Once you grow it, we know you’ll want to collect them all!

 

Stats: Grow this rose in full sun, preferably all day sun, hardy in zones 4-9, 2-3.5’ tall x 2’ spread, average moisture, grows best in landscapes.  

 

Series: See all varieties in the Reminiscent® rose line.

2025 Hydrangea of the Year

Little Lime Punch® Panicle Hydrangea

What's Special: This reliably blooming panicle hydrangea blooms each year in mid to late summer on mid-sized plants that fit easily into foundation plantings and borders. Like the classic Little Lime® variety, its flowers emerge lime green and brighten to white as the petals unfurl. The fall color sets these two varieties apart, with Little Lime Punch slowly developing darker punch-pink tones, especially in climates where nights begin to cool down in the fall. They are perfect for using in fresh bouquets and drying for crafts like fall wreaths.

 

Stats: Best in full sun to part shade, with more shade needed in southern climates; hardy in zones 3-8, 3-5’ tall and wide, average to slightly drier soils, grows best in landscapes.

 

Series: Explore more hardy panicle hydrangeas.

2025 Landscape Shrub of the Year

North Pole® Arborvitae

What’s special: This relatively fast growing, narrowly columnar evergreen makes an ideal hedge, especially in places where you don’t have much yard to spare. It is significantly narrower than the common ‘Emerald Green’ arborvitae, reaching just 3-5’ wide at maturity. Thanks to cold hardy plant breeding, this evergreen breezes through the toughest winters and retains its bright green color year-round.

 

Stats: Best in full sun to part sun, preferably planted out of the way of harsh winter winds, hardy in zones 3-7, 10-15’ tall x 3-5’ wide, average to moist soil, grows best in landscapes.

 

Series: See all of the arborvitae varieties we offer.

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