Bright and bold colors, bigger blooms, pollinator appeal. Check out some of the best new garden plants to look for in 2025.
Top 10 New Garden Plants You Should Grow in 2025
Updated on Feb. 12, 2025
Art & Sol Bad Hair Day Mangave
Mangave hybrid,, Zones 7 to 11
This mounded succulent features red speckled foliage that contracts with its arching lime-green leaf blades, providing texture and interest to mixed beds or as a distinctive thriller for pots. Mangave does well in average, well-draining, sandy soil and produces the brightest foliage when planted in full sun.
Why we love it: Heat and drought tolerant, this compact plant is easy to care for.
Sgt. Pepper Dogwood
Cornus alba, Zones 3 to 7
Spring brings variegated foliage on this dogwood, with shades of bright pink that morph into crisp green leaves with white edges come summer. Late in the season, the edges become pink again, while the stems turn a vibrant burgundy red. At 4 to 6 feet tall, this shrub works in mass plantings, as a majestic hedge or in a pot.
Why we love it: It thrives in many garden conditions, offering fall and winter interest.
ColorBlaze Mini Me Chartreuse Coleus
Coleus scutellarioides, Annual
Add this compact golden chartreuse coleus to any sunny or partly shaded spot. Heat and drought tolerant, this mounded annual works well in borders, hanging baskets, window boxes or pots. While deadheading coleus isn’t required, pinching off the blossoms as they pop up will keep the foliage looking full and fresh.
Why we love it: When temperatures cool, this coleus makes a gorgeous houseplant.
Check out even more colorful coleus varieties to grow.
Lemon Ice California Lilac
Ceanothus, Zones 6 to 10
Enjoy icy blue flowers from March through May alongside variegated dark green foliage tinged with lime green. Reaching 4 feet tall and almost as wide, it’s the perfect companion for other woody plants, or as a hedge and in mixed containers.
Why we love it: Resistant to pests and disease, this drought-tolerant shrub is also low-maintenance.
Harlequin Purple Beardtongue
Penstemon, Zones 5 to 9
Fast-growing and long-blooming, these new garden plants reach almost 2 feet tall and produce tons of large purple or magenta tubular flowers that explode from summer through fall. Grow it in perennial borders, containers or rock gardens.
Why we love it: Hummingbirds, pollinator bees and butterflies will flock to penstemons thanks to their showy hues.
Brew-Tea-Ful Tea Camellia
Camellia sinensis, Zones 7 to 9
This hardy mounded plant features glossy, deep green leaves and pretty white flowers with yellow centers. It grows up to 6 feet high, making it ideal for pots or as a distinctive evergreen hedge. Camellia tolerates some direct sun but prefers indirect light, part shade and well-draining soil.
Why we love it: You can brew three types of tea from this plant.
Purple Oz Dampiera
Dampiera altissima, Zones 8 to 11
With silver-green leaves and loads of pollinator-friendly purple blossoms, this plant provides a jolt of contrast in borders, hanging baskets or in sloped rock gardens from June through October. In the first growing season, water these pretty new garden plants deeply to develop a strong root system.
Why we love it: Dampiera is low-maintenance, waterwise and tolerates most well-draining soils, even sandy or rocky.
Unplugged Red Scarlet Sage
Salvia coccinea, Annual
This compact native annual salvia makes a striking thriller, thanks to its fragrant deep-green foliage and vibrant red blooms that blossom all season. This variety produces more blooms if you trim off the upper third of growth.
Why we love it: Pollinators love salvia’s sweet nectar and bright color, but deer are known to ignore it.
Superbells Double Vintage Coral Double Calibrachoa
Double Calibrachoa hybrid, Annual
Thanks to its amber-orange hue with veins of reddish purple, this calibrachoa is nostalgic yet fresh. Blooming consistently throughout the season without deadheading, this no-fuss annual has a mounding, trailing habit, making it a delightful spiller in containers. It requires full sun and well-draining soil.
Why we love it: It looks stunning when paired with plants in shades of purple, dark red, gold or creamy white.
Dazzle Rocks Sea Lavender
Limonium gmelinii, Zones 5 to 11
With a compact habit and abundance of small, papery lavender-purple flowers that bloom on thin stems, this herbaceous perennial is ideal for rock gardens in low-water landscapes. It prefers full sun and tolerates soils with higher salinity.
Why we love it: Pollinators swarm this variety, and it’s non-toxic to pets
4 More New Garden Plants for 2025
- Sunmagic Vintage Electric Orange coneflower, Zones 4 to 9
- Violet Stargazer clematis, Zones 4 to 8
- Fire and Ice dahlia, Zones 9 to 10, annual elsewhere
- Lavender Tutu daylily, Zones 4 to 9
Sources
- Proven Winners
- Monrovia
- Star Roses and Plants
