Editor’s Letter: Perennial possibilities By Heather Machovina

This month is all about new perennials and shrubs for the coming year. Long season performance and grower success is at the forefront for July, so let’s get into it!

SHRUB SELECTIONS

Shrubs make perfect long-lasting and low-maintenance landscape options. With new breeding improvements, there are many varieties that give us more compact growth habits, require little pruning and stand up to varying environmental conditions. Bold colors, higher flower power and reblooming potential can be expected too. I chatted with some perennial growers about top shrubs that will be coming to the market in 2024 from recent breeding work and why consumers will love them, so don’t miss the latest in this month’s article, What’s New in Shrubs?

Did you know the National Garden Bureau named 2023 the Year of the Spirea? This flowering shrub can be grown in much of the U.S. and has been in development for better size, color and longer lasting flowers. Get the scoop on what Star Roses and Plants, Spring Meadow Nursery and Bailey Nurseries is bringing to growers with this easy to grow shrub. And learn more about the free marketing tools available from NGB to help your business succeed with spirea.

COSTA TRIALS PERENNIALS

In the Vaughn’s View column, he gives us the rundown on what’s hot with perennials at the Costa Trials in Miami, Florida. He focuses on new perennial introductions and their applications in combination baskets to provide growers with the best recipes that give uniform timing, long-lasting color and weather tolerance, which will translate over to the consumer and their success too.

Are you planning to add any new perennial varieties to your lineup for 2024?

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GPN recognizes and honors 40 industry professionals under the age of 40 who represent the next generation of leaders shaping the future of green innovation.
Cara Goch Widder is a member of GPN's 2024 Class of Forty Under 40 honorees
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Tanner Bailey GPN 40U40 2024
Ashley Howard is a member of GPN's 2024 Class of Forty Under 40 honorees
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Marta Lynch is a member of GPN's 2024 Class of Forty Under 40 honorees
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Francois-Simon Berger is a member of GPN's 2024 Class of Forty Under 40 honorees
Jenn Keizer-Hoback is a member of GPN's 2024 Class of Forty Under 40 honorees