Highlights and favorites from California Spring Trials 2026
California Spring Trials is a multi-day, multi-stop event to showcase new and improved varieties. See highlights from the event and learn what varieties you can grow for 2027.
The yearly California Spring Trials event is packed with stops and new varieties.
GPN shares sneak peeks leading up to the event in the March edition, on gpnmag.com and on social media pages.
During the multi-day, multi-stop showcase of new and improved varieties, the team collects details and photos to share with you. Breeders are always listening to grower’s needs and watch consumer trends to keep producing the varieties that sell.
Come along to all our stops on the CAST trail this year and see the favorites at each stop.
American Takii
Rudbeckia F1 ‘Clare Orange’ has long-lasting flowers, does not require PGRs, and is cleaner with no pollen.
Lisianthus ‘Corelli Sugoi II Rose Pink’ is a new variety for cut flowers. Sugoi means wonderful.
Danziger
New in the petunia Capella series is Ink and Rose Ink. Capella are Danziger’s strongest selling petunia, and work well in quart and gallon pots, hanging baskets and mixes.
Calibrachoa ‘Lia Mega Yellow’ has bigger blooms than Lia Yellow, in response to demand they’ve had.
Express Seed Co.
During its first year at CAST, Express Seed showed off three new colors of salvia: Hotbloom, Red Stripe and Lilac Halo.
The self-cleaning geranium ‘Falcon Orange’ was another notable selection. It doesn’t set seed, so the old flowers drop to keep a strong appearance through the season.
HilverdaFlorist
Echinacea ‘Moodz Zen’ is a new color in the series. It blooms all summer and is a pollinator magnet.
HilverdaFlorist also introduced a new color in its salvia Salgoon series: Lake George.
Kientzler North America
Keintzler showcased a new series of petunia this year. ShowTime has small flowers that fill the canopy.
Osteospermum ‘Summersmile Yellow Punch’ is early-flowering, and has good branching and vigor. It performs well in heat and sun.
Sahin
Salvia ‘Touch of Scent’ is a good choice for sensory gardens.
Coreopsis ‘Boom’ gives the garden a fireworks feel with red and yellow petals with dotted edges.
Sakata
Cut flower options continue to improve, and Sakata has a new snapdragon series called Snapstar with Champagne, White, Yellow and Pink.
The 4-inch pom-pom style blooms of Aster ‘Azumi XL Pink’ are another strong addition to cut flowers, and it’s resistant to fusarium.
Syngenta Flowers
Pelargonium ‘Pretty Little White Splash’ is early-flowering and compact for container and patio use. It’s a great choice for retail endcaps and gift-giving.
Lantana makes a great summer choice for most gardens, and ‘Hot Blooded Mega’ is showing off with stronger vigor and 25% larger plant size.
Benary
Benary brought fun new colors to collections. The Pentas StreetArt series welcomes Rose, Red, White and Blue.
And, petunia Boom! TR now has Purple and Lavender.
Dümmen Orange
A new addition to the funky and bold Down Town collection of coleus, meet Santa Fe.
Agastache ‘Honeysticks Gold’ is the fourth color in this compact series. Zone 4 hardy.
Hishtil
Hishtil promotes herbs as ornamental, not just for cooking. Thyme ‘Pom Pom’ is compact and highly-scented.
Origanum ‘Zoregano’ is rust and powdery mildew resistant. It’s high-yielding with a good essential oil profile.
Pacific Plug & Liner
The primula Pretty Polly series brings larger plants, longer stems and double blooms. Best in 2.5-quart and gallons containers.
Cordyline ‘Very Cherry’ is a new clumping variety with deep cherry red foliage. It’s more compact and fills the container faster.
Suntory Flowers
‘Sun Parasol Fired Up Magic Pink’ is a brand new series with a flatter pinwheel-shaped bloom.
Grandaisy’s are re-releasing with improved timing.
Walters Gardens
Another first timer at CAST, Walters Gardens brought some great drought resistant varieties. Hyssop ‘Nectar Ninja’ thrives with neglect and in drought, and is a big pollinator magnet.
Cerastium ‘Cloud Cover’ has white flowers that cover the foliage. It’s drought resistant, and deer and rabbit resistant, too.
Ball Horticultural Co.
New from Darwin Perennials, heuchera ‘Everglow Midnight’ works great in containers and landscape, complements chartreuse, and its vigorous habit fills the pot quickly.
New from Ball FloraPlant, fuchsia ‘Dollarita Rose Violet’ is earlier flowering with large, double flowers.
Beekenkamp
Beekenkamp highlighted its experimental calibrachoa Oasis series. It’s early-flowering, has good branching, and now comes in five colors and two mixes.
Petunia ‘Berry Vein’ is bushy and good for hanging baskets.
Green Fuse Botanicals
Ipomoea ‘White Splash’ is a bit more vigorous with variegated leaves for a great container addition.
A new delosperma series, Delmara XL, has larger flowers than the original Delmara series.
Hem Genetics
Dianthus ‘Supra Cherry Picotee’ is a very vigorous perennial. It’s early-flowering, flowers all season, and has more heat tolerance.
The digitalis DiBella series has uniform flower time and is first-year flowering. It has good branching and upright habit. This biannual comes in four colors.
Quality Cuttings
Coleus ‘GardenFest GardenScape Red Rock’ is heat tolerant and vigorous in the landscape.
Rudbeckia ‘MiniBeckia Fire’ has long, bright orange blooms, good branching and is heat tolerant.
Schoneveld Breeding
Cyclamen Sweet Lips series is a macro-type, and grows better in the cooler season Its two-tone pink blooms make it a great holiday promotional item at retail.
Westhoff
A CAST exclusive, petunia ‘Frogger White’ has green flowers, which naturally help the flowers last longer. New colors to come.
Callisia ‘FanciFillers Dragon Scales’ is a tropical, trailing and compact variety. full sun promotes the gold foliage color.
