July 2025 California Spring Trials, Variety Info

Color theory in bloom By Heather Machovina

Blooms in red, yellow and blue stole the show during California Spring Trials 2025. Here are some of the GPN team favorites to keep you trending into 2026. 

SUNNY side up 

Improvements for better habits and longer-lasting color keep yellow flowers and bright year-round foliage a top seller. These intense options caught my eye at CAST. 

Petunia ‘SuperCal Premium Yellow Sun Improved’ 

Sakata Seed America 

A vegetative petunia improvement that can withstand heavy rains, heat and cold with little to no damage. The calibrachoa-petunia cross offers three seasons of color. 

Gerbera ‘Garvinea Majestic Yellow Improved’ 

HilverdaFlorist 

The Garvinea Majestic line has large, double flowers and withstands harsh weather conditions. Yellow Improved has bigger and more prolific flowers. 

Begonia ‘I’Conia Bacio Lemon’ 

Dümmen Orange 

Celebrating 10 years of I’Conia begonias, the new Lemon color makes five in the series. It has a semi-hanging habit for baskets and yellow blooms highlighted in pink.

Ilex ‘Golden Sky’ 

PDSI (Southern Living/Sunset) 

A pencil holly with bright yellow, upright foliage shining from spring through the end of season. More sun equals more yellow color on this versatile landscape plant.

Euphorbia ‘Sahara Tiny Treasure’ 

Pacific Plug & Liner 

It’s compact at only 12 to 18 inches tall, with a tidy habit. The bright yellow foliage keeps year-round interest, with vivid flowers from spring to early summer.

Heuchera ‘Carnival Lime Zest’ 

Darwin Perennials 

This vibrant, mounding shade-lover has good heat tolerance and improved garden performance. It’s deer resistant and hardy in Zones 4a to 9b.

Petunia Crazytunia series

Westhoff 

New colors for 2026 include Yello and Bananarama. Crazytunias hold up to the heat, with a controlled habit and more vigorous blooms. Best for use in quarts to 4-inch pots.

BLUE is the new BOLD 

True blue flowers are one of the many difficult breeding qualities to achieve. I have seen blues in person that range from light periwinkle to dark royal blue. Sometimes my eye sees more purple or red, and when I do see one of those true-blue varieties, it feels impossible to capture in a photo. 

Here’s a variety of new blues that are sure to astound in person, and maybe on camera too!

Petunia ‘Trilogy Blue Vein’ 

American Takii 

From seed, the Trilogy series is now complete with the latest additions of Blue Vein and Rose Vein. The upright branching and compact habit requires less PGRs, and the plants last longer at retail with prolific flowering. 

Viola ‘High Flyer Blue Heaven’ 

Benary 

High Flyer pansies have a mounding, globeshaped habit — great for hanging baskets. It’s a day-length neutral plant with long-lasting flowers and will also bloom during shorter days below 8 hours of sunlight. 

Cyclamen Dragon Blue 

Schoneveld Breeding 

Labeled as the most noteworthy new variety in the Dragon series, the deep blue color of this miniature cyclamen is like no other. Available in Blue and Deep Blue. 

Hydrangea ‘Game Changer Blue’ 

Green Fuse Botanicals 

Available as unrooted cuttings (URC), Game Changer is a firstyear flowering, Zone 5 perennial. Once it starts flowering, it is never void of blooms until a freeze. Blooms in 12 to 14 weeks from URCs. 

Brunnera Frost series 

Darwin Perennials 

New brunnera ‘Frost Magic’ and ‘Frost King’ are low maintenance and deer resistant. The silver leaf pattern provides visual interest in the garden and, if vernalized, will produce bright blue flowers in spring.

The POWER of red 

Red is often associated with strong emotions, and we were feeling the love toward these standout varieties this year.

Bidens ‘Beedance Painted Red Improved’ 

Suntory Flowers 

This pollinator-favorite is sturdy and compact. It’s easy to propagate, with fast rooting at 5 to 7 weeks for a 4-inch pot from a rooted liner plug.

Petunia ‘BOOM! TR Red’ 

Benary 

A trailing, freeflowering petunia with small flowers that give a big visual impact. The series has excellent weather resistance and is quick to recover after rain. Growers can expect a spring grow time of 11 to 13 weeks.

Gerbera ‘Garvinea Sweet Chili’ 

HilverdaFlorist 

Showcasing patriotic red blooms with a black center, Sweet Chili blooms from spring until frost. It has great heat and cold tolerance, and is highly resistant to pests and diseases. 

Coleus ‘Premium Sun Sweet Paprika’ 

PanAmerican Seed 

One of the latest flowering varieties in the collection, Paprika boasts a deep-red foliage on a mounded, wellbranched plant. Suitable for shade but can tolerate full sun with high humidity conditions. 

Dahlia ‘Summer Bees Red Bicolor’ 

Dümmen Orange 

This new series of upright dahlia brings bold two-toned color to pots and landscapes. It’s pollinator-friendly and a late-season bloomer from May through August.