New Proven Winners introductions at Four Star Greenhouse
Carleton, Michigan
For those who like chartreuse foliage on their nepetas, here is ‘Lemon Purrfection’, which boasts purple flowers and bright green foliage. It’s a pollinator magnet, hardy in Zones 3 to 8 and prefers full sun. Photos: Patrick Coleman and Matt McClellan
While many plant breeders and brands showcase their new varieties planned for the following year at California Spring Trials in March, Proven Winners invited the industry to come to Carleton, Michigan, in April for a special 2026 Plant Preview at Four Star Greenhouse.
Also on display was the 2026 Proven Winners National Plants of the Year Program, a collection of some of the company’s best-performing and most popular plants.
Each year, the company develops the program with plants based on several criteria, including those that have won various trials awards, earned high ratings by growers and have been top picks for consumers (based on 8,000 to 10,000 consumers in data and surveys).
Each of the 14 categories of plants will receive strong marketing and promotional campaigns targeted to consumers so they know what to look for in their local garden centers each spring.
While we also saw plenty of annuals, Christa Steenwyk, vice president of sales and marketing at Walters Gardens, shared several highlights of the 2026 new perennial program from Proven Winners. While we also saw plenty of annuals, Christa Steenwyk, vice president of sales and marketing at Walters Gardens, shared several highlights of the 2026 new perennial program from Proven Winners. In 2024, J. Berry Nursery’s well-known Hollywood Hibiscus line became part of Proven Winners ColorChoice Flowering Shrubs. Tim Anderson, director of grower accounts for Proven Winners, shared optimism about the integration. “Tropicals are trending,” Anderson says. “Consumers seek out success, and these varieties have flowers open for two or three days, high-gloss foliage, heavy disease resistance and beautiful branded packaging. We’ve seen sales grow exponentially.” PWCC has a liner program growers can use in small pot production. Steenwyk’s favorite of the 2026 introductions is ‘Treasure Trove’ rudbeckia, which she expects to be a hot seller. It looks like popular ‘Goldsturm’ but has similar Septoria resistance to 2023 PPA Plant of the Year ‘American Gold Rush’, which reliably fights off the leaf spotting disease that vexes other rudbeckia. “I see the potential of it and love that it solves the disease problem,” Steenwyk says.‘Prairie Princess’ vernonia is part of Proven Winners’ new “Native Roots” branding for native plant cultivars. It’s deer and rabbit resistant and provides food for pollinators in the late summer and fall. ‘Prairie Princess’ offers several improvements over the straight species, including a height of only 26 to 30 inches. “You see it out in the wild, and it is tall,” Steenwyk says. “So, we shrunk it down and took some of the disease problems out. It doesn’t get as much mildew.” She says it pairs well with late-bloomers like sedums and mums. It prefers full sun and is hardy in Zones 4 to 9. ‘Rays for Days’ heliopsis is a compact, double-flowering false sunflower that can handle serious heat and drought.Walters Gardens is introducing three new shade-loving, early-blooming primroses into the Proven Winners perennials line. Bouquet Perfect ‘Spearmint’, ‘Violetta’ and ‘Watercolor Blue’. Spearmint’s flowers are white with green overtones in the sun, Violetta’s flowers are bright purple, but in PW’s surveys, Watercolor Blue was the most popular color with consumers.Heuchera Dolce ‘Sultry Night’ was named a top pick for 2026, and the glossy black foliage of this perennial looks to be earning the extra marketing boost that comes with the designation.
