Perennial Plants for the New Year

Last Updated on May 10, 2021 by Kimberly Crawford

See the best of the new perennial plants available to home gardeners. New colors, healthier plants and interesting flower forms can all be found.

This new year finds gardeners with many new plant choices to use in their gardens, containers and flower borders this year. Here are some of the best and most unique new perennials being introduced this year.

1. Asclepias tuberosa ‘Western Gold Mix’

Zones 5-9. Available from High Country Gardens, this new butterfly weed thrives in alkaline soil and is exceptionally drought tolerant.

Attract butterflies to your garden in large numbers as the winged beauties come to investigate the bright, orange-yellow blossoms that appear in abundance each summer.

This butterfly weed grows 20-24” tall so try using this compact plant in container plantings or areas of the garden that don’t get watered often such as a mailbox planter.

2. Dolce Blackcurrent Coral Bell (Heuchera hybrid)

Zones 4-9. This Proven Winners introduction is a Coral Bell plant with purple-black leaves with silver accents that will be perfect for a shade garden, gothic garden or foliage garden.

Expect this spring blooming perennial to grow about 12” tall and 18” wide. A wide variety of landscape uses are available as coral bells are deer resistant, make attractive cut flowers, attract hummingbirds and work well in container plantings. Available at local nursery centers beginning Spring of 2018.

3. Echinacea ‘Tiki Torch’ (Echinacea purpurea ‘Tiki Torch’)

Zones 4-9. Like all Echinacea plants this new, 2018 introduction prefers full sun and will tolerate poor soil conditions. A drought tolerant perennial, the ‘Tiki Torch’ Coneflower has bright, true orange flowers that would add a lot of excitement and color to a perennial border.

Use it in a warm color scheme container planting or mixed border. A moderate sized Echinacea plant, the ‘Tiki Torch’ grow about 24”-32” tall and wide. Available through Terra Nova Nurseries and garden centers carrying their plants.

4. Caroline Coral Bells (Heuchera’Caroline)

Zones 4-9. Another great heuchera introduction for 2018, this one has been released by Monrovia and has softer maroon-purple foliage with silver accents on the leaves.

Spring flowers are large and showier than some recent Coral Bell hybrids with cream colored flowers. Use this medium-sized Heuchera for woodland borders, containers or as an evergreen perennial plant for year-round garden interest.

Related: 39 Small and Dwarf Evergreen Shrubs For Small Landscapes

5. Dianthus ‘Wicked Witch’ (Dianthus gratianopolitanus ‘Wicked Witch’)

Zones 3-9. This cold-hardy perennial is a sport of the very popular ‘Firewitch’ cottage pink and will likely be just as popular with the cherry-red flowers and their strong clove fragrance.

This dianthus will make a great border perennial, rock garden plant or even planted as a ground cover since the plant grows only about 8” tall by 12” wide. This dianthus prefers full sun and well-drained soil and is available through Plant Delights Nursery.

Whether you are filling in some bare spots in an existing garden border, creating an entirely new garden this year or just want to create a focal point using some new and exciting plants there are 2018 plant introductions that will suite your needs.