These trending varieties from California Spring Trials are rooted in primary hues.
Blooms in red, yellow and blue stole the show at this year’s California Spring Trials. Here are some of our team’s favorites to keep your store on-trend into 2026.
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 are a variety of new blues that are sure to astound in person — and maybe on camera, too!
Benary: Viola ‘High Flyer Blue Heaven’
High Flyer pansies have a mounding, globe-shaped habit — great for hanging baskets. This day-length-neutral plant has long-lasting flowers and will also bloom during shorter days below 8 hours of sunlight.
American Takii: Petunia ‘Trilogy Blue Vein’
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 fewer PGRs, and the plants last longer at retail with prolific flowering.
Darwin Perennials: Brunnera Frost series
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.
Green Fuse Botanicals: Hydrangea ‘Game Changer Blue’
Available as unrooted cuttings (URC), Game Changer is a first-year-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.
Schoneveld Breeding: Cyclamen ‘Dragon Blue’
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. Photo courtesy of Schoneveld Breeding.
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.
Sakata Seed America: Petunia ‘SuperCal Premium Yellow Sun Improved’
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.
The Garvinea Majestic line has large, double flowers and withstands harsh weather conditions. Yellow Improved has bigger and more prolific flowers.
PDSI (Southern Living/Sunset): Ilex ‘Golden Sky’
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.
Pacific Plug & Liner: Euphorbia ‘Sahara Tiny Treasure’
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.
Westhoff: Petunia Crazytunia Series
New colors for 2026 include Yello (left) 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.
Dümmen Orange: Begonia ‘I’Conia Bacio Lemon’
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.
Darwin Perennials: Heuchera ‘Carnival Lime Zest’
This vibrant, mounding shade-lover has good heat tolerance and improved garden performance. It’s deer resistant and hardy from Zones 4a to 9b.
The Power of Red
Red is often associated with strong emotions, and we were feeling the love toward these standout varieties this year.
Benary: Petunia ‘BOOM! TR Red’
A trailing, free-flowering petunia with small flowers with a big visual impact. The series has excellent weather resistance and is quick to recover after rain.
HilverdaFlorist: Gerbera ‘Garvinea Sweet Chili’
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.
Dümmen Orange: Dahlia ‘Summer Bees Red Bicolor’
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.
Suntory Flowers: Bidens ‘Beedance Painted Red Improved’
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.
PanAmerican Seed: Coleus ‘Premium Sun Sweet Paprika’
One of the latest flowering varieties in the collection, Paprika boasts a deep-red foliage on a mounded, well-branched plant. Suitable for shade but can tolerate full sun with high humidity conditions.
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