Retailers’ Choice Awards honor 15 products at Cultivate’26
Fifteen new products from 13 exhibiting companies received Retailers’ Choice Awards during Cultivate’26 in Columbus, Ohio.
The Garden Center Group’s Danny Summers and Tim Quebedeaux led the search as garden retailers selected the best new products and plants that the retailers believe will generate customer interest and strengthen their offerings in the coming season.
Award Winners
EcoEase Lawn Alternative Seed Shakers
Botanical Interests
EcoEase Lawn Alternative Seed Shakers include three low-maintenance seed blends designed as sustainable alternatives to traditional turf lawns. The seeds all require less mowing, water, fertilizer and herbicides while supporting pollinators.
Cherry Laurel ‘Sofia’
Concept Plants
‘Sofia’ cherry laurel is a compact evergreen shrub with narrow, glossy, serrated foliage that resembles holly or boxwood. The variety is suited for hedging, topiary, containers and foundation plantings while offering cold hardiness, heat tolerance and good disease resistance with minimal pruning.
Petunia ‘Sweetunia Violet Vortex’
Dümmen Orange
‘Sweetunia Violet Vortex’ combines violet and soft cream flowers in a distinctive swirling pattern. The petunia has a full, upright habit, performs well under challenging weather conditions and works well in containers and mixed combinations.
2nd Nature Organic Plant Food
Fertilizer Packaging Plus / OberlandAgriScience
2nd Nature Organic Plant Food is produced from black soldier fly larvae frass and provides organic matter, beneficial nutrients and chitin to support soil health. The fertilizer is formulated for vegetables, flowers, shrubs, fruit and container plants while promoting healthy plant growth through an alternative organic nutrient source.
Carnivorous Butterwort ‘Lords of the Fly’
Little Prince of Oregon Nursery
The Lords of the Fly series features carnivorous butterworts, including Pinguicula ‘Guatemala,’ with lime-green rosettes that develop pink highlights under strong light. Eye-catching packaging, colorful foliage and insect-catching capabilities make the collection a distinctive retail offering.
Pittosporum ‘Pot Belly’
Monrovia Nursery Co.
‘Pot Belly’ is a naturally compact pittosporum that forms a dense, rounded evergreen shrub with little pruning. Glossy green leaves with white undersides and fragrant dark red flowers in spring and early summer make it suitable for foundation plantings, containers and low hedges.
Scabiosa ‘Skyrocket’
Monrovia Nursery Co.
‘Skyrocket’ scabiosa produces large, double violet flowers that open with creamy-white centers before maturing to soft blue-violet. Long, sturdy stems make it well suited for cutting gardens while its compact habit performs well in landscapes and containers.
African Marigold ‘Lanna Lace’
PanAmerican Seed
‘Lanna Lace’ features fully double white flowers that shed water quickly, helping blooms maintain their appearance during summer weather. The compact African marigold performs well in landscape beds and mixed containers while complementing existing color series.
Colocasia ‘Royal Hawaiian ‘Mai Tai”
Plant Development Services (PDSI)
‘Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai’ combines lemon-green and dark green variegated foliage with white-and-black striped stems for dramatic tropical appeal. The medium-sized colocasia maintains its foliage pattern through the season and is suited for premium containers, borders and mass plantings.
Carex ‘Lunar Falls’
Plant Development Services (PDSI)
‘Lunar Falls’ carex forms cascading fountains of nearly white foliage accented by a narrow green midrib, creating a bright landscape accent. The evergreen sedge performs in sun or part shade and is suited for containers, borders and retaining walls.
Ipomoea ‘Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight II’
Proven Winners
‘Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight II’ sweet potato vine features deep purple-black foliage that maintains its color even under high summer temperatures. Its mounded habit blends well with companion plants in containers while providing season-long foliage interest.
Mandevilla ‘Sun Parasol Giant Powder Pink’
Suntory Flowers / Sun-Fire Nurseries
‘Sun Parasol Giant Powder Pink’ produces flowers up to 5 inches across on vigorous climbing plants suited for trellises and patio containers. The variety offers excellent heat tolerance, strong disease resistance and a long flowering season.
Dahlia ‘Coffee Shop Lavender Latte’
Syngenta Flowers
Coffee Shop Lavender Latte combines dark foliage with fully double blooms that provide strong color contrast in landscapes and containers. The variety also offers improved powdery mildew resistance and produces flowers suitable for cutting throughout the growing season.
Pansies Elegance Antoinette and Twilight Collections
Tagawa Greenhouse
The Elegance Antoinette (left) and Twilight collections feature ruffled flowers in pastel shades of white, pink, yellow and purple. Developed by breeder Isao Sato, the collections represent decades of pansy breeding and were introduced through Tagawa Greenhouse.
Heuchera Fyre Wing Series
Terra Nova Nurseries
The Heuchera Fyre Wing Series introduces deeply cut, lace-like foliage in seven distinctive colors inspired by dragons and gemstones. The series represents a new foliage form for heuchera and combines dramatic leaf texture with imaginative branding.
Photos by Teresa McPherson.
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