Highlights from 2025 Field Trials: University of Georgia

By Marisa Reyes|January 8, 2026

(Information provided by John M. Ruter, Trial Gardens Director, University of Georgia)

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Brunnera Brunnera macrophylla ‘Frost King’ (Darwin Perennials)

All photos courtesy of John M. Ruter, Trial Gardens Director, University of Georgia
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Caladium Caladium ‘Pink Lemonade’ (Classic Caladiums)
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Calibrachoa Calibrachoa hybrida Cabaret® Hot Pink 26 (Ball FloraPlant)
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Dahlia Dahlia pinnata Venti™ FireBurst (Selecta One)
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Evening primrose Oenothera hybrid Superlophus™ Sunglow (Proven Winners)
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Fan flower Scaevola aemula Stardiva® Blue (Proven Winners)
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Foxglove Digitalis hybrida HanaBee F1 Series (American Takii)
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Fuchsia Fuchsia Ballerina® Arabesque (Dümmen Orange)
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Geranium Pelargonium interspecific Caldera™ Series (Syngenta Flowers)
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Impatiens Impatiens hybrid Sol Luna Prime™ Light Salmon (Danziger)
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Verbena Verbena hybrid Tapien® Blue-Violet Imp. (Suntory Flowers)
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Zinnia Zinnia marylandica Zydeco™ White (Syngenta Flowers)

Every year brings unique weather patterns to the University of Georgia (UGA) campus in Athens, including heat, humidity, and unpredictable rainfall. The 2025 trial season was no exception. Most of the annual rainfall arrived at the beginning and end of the trial period, including 12 inches of rain in August. That meant plants had to tolerate both heavy downpours and stretches with little or no rain in between. The Classic City Winners for 2025 represent the entries that handled those swings best and still delivered strong performance in the garden.

One of the biggest challenges at the University of Georgia is not plant performance, but people power. Finding enough volunteers to help maintain the garden alongside students and staff is an ongoing need. The team is working to build relationships with campus organizations and classes to support maintenance and, at the same time, introduce more students to gardening and trialing.

In total, the UGA Trial Gardens evaluated 375 entries in 2025:

310 landscape (in-ground) trials
65 hanging baskets and containers
Including 35 All-America Selections in-ground ornamental trials

Petunias in Red Clay and New Soil Amendments

Typically, petunias at UGA are tested in containers and hanging baskets because of the site’s heavy red clay soils. In 2025, the team trialed 12 petunia entries in-ground to see how they would handle those conditions. A few stood out, particularly Supertunia® Mini Vista® Yellow and Supertunia Vista® Jazzberry from Proven Winners, which performed better than expected in the landscape. Even so, the team notes that petunias still performed best in containers overall.

The gardens also trialed a new soil amendment in the landscape beds: Humichar Biochar with Humic Acid. The goal is long-term soil improvement, with the team watching how structure, moisture retention, and plant performance respond over time.

Standout Plants from 2025 Trials at UGA

Foxglove Digitalis hybrida HanaBee F1 Series (American Takii)

Foxglove Digitalis hybrida HanaBee F1 Series (American Takii)

The HanaBee Series made a strong impression in 2025. All three colors, Rose, Pink, and White, bloomed heavily through a hot Georgia summer. Foxgloves are often planted in fall for spring color, but this series was treated as a summer annual and still performed exceptionally well, showing both flower power and resilience under heat.

Brunnera Brunnera macrophylla ‘Frost King’ (Darwin Perennials)

Brunnera Brunnera macrophylla ‘Frost King’ (Darwin Perennials)

‘Frost King’ stood out as a unique foliage plant in the shade beds, which are predominantly clay. It showed good tolerance to the site’s soil conditions and resistance to pests. Plants continued to push new growth through the summer, holding their variegation and texture and adding brightness to shaded areas.

Geranium Pelargonium interspecific Caldera™ Series (Syngenta Flowers)

Geranium Pelargonium interspecific Caldera™ Series (Syngenta Flowers)

The Caldera™ geraniums brought what the team describes as a “unique sparkle” to containers. Flower clusters have a graceful peltatum-type habit that sets them apart from more traditional geraniums. The UGA trials included Lavender Glow, Hot Pink, and Salmon, each of which filled its container with sustained color through the heat of summer, maintaining both habit and bloom.

The 2025 Classic City Winners and highlighted standouts capture the plants that rose to the top under this year’s trial conditions at the UGA Trial Gardens.