15 Products That Most Impressed Garden Retailers at Cultivate’26
Garden retailers presented Retailers’ Choice Awards to 13 companies for 15 products at Cultivate’26 in Columbus, OH, on July 13, 2026. The Garden Center Group’s Danny Summers and Tim Quebedeaux led the search as garden retailers selected the best new products to bring excitement and noteworthy interest to their stores in the coming season.
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Keep reading for more information on the suppliers and products receiving recognition, and check out the slideshow on this page for a closer look.
EcoEase Lawn Alternative Seed Shakers (Botanical Interests)
These three new lawn alternatives from Botanical Interests provide upgrades to a greener, more sustainable lawn. They include (1) EcoEase Microclover and Fescue Lawn Mix, (2) White Clover Alternative Lawn Seed Shaker, and (3) EcoEase Flowering Mix Alternative Lawn Seed Shaker. These low-maintenance alternatives create a dense, foot-traffic-tolerant groundcover that requires little to no mowing. Thriving in poor soils and partial shade, they use less water than traditional lawns and eliminate the need for fertilizers or herbicides. They enrich the soil with nitrogen, supports pollinators when blooming, and resist pet spotting, while the mix stays lush and green from early spring to first frost. Perfect for new lawns or overseeding, EcoEase is the eco-friendly way to a beautiful yard.
Sofia® Cherry Laurel (Concept Plants)
This new compact Cherry Laurel from Concept Plants looks more like a holly or boxwood at first glance. It features narrow, serrated, glossy leaves, making it excellent for low hedging, topiary, containers, or as a small feature shrub in gardens. It’s a hardy, low-maintenance plant, tolerant of both extreme cold and heat, with good disease resistance, requiring minimal pruning for shape.
Petunia ‘Sweetunia Violet Vortex’ (Dümmen Orange)
This new addition to Dümmen Orange’s Sweetunia Series caught retailers’ eyes for its unique combination of colors of violet and soft cream. Vortex is the right way to describe the combination for sure. It features a full habit with lots of brightly colored and uniquely patterned blooms. Medium upright habit and vigor; stands up to harsh conditions. Ideal for various container sizes and as filler in combination containers.
2nd Nature Organic Plant Food (Fertilizer Packaging Plus/Oberland AgriScience)
This is a new way to look at organic fertilizer sources. It’s plant food fertilizer made from black soldier fly larvae frass – a natural co-product of insect farming. A unique source of Chitin – a compound found in insect shells that has been studied for its role in supporting soil and plant health. A source of organic matter and beneficial nutrients, 2nd Nature supports soil health, boosts plant vitality, and helps gardeners grow thriving gardens. Perfect for vegetables, fruit, potted plants, shrubs, and flowers. Produced by Oberland Agriscience in Canada, and packaged and distributed by Fertilizer Packaging Plus in the U.S.
Lords of the Fly® Carnivorous Butterwort (Little Prince of Oregon Nursery)
Bugs beware! Retail judges loved what the Little Prince Team has created with this series name as well as plant selection. Pinguicula ‘Guatemala’ is a carnivorous Butterwort plant featuring rosettes of lime-green ovate petals. Under strong lighting, pink blushing will appear. A combination of the series name, the tags, and bright foliage colors make these stop traffic.
Pittosporum ‘Pot Belly’ (Monrovia Nursery Company)
You have never seen a “pitt” like this before: short and polite. Retailers loved the form of Pot Belly from Monrovia. It’s a tough evergreen that forms a tidy ball shape with minimal trimming. Shiny green leaves have white undersides. It produces small, dark-red, scented flowers from spring to early summer. While most others are either much larger or variegated, Pot Belly’s politeness will position it where no other Pittosporum can go.
Scabiosia ‘Pincushion Skyrocket’ (Monrovia Nursery Company)
This Scabiosia is a showstopper with beautiful, big, soft violet, large double blooms floating above a tidy mound of green foliage on long stems. Younger blooms show a pretty creamy-white center that slowly turn to all blue as the bloom progresses. The strong stems make this an exceptional cut flower producer.
African Marigold Lanna Lace (PanAmerican Seed)
Lanna Lace from PanAmerican Seed features white double blooms that shake off water for a fresh look throughout summer. Add it to your lineup for a full color range of vibrant African marigolds that last. Dwarf white marigold has fully double flowers that shed water well and avoid turning brown for a longer period. Well-suited to garden beds and mixed containers.
Colocasia Royal Hawaiian® ‘Mai Tai’ (Plant Development Services, Inc.)
This is a medium clump-forming colocasia with unique velvet camouflage foliage in zesty lemon and green on white and black candy cane stems. Plant Development Services said Mai Tai continuously maintains its character (variegated colors and patterns) through continued growth. Excellent for premium containers, borders and mass plantings in full sun to part shade.
Carex ‘Lunar Falls’ (Plant Development Services, Inc.)
This new Carex features more variegation than others. It’s reported to be fast-growing, a cool-season sedge with arching, nearly white blades marked by a narrow green midrib. Forms 18 to 24-inch evergreen fountains that spill from containers, edges, and walls. Performs in sun to part shade with average moisture and good drainage.
Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight II (Proven Winners)
Building on the award-winning line of Sweet Caroline Bewitched sweet potato vines, the dramatic purple-black coloring of Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight II from Proven Winners is as impressive in the South as it is in cooler climates. Even in the most extreme heat, which causes many dark-leaved plants to bleach out or turn green, this improved selection shows just a hint of olive-purple. In most climates, the foliage is deep purple-black all season. Like others in the series, Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight II also has the characteristic pointed leaf shape and weaves beautifully among companion plants in container recipes. Rather than being strictly trailing like traditional sweet potato vines, this variety has a more mounded shape.
Sun Parosol Giant Powder Pink Mandevilla (Suntory Flowers/Sun-Fire Nurseries)
While judges have awarded several Suntory Flowers Sun Parosol introductions in recent years, none have been as large stature as Giant Powder Pink. Sun Parasol Giant varieties produce large flowers that span up to 5 inches. Natural climbers, these beauties are stunning when trained to a trellis or obelisk in patio pots. The flowering season is slightly later than that of the original group. The Giant varieties are the most heat-tolerant and highly disease resistant.
Dahlia Coffee Shop ‘Lavender Latte’ (Syngenta Flowers)
This new Dahlia from Syngenta Flowers features dark foliage that creates dramatic contrast in borders while complementing the rich, fully double blooms that hold their shape throughout the season. Strong garden performance with excellent powdery mildew resistance helps plants to look fresh and healthy from summer through fall frost. Perfect for patio pots, cutting gardens and landscape beds, these robust plants deliver continuous waves of café-inspired colors on strong stems above the striking dark foliage.
Elegance Pansies Antionette & Twilight Collections (Tagawa Greenhouse)
Tagawa showed us two new collections of pansies featuring ruffled blooms, displaying an enchanting palette of pastel colors that range from soft whites and delicate pinks to sunny yellows and gentle purples. Breeder Isao Sato was on-site during the award presentation. His journey with Tagawa Greenhouses began in the 1980s when he came to Colorado for an internship, an experience that sparked a lifelong passion for pansy breeding. Returning to Japan, he spent decades dedicated to perfecting the art of breeding, channeling his expertise and vision into creating truly distinctive pansy varieties. The results are these collections — an offering he chose to share with Tagawa, honoring the deep connection formed during his early years here. For both Mr. Sato and Tagawa, the Antoinette collection represents a remarkable full circle — a testament to collaboration, dedication, and the shared pursuit of beauty in the garden.
Heuchera Fyre Wing series (Terra Nova Nurseries)
Terra Nova is know for bringing new looks to plants, and they have done it again. The new Heuchera Fyre Wing Series is an amazing group of new Heucheras with never-seen-before colors plus deeply cut, lacy foliage. This new series features seven colors, each with imaginative names and matching fun dragon characters.
That’s it for the 15 Retailers’ Choice Awards for Cultivate’26. Remember, as you work upcoming trade shows or plant trials, there are so many new plants that can create excitement in your garden center. A special thank you to all retailers participating in the Retailers’ Choice Awards™ selection process. The awards at Cultivate’26 was a joint presentation by AmericanHort/Cultivate’26 and The Garden Center Group.
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