Caladium 'Fast Flash' (Abbott-Ipco)
‘Fast Flash’ is an impressive, fancy-leafed red variety with dark-red central veins, pink specks, and green margins. It resembles ‘Red Flash,’ but it sprouts faster and has a better pot habit.

Caladium 'Hot Flash' (Abbott-Ipco)
‘Hot Flash’ is a beautiful, intense, shiny red, fancy-leaved variety that tolerates full sun. It has a short, mounded habit, which improves with de-eyeing and makes an excellent 4- to 10-inch pot, or it can be used for border or intermediate plantings in the landscape.

Caladium 'Va Va Violet' (Abbott-Ipco)
‘Va Va Violet’ is the first violet strap (lance) leaf, caladium. It is a short, mounded, shade-loving variety that is useful in 4-inch plus pots, hanging baskets, combination/patio containers, and shade landscapes. It thrives in up to four hours of morning sun.

Calocephalus ‘Bed Head’ (Ernst Benary of America)
‘Bed Head,’ an Australian native, is relatively unknown in the U.S. The foliage looks like silver barbed wire but is soft, flexible, and touchable. ‘Bed Head’ makes an eye-novelty in spring or summer pots and even works great in cool season combinations, dyed, or used in living wreaths.

Canna CannaSol Series (Dümmen Orange)
This compact, uniform canna series is available in six colors. CannaSol is self-cleaning with flowers that rebloom throughout the entire season, and it has proven trial performance that is outstanding in mixed containers and in mass plantings in the landscape. Pictured: ‘CannaSol Happy Isabel’

Canna ‘Cannova Orange Shades’ (Ball Ingenuity)
Cannova is the first seed F1 canna series that offers an easy-to-grow option in this heat-tolerant class. Improved young plant performance means more usable plugs that are uniform and earlier than other seed canna programs. Strong colors capture the landscape market. Cannova is versatile; it works well in 4-inch pots to 2 gallons. It also works well for cart programs.

Coleus ‘FlameThrower Salsa Verde’ (Ball FloraPlant)
The FlameThrower series offers stunning colors and patterns for full sun and shade. Plants are versatile, premium varieties that are very late to never flowering. Salsa Verde is an exciting lime-green color addition for 2018. Its compact habit and uniquely colored and shaped leaves add texture in the garden and containers.

Coleus ‘Kong Jr.’ (PanAmerican Seed)
‘Kong Jr.'s’ heart-shaped leaves are 30% smaller than ‘Kong’s,’ but just as stunning. They make ‘Kong Jr.’ easier to ship, with less breakage and less loss. Leaf size is well-matched across the series, with a well-branched, tidy habit that is irresistible to shoppers. It performs well in landscapes, patio planters, and mixed containers. It also works in indoor plant programs.

Colocasia ‘Distant Memory’ (Walters Gardens)
This new black Elephant Ear produces massive, dark, glossy, mahogany leaves and will vigorously fill out a pot. It’s hardy to Zone 8 but will quickly finish a container even in Northern zones. Walters Gardens will donate $0.25 per plant sold to Alzheimer’s research in honor of Harriet Walters, one of the founders of Walters Gardens, Inc.

Dipladenia ‘Sundenia Crimson’ (Suntory Flowers)
Sundenia dipladenias are catching on because they produce larger, mandevilla-sized flowers on compact dipladenia growth. ‘Sundenia Crimson’ joins the line, bringing a deeper color than ‘Sundenia Red.’ It works well for pots or hanging baskets. Train it to a trellis or grow as a full, bushy plant.

Hibiscus ‘ColorChoice Sugar Tip Gold’ (Spring Meadow Nursery/Proven Winners)
This new variety of Sugar Tip rose of Sharon has bright, golden-yellow foliage variegation and showy lavender-purple double flowers. This is a seedless selection that prevents the spread of unwanted seedlings.

Hibiscus ‘ColorChoice White Pillar’ (Spring Meadow Nursery/Proven Winners)
‘White Pillar’ has the same upright narrow habit as ‘Purple Pillar,’ but this new variety boasts showy, pure-white summer flowers. ‘White Pillar’ is a versatile plant, which works well in landscapes, patio gardens, and containers.

Hibiscus 'Tradewinds Ivory Wind' (Green Leaf Plants)
Ivory Wind buds are yellow, opening to a creamy white color offset by a striking deep pink eye. Plants have a high bud count for abundant flowering and superior branching. Their compact habit is works well for containers or in the landscape.

Hypoestes phyllostachya ‘Hippo Red’ (Proven Winners)
Hypoestes is getting a makeover starting with the new Hippo series. This group of super-sized, vegetative varieties does what ‘Snow Princess’ did to seed alyssum. They’re big, bushy, and won’t bolt into flower soon after planting. These varieties were selected against flowering/seed set and have an upright habit, making them suitable for use as a thriller or filler in containers and landscapes. Polka dot plants will grow in any amount of sunlight, surviving heat and humidity with ease. They are versatile enough to grow in sunny patio pots, under the porch overhang, or in your living room. Pictured: 'Hippo Red'

Ilex ‘ColorChoice Strongbox’ (Spring Meadow Nursery)
With its squat, rounded habit, evergreen foliage, and full, dense branching, ‘ColorChoice Strongbox^’ is a welcome alternative to boxwood. Lush, deep-green, and disease resistant, this plant works well for the landscapes and gardens. It stays green and well-branched, right to the ground.

Mandevilla ‘Summer Romance Bush Easy Pink’ (Ball Ingenuity)
Like a traditional vining mandevilla, Summer Romance offers larger foliage, big blooms, and a great pink color. What makes new Bush Easy Pink so unique is its non-vining habit. This opens the option to grow these plants in smaller containers and patio pots where a trellis is not needed.

Mandevilla ‘Sun Parasol Giant Marbled Crimson’ (Suntory Flowers)
The variegated ‘Sun Parasol Giant Marbled Crimson’ is a sport of Giant Crimson. The plant has striking variegated foliage and large, crimson flowers spanning 4 to 6 inches. Unlike other variegated varieties, Marbled Crimson has the strength and vigor to match the Sun Parasol Giant group.

Mandevilla ‘Sun Parasol Pure White’ (Suntory Flowers)
‘Sun Parasol Pure White’ features elegant pure-white flowers. Even the throats are white instead of yellow. Pure White joins the Sun Parasol Giant Group. Its flowers span 3 to 5 inches. Plants are natural climbers and thrive in the heat.

Rex Begonia Dibs Series (Green Fuse Botanicals)
A breeding breakthrough in rex begonias brings the Dibs series. Their incredibly strong vigor not only eliminates weeks of crop time for the grower, it also makes them easy for the consumer to be successful when growing them. The plants' brightly colored leaf patterns glow in even the heaviest of shade. Pictured: 'Dibs Moonlight'

Rex Begonia ‘Jurassic Red Splash’ (Ball Ingenuity)
Jurassic Rex Begonias have been selected for excellent vigor, which helps fill out a 6-inch container faster than most other rex begonias on the market. New ‘Jurassic Red Splash’ has a bold pattern and makes a good addition to any indoor program or shade container program.