Even More Expert Favorites at 2025 Michigan Garden Plant Tour Trial Sites
(Clockwise from top left) Craspedia ‘Solarpop’, Impatiens ‘Solarscape XL Pink Jewel’, Salvia ‘Lancelot’, Dicentra ‘Passion Hearts’, Spigelia ‘Apple Slices’, and Delosperma ‘Flashmob Action Shot’. | Benary, PanAmerican Seed, Proven Winners, Walters Gardens
Every year, during the Michigan Garden Plant Tour, Michigan State University and Michigan’s leading young plant producers host a free open house at their plant trial sites and display gardens for growers, landscapers, and retail operators to learn about a wide range of ornamental crops. Industry professionals can see for themselves which new varieties perform the best under various conditions, including in the ground and in containers. The tour lasts for two weeks and was held this year from July 28–Aug. 8, 2025.
This year, there were seven trial gardens at different locations throughout central lower Michigan:
- DGI Propagators
- Four Star Greenhouse
- Mast Young Plants
- Michigan State University (MSU) Trial Gardens
- Pell Greenhouses
- Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants
- Walters Gardens
For those who couldn’t make it to every trial site, Michigan State University Extension educators Heidi Lindberg and Caitlin Splawski were there. Here are some of their favorites from Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants and Walters Gardens.
Featured Varieties at Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants
Every year, Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants trial gardens expand, now with more than 8 acres and 100,000 unique plant varieties. Six hundred raised-bed rows contain in-ground trials of annuals, perennials, and specialty cut flowers. There are 400 hanging baskets overflowing with trailing plants, new introductions, and breeders’ top picks, and 415 20-inch containers of sun and shade plants displayed by Raker’s. There’s also a wide array of beds, containers, and hangers sponsored by other horticultural breeders. Landscape display beds round out the trial gardens, giving you a sense of real-world applications for new varieties on the market. Among the varieties that caught the eye of Heidi and Caitlin were:
Craspedia ‘Solarpop’ – Benary
Craspedia ‘Solarpop’. | Benary
Craspedia, also known as billy balls, billy buttons, or golden drumsticks, has long been a favorite cut flower variety. With its rich mustard color and fuzzy flower texture, it adds a vibrant accent to the garden and in floral arrangements. That said, with this plant being native to Australia and New Zealand, it can sometimes put up a fight when it comes to growing in more humid conditions, like in the Midwest.
Impatiens ‘Solarscape XL Pink Jewel’ – PanAmerican Seed
Impatiens ‘Solarscape XL Pink Jewel’. | PanAmerican Seed
Impatiens ‘Solarscape XL Pink Jewel’, a 2024 All-America Selections winner, offers topical color to the Midwest landscape. Highly durable in a variety of conditions, including both sun and shade, this plant has staying power for gardeners. Solarscape XL not only offers larger-sized blooms, but also a larger plant habit, making this plant a good selection for in-ground border plantings or large containers.
Salvia ‘Lancelot’ – PanAmerican Seed
Salvia ‘Lancelot’. | PanAmerican Seed
Salvia canariensis, or Canary Island Sage, offers many interesting attributes that gardeners generally find attractive. The unique texture of silvery, felted leaves adds both heat- and drought-tolerance attributes to the aesthetic appeal of this plant. Lancelot produces lavender flowers that sit atop rose-colored bracts, attractive to bees, butterflies, and even hummingbirds. Plus, with a plug crop time from seed of only four to five weeks, this water-wise selection is a good alternative to ever-popular lavenders, offering similar characteristics in the garden, without the production headaches.
Featured Varieties at Walters Gardens
Walters Gardens provides a living landscape performance trial of the Proven Winners‘ perennials collection. The trial garden expands every year to include the new introductions. Among the varieties that caught the eye of Heidi and Caitlin were:
Delosperma ‘Flashmob Action Shot’ – Proven Winners
Delosperma ‘Flashmob Action Shot’. | Proven Winners
New for 2025-2026, Delosperma ‘Flashmob Action Shot’ boasts electric pink flowers with fuchsia eyes. They were blooming prolifically in June at the Walter’s Gardens perennial day and more sporadically in mid-August after the Michigan Garden Plant Tour.
Dicentra ‘Passion Hearts’ – Proven Winners
Dicentra ‘Passion Hearts’. | Proven Winners
A diminutive plant, Dicentra ‘Passion Hearts’ is a fern leaf bleeding heart with green-to-blue foliage that thrives in full sun. It looked good in June and August, and the continuous bloom time is rare in perennials. It is a new introduction for 2025-2026 and adds a rose color to the palette of the garden.
Spigelia ‘Apple Slices’ – Proven Winners
Spigelia ‘Apple Slices’. | Proven Winners
Spigelia ‘Apple Slices’ is not a new introduction, but it stood out as a strong, colorful border plant in June 2025. This burgundy and yellow cultivar of a native wildflower grows in sun or shade and is pollinator-friendly.
For information on more varieties and additional images from each 2025 Michigan Garden Plant Tour trial site, please read the original articles on Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants and Walters Gardens hosted on the MSU Extension website.
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