New 2023-2024 Catalog From ThinkPlants Features More Than 40 New Varieties

ThinkPlants has released a 2023/2024 New Varieties catalog as a supplement to its 2022/23 book. The team at ThinkPlants has launched more than 40 new introductions this year and is highlighting these new varieties in a separate catalog. The new book, along with many of these new varieties, was displayed at Cultivate’23 in Columbus, OH. The catalog is now available online here.

“Since the ThinkPlants launch in 2018, we have continued to build our portfolio and gain new breeder and young plant producer participants,” says Joey Wiseman, Director at ThinkPlants. “We are so proud to now be 16 members strong and still growing. It is exciting to walk through a mass merchant store, or an independent garden center and see beautiful ThinkPlants-promoted perennials at retail, and available to consumers. There are a whole chain of companies and people that make this happen, and ThinkPlants has worked hard to help connect all those dots.”

Some of the new introductions for 23-24 include:

• Agastache ‘Pink Pearl’ PPAF: This new Agastache from Terra Nova Nurseries has very large flowers and is uniquely floriferous. It is a stand-alone in its bloom power. Unrooted cuttings of this new introduction are available out of Danziger Guatemala. “This is the single best Agastache I have seen come to market. With the importance of adding new pollinator crops, this should be in every perennial program,” says Wiseman.
• Echinacea ‘Prairie Blaze’: This new launch from Syngenta Flowers is the first open-pollinated seed Echinacea available in novelty colors and optimized for mass production. This series has a good range of colors and matches well with the Prairie Splendor Compact for habit and bloom timing. “We had a great display of these new Echinacea in the ThinkPlants Cultivate booth,” Wiseman says. “The Prairie Blaze Orange Sunset really stood out at the show.”
• Hydrangea macrophylla ‘My Beautiful Diva’ PPAF: This is a great bicolor Hydrangea macrophylla, available in both blue and pink. It is compact, with strong stems, has long-lasting blooms, and works well for 1-gallon pots or larger. These are available as a pre-finished liner from Creekside Greenhouses in Canada. According to Wiseman, the new Hydrangea genetics coming from the Creekside program are very exciting. “These new genetics, alongside the amazing quality of the pre-finished liners Creekside produces, ensure success for the grower.”
• Phygelius Colorburst PPAF Series: These beautiful herbaceous perennials brought into the ThinkPlants program from Monrovia Nursery, are very unique to the market. This series has four colors, all with a compact habit, and are very floriferous. These are easy-care summer perennials. Unrooted cuttings for these new introductions are available from Danziger Guatemala. And these new Phygelius are open to all programs. “I love Cape Fuchsia,” states Wiseman. “They are one of my favorite perennials and I am very excited to be able to get more of these plants out into the market.”
• Salvia ‘Pink Nebula’: Danziger has now released a companion for the recent introduction Salvia ‘Dark Matter’. These two Salvia are well matched and selected for very large flowers. This first year flowering perennial is quick to produce and reblooms all summer long. Unrooted cuttigs for Salvia ‘Pink Nebula’ are available out of Danziger Guatemala. “Salvia ‘Dark Matter’ is a stand-alone, and one of my favorite new Salvia on the market,” adds Wiseman. “With the launch of Pink Nebula, we now have two colors both with very large blooms.”