These bright and beautiful annual flowers will make phenomenal additions to your home or garden. Learn all about them.
10 Award-Winning New Flowers to Plant in 2024
What Does It Mean To Be a New Flower?
Nothing is static in nature, where plants continually evolve to survive. These changes often take generations to become noticeable, except when plant breeders speed up the process.
Take petunias. Breeders are developing plants with superior features, like larger and more abundant blooms, or a self-cleaning habit that doesn’t require deadheading. These new plants are a vast improvement over the red, white and purple petunias my dad brought home in the trunk of his Oldsmobile every Memorial Day weekend when I was a kid.
Those leggy plants required daily plucking of the sticky blooms as they faded — something bred out of newer varieties. I do credit those colorful annuals for fostering a lifelong passion for gardening that led me to study horticulture, become a master gardener and pursue a career as a garden writer and editor.
Diane Blazek shares a similar passion for plants from growing up on a small farm in north central Missouri. Today, she’s the executive director of All-America Selections (AAS), a non-profit organization that conducts impartial trials of never-before-sold annual ornamentals, perennials and vegetables. I asked for her thoughts on the newest award-winning plants from AAS Trials.
What are All-America Selections winners?
“New and improved” is a phrase overused in marketing, but it actually applies to AAS winners.
Since 1932, AAS examined the newest annuals, edibles and more. Varieties with superior garden performance are named AAS award winners. Earning that designation, Blazek says, “means the home gardener will be more successful in their garden because these varieties were really put through their paces and have proven garden performance.”
How are AAS winners chosen?
Volunteer judges grow and monitor new introductions at more than 80 trial sites in the U.S. and Canada to see the plants in a variety of climates. Each entry is grown next to an industry standard in that plant class for comparison.
“Breeders are striving for better and better products,” Blazek says. “They are breeding with a purpose, which can fall into a number of categories: Taste, yield, disease resistance, more flowers, drought resistance, bloom time, maturity time, appearance and a few other traits. Unless it meets one or more of those criteria, it won’t stand a chance in the AAS Trials.”
Here are ten national and regional AAS winners for you to plant in your garden. All are 2024 winners except where noted.
About the Expert
Diane Blazek is the executive director of All-America Selections (AAS), a non-profit organization that conducts impartial trials of new annual ornamentals, perennials and vegetables. Blazek assumed her current role in 2009, educating and inspiring consumers about gardening.
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Petchoa EnViva Pink
This showstopper features a well-behaved mounding habit and a preponderance of bright pink flowers with yellow throats. Large flowers appear spring through fall (also check 10Â flowers to plant this fall) and feature an iridescent shimmer even in the heat of summer. Also, the flowers bounce back nicely after rain.
This works great in garden beds, containers and hanging baskets.
“It’s a cross between a petunia and a calibrachoa, which means you get the best of both worlds — the fn lower size of a petunia and the easy care of a calibrachoa,” Blazek says. “I think it would be awesome in a mixed container with yellow flowers, maybe like Bee’s Knees petunia.”
Petchoa EnViva Pink grows 10- to 16-in. tall by 18- to 24-in. wide, in full sun and well-drained soil with neutral to slightly acid pH. Hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11, it’s usually grown as an annual and blooms spring to frost.
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Celosia Burning Embers
This features gorgeous bronze foliage with dark pink veins that contrast effectively with the vibrant, long-lasting pink flower plumes. AAS judges noted Burning Embers has the largest and longest-lasting flowers of any celosia they tested. It also withstands difficult conditions, retaining a well-branched, flower-covered appearance.
“It is heat- and humidity-tolerant because it was bred in Southeast Asia,” Blazek says, adding Burning Embers would make a fine candidate planted in a faux fire pit.
Celosia Burning Embers grows 8- to 9-in. tall by 12-in. wide, in full sun and well-drained soil with slightly acid pH. It blooms late spring to frost as an annual but is winter hardy in USDA Zones 10 to 11.
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Petunia Sure Shot White
No matter how weird the weather, Petunia Sure Shot White is a sure thing in the garden, according to AAS judges. It thrives in rain or shine, heat or cold.
“The Sure Shot series produces vigorous petunia plants that can stand up to the weather,” Blazek says. “This particular variety has clear, clean, all-white flowers on mounding plants — perfect for containers.”
It also works well in hanging baskets or even in garden beds, where the vibrant white color can turn a garden into a showstopping sight. The white flowers are easy to match with other colors in the garden and the lightly scented blooms attract bees and other pollinators.
Petunia Sure Shot White is a regional AAS winner, noted for its superior performance in the Great Lakes area and the Northwest. It grows 8- to 10-in. tall by 16- to 22-in. wide in full sun and well-drained soil, with neutral to slightly acid pH. It blooms spring to frost as an annual but is winter hardy in Zones 9 to 11.
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Verbena Sweetheart Kisses
This low-growing annual features airy, almost delicate-looking foliage in a mounded habit that makes a fine backdrop for vibrant blooms in a blend of red, rose, pink and a hint of white. Sun-loving Verbena Sweetheart Kisses thrives even during dry spells, attracting butterflies and bees all season long.
“A unique verbena, it can act as a ground cover with airy foliage and shades of pink blooms,” Blazek says. “It is easy to grow from seed, attracts many kinds of pollinators and can also be used in containers.”
Verbena Sweetheart Kisses grows 10- to 16-in. tall by 12-in. wide in full to partial sun and dry to normal soil with neutral to slightly acid pH. It blooms late spring to frost as an annual but is winter hardy in Zones 8 to 10.
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Geranium Big EEZE Pink Batik
Pink Batik is the newest addition to the Big EEZE geranium series, known for its superior container performance, medium vigor and heat tolerance. It offers distinctive coloring and minimal maintenance.
“The unique petal color pattern is what makes this variety special,” Blazek says. “Think of it as a speckled or freckled pattern of dark pink on a beautiful soft pink.” Pink Batik works great in containers — by itself in a single color, or combined with other annuals with contrasting colors.
Geranium Big EEZE Pink Batik grows 18-in. tall by 24-in. wide in full to partial sun and well-drained soil with slightly acid pH. It blooms late spring to frost. It’s grown as an annual but can overwinter in Zones 9 to 11.
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Impatiens Solarscape XL Pink Jewel F1
Solarscape XL Pink Jewel is putting impatiens back in the spotlight after a bout with a serious disease. “They are not only resistant to Impatiens Downy Mildew Disease, but can also be grown in either sun or shade,” Blazek says.
In trials, Solarscape XL Pink Jewel outperformed comparison varieties, with an attractive mounded habit and nonstop vibrant pink satiny blooms with a tropical vibe. It looks great massed in beds or planted by itself in baskets, containers or window boxes.
Impatiens Solarscape XL Pink Jewel F1 grows 11- to 13-in. tall by 18- to 20-in. wide, in sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil with slightly acid pH. This annual blooms late spring to frost and is winter hardy in Zones 10 and 11.
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Marigold Siam Gold F1
This plant has a gift for giving. Its globe-like, double golden flowers appear all season long. And the large, colorful blooms are easy to admire because they’re held above mounded foliage by sturdy stems.
“The huge gold blooms on strong 20-inch stems mean it can be grown for cut flowers,” Blazek says. “And the heat and humidity resistance means it can withstand almost all brutal summer weather conditions.” Best of all, no staking is required.
Marigold Siam Gold F1 grows 18- to 20-in. tall by 16- to 20-in. wide, in full sun and normal soil with neutral to slightly acid pH. It blooms late spring to frost. It’s grown as an annual but can overwinter in Zones 10 and 11.
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Coleus Premium Sun Coral Candy
With its compact size and bold multicolored foliage, Coleus Premium Sun Coral Candy is perfect for small-space gardens. Narrow, serrated leaves drape down gracefully from the mounded plants, which hold their color well even when grown in full sun.
“You will be amazed at the color of the leaves, even the first to sprout from tiny plants,” Blazek says. “It is perfect in containers or mixed with other foliage and flowers that accent the coral, burgundy and chartreuse colors.”
A 2023 national AAS winner, Coleus Premium Sun Coral Candy grows 10- to 16-in. tall by 10-in. wide, in sun or shade and well-drained soil with neutral to slightly acid pH.
The multi-colored foliage shines from late spring to frost. Although grown as an annual, it is winter hardy in Zone 11. Flowers are usually removed to enhance the foliage.
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Colocasia Royal Hawaiian Waikiki
The first colocasia to win an AAS award, this 2023 national winner wowed the judges with large, sturdy, glossy leaves that unfurl with a bold leaf coloration.
“The unique leaf coloration made this one a standout in the trials,” Blazek says. “A beautiful creamy leaf center is accented by pink veining on green leaves. The dark burgundy stems add an extra element of beauty.”
Waikiki is part of the Royal Hawaiian series and produces its striking colors earlier than other variegated colocasias. The compact, clump-forming plant is drought- and heat-tolerant and holds up well even in wind and rain.
Colocasia Royal Hawaiian Waikiki grows 36-in. tall by 12- to 15-in. wide, in full to partial sun and moist, well-drained soil with acidic to neutral pH. The multicolored foliage of this annual shines summer to frost and will overwinter in Zones 7b to 11.
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Snapdragon DoubleShot Orange Bicolor F1
Part of a new series of intermediate-height snapdragons, Snapdragon DoubleShot Orange Bicolor F1 features stunning open-faced double flowers in a progression of hues. They first emerge in beautiful warm shades of orange and orange-red before aging to a dusty shade.
“This is a nice midsized snapdragon that has many uses in the garden or as a cut flower,” Diane says of this 2023 national winner. “The orange-red flowers are fully double and will stand up to strong winds without breaking.”
AAS judges were impressed these snaps produced more branches and a higher flower count all season long, even in lower light conditions.
Snapdragon DoubleShot Orange Bicolor F1 grows 18- to 20-in. tall by 12- to 16-in. wide, in full to partial sun and well-drained soil with neutral pH. It blooms spring to light frost and is treated as an annual but is winter hardy in Zones 7 to 10.
To find a retailer carrying All-America Selections winners, visit all-americaselections.org/buy-winners/
