The annual arrival of new varieties of plants from different growers creates a wonderful sense of anticipation for gardening enthusiasts. Each season brings new cultivars with disease resistance, unique colors, or novel growth habits not previously available, giving you the opportunity to refresh your landscape or indoor space with something truly special.
Local nurseries, online retailers, and garden centers each curate their selection, offering hidden gems that can become your garden’s signature piece. By adding these new finds to your existing plant collection, you can complement existing plants while adding some interesting focal points to your space. Here are some of our favorite new plants being offered by a variety of vendors in 2026.
1. Ruffled Romance Floribunda Rose (Rosa Floribunda ‘Ruffled Romance’)
As the star of Jackson & Perkins’ new 2026 Rose collection, Ruffled Romance is the ultimate rose created by the company’s legendary hybridizer, Dr. Keith Zari. This stunning, festive floribunda displays delightful colors, starting with golden yellow and apricot hues and then maturing into a soft blush pink. It has a moderate fruity scent, strong disease resistance, and large 4-inch blooms in clusters.
As a compact rose, Ruffled Romance reaches only 3 feet tall and wide. It has sharply pointed buds and a double, capped, and flower-shaped form. This plant also has dense dark green foliage and non-stop blooming, providing ornamental value. Ruffled romance is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9 and thrives in full sun with soil that drains well. Regular watering, occasional feeding, and light pruning in early spring will help maintain its shape and encourage blooms.
Best for: Front of patio containers, small space gardens, and sunny borders. It also has medium-sized stems that make it a great cut flower.
Where to buy: Jackson and Perkins
2. Tokyo Sky Espedstra (Espedstra Altair ‘Raku No. 1’ PPAF)
Tokyo Skies Espedstra is an award-winning, spectacular, hardy ground cover with broad, dark green foliage and a unique cream and white variegation. Thriving in both partial and full shade in USDA zones 8 through 10, this resilient plant is both water-conscious and low-maintenance once established. It can reach 2 to 3 feet tall by 1 to 2 feet wide at maturity. It’s a beautiful option for a visually vibrant look, with its evergreen foliage featuring deep green leaves and white sheen.
Best for: Plant in containers, as a house plant, and as borders around the yard.
Where to buy: Southern Living Plant Collection
3. Autumn Kiss Encore Azalea (Rhododendron hybrid ‘Roblezp’ ppaf).
Gardeners looking for a show-stopping, resilient shrub will find this azalea has year-round appeal. It’s absolutely gorgeous, given the unique ruffled, bicolor blooms with watercolor-like hues ranging from hot pink to white. The flowers reach about 3 3 inches but the bush size is compact. It only reaches 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. This helps in maintaining a neat appearance. A strong root system provides high resistance to insects and heat, allowing glossy, evergreen leaves to retain their luster even in full sun. Autumn Kiss thrives in USDA zones 6 through 10.
Best for: Modern Landscapes and Container Gardens.
Where to buy: Encore Azalea
4. Centennial Ruby Hydrangea (Hydragia macrophylla ‘Hococentennial’ PPAF)
A special release for Monrovia’s 100th anniversary, Centennial Ruby Hydrangea is this season’s must-have plant. This new variety of flowers will turn heads with their rich ruby-red and maroon colors that deepen in color with age, and are almost black in tone. They appear as mopped blooms, or clusters of large, round flowers. The shrub also has unusually strong and compact stems and thick, dark green leaves.
This hydrangea does well in filtered sun, partial shade, or partial sun and moist but humid conditions in USDA zones 4 through 9. It is expected to reach about 3 feet tall and wide. Don’t delay in getting hold of this collector’s item plant, as it will only be available as a limited edition in 2026. In fact, the first 5,000 plants will include a special tag noting the limited edition number.
Best for: Borders and containers for frequent flowers.
Where to buy: Monrovia
5. Festa Lemonada Rosa Lantana (Lantana Camara ‘Festata Lemonada Rosa’Jeez
This bright and cheery plant will add a burst of festive color to any garden. It has clusters of magenta and buttery yellow blooms with a slightly trailing pattern on a dense, compact plant. It is hardy and evergreen in USDA zones 10 and 11 as a perennial, but can be grown as an annual in cooler climates. Lintons thrive in full sun and average, well-drained soil. Festa Lemonada Rosa reaches 18 inches tall and 30 inches wide. One of its special features is that it attracts hummingbirds and other pollinators.
Best for: Borders, containers, edging, and hanging baskets.
Where to buy: Monrovia
6. Monstera punatipartita (Monstera PanetipartitaJeez
Monstera pinatapartita from Costa Farms is an unusual but straightforward indoor houseplant that produces impressive foliage up to 3 feet tall and eventually climbs to 6 feet or more. It features distinctive deep slits along the edges that add visual interest to the indoor plant gallery.
Its rich, dark green leaves bring a tropical aesthetic to any interior space. This plant thrives in well-lit conditions near east or west-facing windows, although it is also adaptable to moderate light and artificial light. This low-maintenance plant only needs watering every 1 to 2 weeks, when the topsoil is dry.
Best for: Display 3 feet from a window as a statement piece in a well-lit living room, den, or bedroom.
Where to buy: Costa Farms
7. Ustad Marjan Hummingbird Mint (Augustach hybridJeez
Designed to make a big splash of color in the landscape and in large containers, this long-blooming, low-maintenance, annual plant grows beautiful, fragrant coral-pink flowers for months at a time. It blooms early in the season and continues through fall without needing to be cut back to stay in bloom. As a pollinator magnet, the teacher coral hummingbird mint plant attracts bees, butterflies and of course hummingbirds. Both hot and drought tolerant, this plant thrives in USDA zones 8b, 9a, 9b, and 10a.
Best for: In the landscape, as a border plant, and in containers.
Where to buy: A proven winner
All you need to do is take care of your lawn and garden
