Fresh out of CLOTHES (Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show) in Baltimore, I made many new contacts and found many interesting plant presentations that I want to use in my future landscaping projects. I’m excited about the 2023 gardening year and the new plants and ideas that are hitting the shelves of nurseries and garden centers. In this post I will review the plants and products that interested me, but this is just a small sample that will be available in nurseries in 2023.
For more than 30 years, I’ve watched the show evolve to its current state, where the Baltimore Convention Center is filled with every type of plant and gardening tool you can imagine. And the industry’s plant lovers, growers and landscapers come in droves to see the new introductions, sort out their inventory and get ideas for the upcoming gardening season. Wholesale for trade only, there is nothing for the public to purchase.
With over 1,500 booths across 300,000 square feet of exhibition space, the expo is huge and takes me 3 full days to get through it all. And I still miss parts of it!
Redux Houseplants
With the increase in interest in houseplants, Proven winners has a new collection called leaf joy whose goal is “Staying connected and nourishing plants all year round.” This stand turned out to be one of my favorite places to explore, although I mainly use outdoor plants in my work, rather than indoor plants. But if you love plants, you love all plants! Houseplants have come a long way since their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. Leafjoy plants come with large informational labels with detailed instructions on how to care for your specific choice.
Looking through all the offerings, I immediately realized that these are not the “usual” houseplants you buy at a big box store.
To support your new houseplants, a flexible moss-covered pole, made of ‘Mosify’ It is available and you can spray it with a Mosifying Master and it will look very natural holding your climbing and climbing plants.
Are you interested in a 100% biodegradable solution for planting your seedlings in pots? Peat-free, plastic-free, and family-owned. cow pots, They are made with composted cow manure from the family’s dairy farm to create a completely sustainable product. Genius! I have used them for years and wouldn’t use anything else. Check out my post on seed starting for more information on tips on starting seeds.
New plant introductions
A big draw for me, I want to know what new plants will arrive at the nurseries for the next planting season. I realize that many of the new plants will fade, but there will be some that will be a hit and stick around. Here are some that interested me:
Nemesia Aromance Mulberry
I create many containers for clients and this one caught my eye not only because of the look, but also because of the fragrance. I’m a sucker for fragrant flowers and this one can be smelled from 10 feet away! Nemesia has always been one of my early flowering favorites and I loved the colors and size of the flowers on this new one. A garden plant that blooms so profusely that you can’t see the foliage will die back when warm weather arrives, but by then other plants will take over. Enjoy it for at least 8 weeks and then you can transition to something else that prefers warm, sunny weather. – like lantana. Here is Amy from Pleasant View Gardens showing off your new favorite annuals:
Lugarsia Royal Hawaiian Waikiki attracted a lot of comments and looks and I will be using this tropical plant as a container plant for my designs.
Native Plants
Native plants are a huge and growing trend and I was interested in seeing many introductions of new native plants to complete my native plant toolkit. I receive so many requests for landscapes, using only natives, that I welcome any new submission to meet a particular need. Native American plants is front and center with the presentation of unusual and worthy native candidates.
Boxwood
Have you heard about the dreaded boxwood blight that is hitting the United States hard? This dreaded fungal scourge, which first appeared in Europe, is now in the US and is rapidly killing our boxwoods everywhere. Breeders around the world are creating blight-resistant varieties that should replace our traditional varieties. As a designer who uses boxwood extensively for its beauty and deer resistance, I was very interested.
african lily
Living here in the mid-Atlantic in a zone 6b, I never thought I could grow Agapanthus, but I’m changing my mind about that after seeing varieties that could overwinter here. Agapanthus was blooming on MANTS everywhere! Galaxy Blue, Northern Star, and Summer Skies are just a few that will successfully overwinter in zone 6 and I was inspired to try them. Southern Live Plant Collection introduced the ‘Ever’ series, which is a beautiful sapphire blue.
Deer resistance
I use Osmanthus, an evergreen false holly, in many of my designs for its superior deer resistance, and this ‘Misty River’ from the Southern Plant Collection will be on my list to use this year. Deer hardiness in a plant is often overrated, but Osmanthus is a stalwart for me and I loved the golden variety of this plant.
Oakleaf Yellow Picotee’ is an easy-going, carefree variety with oak leaf-shaped green foliage. The flowers rise above the leaves to add visual interest and really look like oak trees. It is not native, but is a great ground cover alternative to more commonly planted plants such as pachysandra, this caught my interest.
Pollinator-friendly grass
I’m a big fan of pollinators and this new ‘Blooming grass‘, by Flawn, really seemed like a completely new concept to me. I wrote a blog post about this in Planting a Pollinator Friendly Bee Grass and these seed packets make the whole process very easy to execute. Instead of searching for the right seeds, these seed packet mixes create the right mix for your lawn.
king vole
Another new product that interested me was king vole. How many times have you planted something and field mice have appeared and killed it? Vole King has created a finely woven mesh that will deter these pesky animals from getting into the plant canopy. Acting as a barrier and protection for plants, you can buy the netting in rolls or planting bags. These would even protect newly planted bulbs!
January is the right time for the MANTS show as I have a little more time to digest the information and make my plans for next year. Christmas is still fresh in my mind and I loved the products from The Magnolia Company. And like anyone who’s read anything in this space before, I’m a fan of Christmas decorating! That’s it for a successful MANTS show. 
The Magnolia Company
