Featured Five 2025: Favorites from the MSU Trial Gardens

Heidi Lindberg<wollaege@msu.edu> and Caitlin Splawski<splawski@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - August 27, 2025

Are you seeking proven performers for the season ahead? Check out Part 4 of our series highlighting top picks from the 2025 Michigan Garden Plant Tour trial sites.

A university garden bed with layered plantings of vibrant flowers—red cannas, pink blooms, purple foliage, and silver accents—set around fountains and pathways, with campus buildings in the background. — Photo 1. The MSU Annual Garden during the MSU Garden Plant Tour in 2025. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Every year, Michigan State University and Michigan’s leading young plant producers host a free open house at their 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 Greenhouses, Mast Young Plants, Michigan State University (MSU) Trial Garden, Pell Greenhouses, Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants and Walter’s Gardens.

Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series covered our favorites at the trial gardens at DGI Propagators, Four Star Greenhouses and Mast Young Plants. This article will feature plants with excellent garden performance from the MSU Trial Gardens.

Featured Five from Michigan State University Trial Gardens

The MSU Horticulture Gardens include 14 acres of beautiful landscapes highlighting annuals, perennials and woody plants. The Amien Carter Annual Gardens house their annual trials (Photo 1). They evaluated over 300 varieties, including annuals and perennials. The top five favorites from this year’s trials as chosen by MSU Extension were:

Impatiens Sol Luna Prime ‘Peach’ – Danziger
Panicum virgatum ‘Prairie Dog’ – Intrinsic Introductions
Amaranth Red Spike ‘25OSI-13 C2’
Vinca Pacifica XP ‘Red Halo’ – Ball Horticulture
Coleus PartyTime ‘Royal Red’ – Sakata

Impatiens Sol Luna Prime ‘Peach’ – Danziger

Two views of New Guinea impatiens. Left: A mass planting of bright pink impatiens in a landscape bed with a plant sign. Right: A close-up of the vivid pink flowers dotted with raindrops on glossy green foliage. — Photos 2 and 3. *Impatiens* Sol Luna Prime Peach from Danziger. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

New Guinea impatiens Sol Luna Prime Peach is new for 2025 and had large pink flowers on mounding deep green foliage. It is an improvement on Sol Luna impatiens by flowering seven to 10 days faster and is less sensitive to higher electrical conductivity levels. Danziger also notes that it has enhanced wilting recovery for a better shelf life.

Panicum virgatum ‘Prairie Dog’

A row of ornamental grasses with narrow blue-green leaves, planted in mulch beds in front of a dark evergreen hedge, each with plant identification signs. — Photo 4. Prairie Dog switch grass at MSU trial garden. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Prairie Dog is a switch grass that has a tidy blue-gray foliage, upright structure and reaches a maximum of 4 to 5 feet tall. It was first introduced in 2019 and is hardy zones 5-9. Consider this Panicum as an alternative option to industry-standard ‘Karl Foerster,’ forming large clumps in the landscape but with a new and different color pallet.

Amaranth Red Spike ‘25OSI-13 C2’

Two views of ornamental amaranth. Left: A close-up of tall magenta flower spikes rising above burgundy foliage. Right: A landscape bed with multiple amaranth plants, their upright plumes contrasting with surrounding yellow marigolds and other flowers. — Photos 5 and 6. Amaranth Red Spike. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

This amaranth red spike was eye-catching because of its height in the trial gardens. It is also being grown at other trial sites this season such as Raker-Roberta’s and University of Georgia’s trial gardens. The deep burgundy foliage and tall, red flower spikes were showy and would be an excellent addition to the back of a garden border or for filling in spaces in a new garden where perennials have not yet reached their full size.

Vinca Pacifica XP ‘Red Halo’

Two views of vinca (periwinkle). Left: A landscape bed filled with clusters of bright red vinca flowers with white centers, shown with a plant label. Right: A close-up of the vibrant red blooms and glossy green leaves. — Photos 7 and 8. *Vinca* Pacifica XP Red Halo. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Bright red flowers with white centers and shiny green foliage stood out with a pop of color at the MSU trial gardens. With a mounded habit, this vinca provides a similar look to a New Guinea impatiens without the very high-water requirement. It is a great option for sites with more limited irrigation.

Coleus PartyTime ‘Royal Red’

A large potted coleus plant with dense burgundy-red foliage edged in darker tones, displayed outdoors with a plant label. — Photo 9. *Coleus* PartyTime Royal Red. Photo by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension.

Coleus PartyTime Royal Red is a new addition to the PartyTime series from Sakata Ornamentals. With an intense burgundy foliage and purple venation, this coleus fills out its own pot but could also be used in a combination. The entire line of coleus offers full sun to shade tolerance.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).