Featured Five 2026: Favorites from DGI Propagators
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EmailAre you seeking proven performers for the season ahead? Check out Part 1 of our series highlighting top picks from the 2026 Michigan Garden Plant Tour trial sites.
Each year, Michigan State University collaborates with Michigan’s leading young plant producers to host a complimentary open house at their trial sites and display gardens. This event offers growers, landscapers, and retail professionals a valuable opportunity to explore a diverse array of ornamental crops and assess their performance in both in-ground and container settings. The 2026 Michigan Garden Plant Tour ran from July 27 to August 7, showcasing the latest innovations and standout varieties across multiple locations. Part 1 of this series will cover Michigan State University Extension’s top picks from the trial garden at DGI Propagators (Photo 1).
Featured Five at DGI Propagators
DGI Propagators has been a young plant propagator for over 50 years, and they showcased their diverse selection of quality plants at their 2026 trial gardens. While their trial garden does not have the space to be a “living catalog” like other sites, they showcased new varieties in the area closest to the greenhouse (Photo 2) and a perennial area with individual pots and large trough planters.
Once again, the 2026 trial garden showcased their complete line of summer and fall perennials. New this year, DGI asked the breeders to choose their favorite varieties to trial and feature in a different area of the gardens, including in hanging baskets (Photo 3) and containers both for sun and for shade. Another part of the trial garden was an entire area featuring the genus Verbena and all of the Kwik Kombos and Trixis that they offer (Photo 4).
Among the varieties that caught our eye at the trail garden were:
- Petunia Tea ‘Pink’ – Beekenkamp
- Bracteantha Granvia ‘White Improved’ – Suntory Flowers
- Jamesbrittenia Jammin’ Coral – Kientzler North America
- Phygelius Colorburst Yellow – Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
- Helianthus Always Sunny Gold – PanAmerican Seed
Petunia Tea ‘Pink’
The Petunia Tea series by Beekenkamp brings new colors to a line of fast-rooting and strong-branching petunias. The series boasts that it recovers well from storms. ‘Pink’ was featured as a new variety at the trials at DGI and had a great compact form, was floriferous, and had a vibrant hot pink coloration.
Bracteantha Granvia ‘White Improved’
Bracteantha Granvia ‘White Improved’ by Suntory Flowers was showstopping because of its enormous white and light-pink flowers above a well-mounded dark green foliage. It would be excellent in a moon garden or a combination container setting off other colors.
In my opinion, this is a very underutilized genus that is drought tolerant and is even great to cut for bud vases in consumers homes or for drying to use for fall crafts and decorations.
The ‘White Improved’ was shown in the new plant area, but it joins a great line up in the Granvia series that were in the breeder-selected area. Two other colors that were showcased were ‘Orange Flame’ and ‘Gold’ (Photos 9 and 10). I hope a retailer near me carries this next year because I’d buy a few!
Jamesbrittenia Jammin’ ‘Coral’
Jamesbrittenia, South African phlox, is a new plant genus to me — or one that I have just started to notice. It’s a relative to the more commonly known bacopa. This genus of plants is native to South Africa and is known for its heat tolerance.
‘Jammin’ Coral’ is one of the new varieties in the Jammin’ series and its color was showstopping, as my favorite color is coral. To me, it also seems to be an underutilized plant genus and has a spilling habit that could step into the role of calibrachoa or petunias for someone looking for something different.
This new Jammin’ series also has an ideal pH range of 5.8 to 6.2, which is higher than the preferred range of a calibrachoa and might not be as prone to iron deficiency.
Phygelius Colorburst ‘Yellow’
Another unusual genus to me was Phygelius also native to South Africa. This perennial (Zones 7-10) is a great pollinator plant and is heat and drought tolerant. I was drawn to the unusual flower form and color of this petite perennial.
‘Colorburst Yellow’ from Terra Nova Nurseries tolerates higher pH (6.1-7.8) is day neutral and would be great in a combination planter for its texture.
Helianthus Always Sunny ‘Gold’
Sunflowers always have my heart. There have been some really great releases in the last few years, and they regularly make the cut for this article series. I was taken aback by the size of sunflower Always Sunny ‘Gold’ by PanAmerican Seed because of its pure size and its relatively tidy habit considering its size.
With heights of up to 62 inches, which you can verify with my selfie, this upright sunflower was spectacular in the trials. It was in the new plant offerings at DGI Propagators but has previously been an All-America Selections Winner and a Fleuroselect Gold Medal and Fleuroselect Novelty winner.
For more top 2026 varieties, check out the other articles in our series:
- Part 2: Featured Five 2026: Favorites from Proven Winners Carleton
- Part 3: Featured Five 2026: Favorites from Mast Young Plants
- Part 4: Featured Five 2026: Favorites from MSU Trial Gardens
- Part 5: Featured Five 2026: Favorites from Pell Greenhouses
- Part 6: Featured Five 2026: Favorites from Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants
- Part 7: Featured Five 2026: Favorites from Walters Gardens
- Part 8: Let’s Play Nice and Shine: Twelve Stellar Compatible Combinations
