Featured Five 2026: Favorites from the MSU Trial Gardens

Caitlin Splawski<splawski@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - September 25, 2026

Are you seeking proven performers for the season ahead? Check out Part 4 of our series highlighting top picks from the 2026 Michigan Garden Plant Tour trial sites.

A statue under a stone archway in gardens. — All photos by Caitlin Splawski, MSU Extension.

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.

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. If you couldn’t make it out to every trial site, you’re in luck! Heidi Lindberg and Caitlin Splawski, Michigan State University Extension educators, traveled to each site, picking favorites and snapping photos along the way. We’ll cover our favorites from each trial site in this article series.

Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series covered our favorites at the trial gardens at DGI Propagators, Proven Winners Carleton and Mast Young Plants. Part 4 will feature plants with excellent garden performance from the MSU Trial Gardens. 

Featured Five from the 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. They evaluated over 300 varieties, including annuals and perennials. The top five favorites from this year’s trials as chosen by MSU Extension were: 

Coleus PartyTime ‘Orange’ – Sakata
Impatiens x hybrida SunPatiens ‘Compact Royal Magenta’ – Sakata
Celosia ‘Bright Sparks Pink’ – Syngenta
Geranium Sunrise ‘Ruby Fringe’ – Ball Horticulture
Sanvitalia Tsavo ‘Basket Yellow’– Ball Horticulture

Coleus PartyTime ‘Orange’

Photo 2 3 and 4 MSU Gardens 2026.jpg — Photos 2, 3 and 4. Vibrant orange to red foliage accented by a chartreuse margin makes Coleus PartyTime Orange stand out, especially in the shade. Shown here planted in-ground, in a large container and in combination with SunPatiens Compact Bright Purple, part of Sakata’s Playlist combo ‘Hot in the City’.

New to the series, PartyTime ‘Orange’ by Sakata stood out with its vibrant orange foliage accented by contrasting chartreuse edges. This coleus maintained a dense, well-branched habit throughout the season and provided season-long color without a flower stalk in sight. Its compact, semi-trailing growth makes it equally suited for landscape beds, containers and mixed combinations (Photos 2, 3 and 4).

Like the rest of the PartyTime series, it performs well in both sun and shade, making it a versatile option for gardeners seeking bold foliage color.

Impatiens x hybrida SunPatiens ‘Compact Royal Magenta’

Photo 5 MSU Gardens 2026.jpeg — Photo 5. SunPatiens Compact Royal Magenta’s saturated deep pink flowers nearly against deep green foliage makes a contrasting display that pops.

SunPatiens ‘Compact Royal Magenta’ from Sakata delivered outstanding garden performance with continuous bright magenta blooms from planting until frost. The vivid flowers nearly glowed against the deep green foliage, creating a dramatic display visible from a distance.

This variety performed well despite periods of heat and rain and showed the durability that has made the SunPatiens series popular among landscapers and home gardeners alike. Its compact habit makes it ideal for garden beds, mass plantings and containers.

Celosia ‘Bright Sparks Pink’

Photo 6 and 7 MSU Gardens 2026.jpg — Photos 6 and 7. Celosia ‘Bright Sparks Pink’ displaying bright pink blooms atop sturdy, well branched plants.

‘Bright Sparks Pink’ by Syngenta impressed with its vivid pink plumes and exceptional branching habit. Unlike many celosia varieties that can fade during the hottest part of summer, this selection maintained bright color and produced abundant blooms. The large flower plumes above bright green foliage create a striking display with lots of flower power even in a landscape bed.

Production tip: Celosia is a facultative short-day plant and will flower faster under short days. When starting from seeds make sure to grow plugs under at least a 14-hour day length to promote sufficient vegetative growth before plants start to flower. If you receive plugs that are budded at transplant, providing 14-hour days for at least four weeks will also help to promote bulking of the plants.

Geranium Sunrise ‘Ruby Fringe’

Photo 8 and 9 MSU Gardens 2026.jpg — Photos 8 and 9. Geranium Sunrise ‘Ruby Fringe’ with its bright pink petals with a white edge.

Sunrise ‘Ruby Fringe’ by Ball Horticulture caught my attention with its large, eye-catching flower clusters featuring rich rose-pink blooms. The flowers were held above medium-green foliage on a tidy, upright plant that remained attractive throughout the growing season. Its medium vigor and continuous flowering provided reliable color in containers.

The combination of strong branching, early flowering and vibrant color makes this geranium an excellent choice for gardeners looking for dependable summer performance.

Sanvitalia Tsavo ‘Basket Yellow’

Photo 10 and 11 MSU Gardens 2026.jpg — Photos 10 and 11. Tsavo ‘Basket Yellow’ Sanvitalia with its cheerful little yellow blossoms and dark green foliage.

Also known as creeping zinnia, Sanvitalia procumbens is native to Mexico and Guatemala. Tsavo ‘Basket Yellow’ from Ball Horticulture stood out with its cheerful color in the trial gardens with masses of miniature golden-yellow flowers. The compact, mounded habit remained neat all season, making it ideal for containers, hanging baskets and garden borders.

This variety continued flowering through periods of heat and dry weather, demonstrating impressive drought and heat tolerance. The bright blooms contrasted beautifully with the darker foliage and attracted attention, especially from any pollinators passing through the gardens.

Other Standouts from MSU Trial Gardens

Photo 12 and 13 MSU Gardens 2026.jpg — Photos 12 and 13. Perennials Sedum Rock’n Grow ‘Midnight Velvet’ from Walters Gardens (top) and Panicum ‘Dust in the Wind’ from Intrinsic Perennials (bottom).

While not new introductions for 2026, two perennial entries continue to attract considerable attention this season. Sedum Rock’n Grow ‘Midnight Velvet’ from Walters Gardens remains impressive with its rich, dark purple foliage that provides season-long interest before transitioning to clusters of rose-red flowers in late summer and fall.

Its bold coloration, sturdy habit and pollinator appeal made it a standout among the perennial trials even in its third year in the garden. Likewise, Panicum virgatum ‘Dust in the Wind’ from Intrinsic Perennials offers exceptional ornamental value with deep green foliage highlighted by olive and purple tones that intensify as the season progresses.

Reddish flower panicles and smoky purple foliage create a striking display of color and texture, demonstrating why ornamental grasses continue to play an important role in sustainable, low-maintenance landscapes.

Check out the other articles in our series for more favorites of 2026:

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).