One of three new Calibrachoas we are introducing this year is ‘Mocha’, from the Can-Can™ series at Ball. The flower has creamy white petals with a splash of dark chocolate at the throat and along the veins. We grew this variety as one of our production trials last year, and we were impressed by the chocolate-on-cream effect that is a hallmark of this plant.

Although you can blend it with other varieties, we prefer it as a single-cultivar centerpiece basket. It’s a good choice for those who desire the million bells look with a more refined, less vivid color scheme.

We will have two new Superbell® Calibrachoas this season—both bi-colors with yellow throats.

‘Superbells® Cherry Star’

‘Superbells® Sweet Tart’

We’ve written about the Celebration Impatiens before—New Guineas have the ability to project a big plant with big blooms and carry it off well in the shade. This variety looks good from a distance and is impressive as you approach it. Featured in a large container, the plant will fill the space—nice and tall. Remember: we do not have very many design choices for this role in the shade. Vibrant, showy color like you’ll find in these Impatiens works well for tree-lined yards or along the porches of older homes.

For 8-inch pots, the best New Guineas on the market right now are the Celebrations from Ball. We carry the eight major colors in the series, and 'Tropical Peach' would be the ninth color in our product line-up.

A new plant we added for 2012 is Mecardonia ‘Gold Dust’, recently introduced by Proven Winners. This flowering groundcover with abundant yellow flowers also works as a spiller for containers. Its most notable feature is hot weather performance in July and August.

Since the plant is brand new, there is not a lot of production history or design reference available to analyze. Fortunately, several universities trialled the plant last year and we like what we see in their reports.

At the University of Cornell, their trial of ‘Gold Dust’ got off to a slow start but really kicked in by July and August. Their plants formed a consistent mat across the bed and were covered with tiny speckles of yellow flowers.

Now, ‘Gold Dust’ is waiting for the heat to turn up the intensity —just what we need for peak Cincinnati summer color. It did a good job of filling in its garden space and suppressing weeds. There was a very clean, Alpine feel to the planting.