New Trees and Shrubs for 2013

Everlasting Revolution Hydrangea

If you think hydrangeas are either blue or pink, you are in for a big surprise: Everlasting Revolution hydrangea produces armloads of big blooms in deep pink, maroon, or blue with green highlights as the flowers mature. You'll also like the fact that it's a repeat bloomer, flowering on old and new wood through the spring and summer.

Name: Everlasting Revolution Hydrangea macrophylla 'Hokomarevo'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 30 inches tall and wide

Zones: 5-9

Source: Burpee

Image courtesy nationalgreencentre.org

• Learn more about hydrangeas in our Plant Encyclopedia.

Bobo Hydrangea

Winner of the Gold Floral award for best novelty plant, Bobo hydrangea is a flower factory, producing big heads of white blooms that slowly turn pink in the fall. Bobo is a cold-hardy, dwarf variety that grows only 3 feet tall so it's perfect for small spaces or large containers. You could also plant a line of Bobo hydrangeas to create a traffic-stopping low hedge.

Name: Bobo Hydrangea paniculata 'Ilvobo'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Source: White Flower Farm

Image courtesy provenwinners.com

'Plum Passion' Hydrangea

Modern-day plant explorer Dan Hinkley discovered 'Plum Passion' hydrangea on one of his many trips to China. This truly remarkable hydrangea is prized for its beautiful foliage, which is dark purple on the top side of the leaves and rosy-purple on the underside. In fact, it's one of the only purple-leaf hydrangeas we know of. 'Purple Passion' develops medium-size rosy-purple flowers, but the foliage is the real reason to grow this new variety.

Name: Hydrangea aspera 'Plum Passion'

Growing Conditions: Shade or part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 6 feet tall and wide

Zones: 7-10

Source: Monrovia

Image courtesy monrovia.com

Tuff Stuff Hydrangea

A vigorous reblooming hydrangea, Tuff Stuff is a new lacecap variety that's covered in semidouble to double reddish-pink flowers from midsummer until frost. In acidic soils, the flowers may shift to blue. In our Test Garden, it was in almost constant bloom right up until frost.

Name: Tuff Stuff Hydrangea serrata 'MAK20'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 26 inches tall and 36 inches wide

Zones: 5-9

Source: White Flower Farm

Midnight Magic Crape Myrtle

New from plant breeder Michael Dirr, Midnight Magic is a gorgeous dwarf crape myrtle with deep purple foliage that highlights large clusters of mauve-pink flowers throughout the summer. It's a fast grower that will quickly reach 12 feet tall, and it's drought- and disease-resistant.

Name: Midnight Magic Lagerstroemia indica

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 12 feet tall

Zones: 7-9

Source: Home Depot

Image courtesy baileynurseries.com

Princess Kylie Crape Myrtle

A brilliant choice for growing as a low edge or adding electric color to the perennial garden in summer, Princess Kylie crape myrtle offers bold magenta-pink flowers all summer and autumn. Its dwarf habit makes it easy to use in garden and landscape designs.

Name: Princess Kylie Lagerstroemia ''GA 0803'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall and wide

Zones: 6-9

Source: Garden Debut

Image courtesy gardendebut.com

ReBLOOM Azalea Family

It's easy to be a little disappointed with old-fashioned azaleas: They look beautiful for a few weeks, but then they're just green blobs in the yard. Newer breeding, such as the ReBLOOM series offers so much more -- flowers in spring then again in summer and autumn. Colors in this new family include Red Magnificence, Blush Elegance, Purple Spectacular (shown), Fuchsia Extravagance, White Nobility, Cherry-Pink Prestige, Coral Amazement, Pink Adoration, and Firebrick Fame, so there's one for every look.

Name: ReBLOOM Rhododendron

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, acidic, well-drained soil

Size: To 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 6-9

Source: Garden Debut

Image courtesy gardendebut.com

Encore 'Autumn Jewel' Azalea

One of the newest members of the everblooming Encore Azalea family, 'Autumn Jewel' produces a nonstop show of deep pink double flowers from spring until fall. And for winter color, the plant's normally bright green foliage turns a deep pretty purple. It's also one of the more cold-hardy Encore Azaleas, surviving winters as far north as Zone 6.

Name: Rhododendron 'Autumn Jewel'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, acidic, well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 6-9

Source: Encore Azalea

Image courtesy nationalgreencentre.org

Encore 'Autumn Lily' Azalea

Another great introduction to the Encore Azalea line is 'Autumn Lily'. This beauty develops an avalanche of snow-white, single flowers during spring, summer, and fall. The vigorous, upright plants look terrific en masse as a low hedge or screen. 'Autumn Lily', like other Encore Azaleas, tolerates full sun.

Name: Rhododendron 'Autumn Lily'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained, acidic soil

Size: To 4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 6-9

Source: Encore Azalea

Image courtesy nationalgreencentre.org

'Sparkling Sangria' Loropetalum

Fire up a dull landscape with 'Sparkling Sangria' loropetalum. It's a large, colorful shrub with gracefully arching branches clad in reddish-purple foliage and starlike bursts of bright red flowers. It can grow 8 feet tall and wide, so one plant will make a bold statement in your landscape. Or plant several to create an eye-catching hedge.

Name: Loropetalum chinensis 'Sparkling Sangria'

Growing Conditions: Sun

Size: To 8 feet tall and wide

Zones: 7-9

Source: Bailey Nurseries

Image courtesy baileynurseries.com

Pink Chiffon Rose of Sharon

Like other members of the Chiffon family of Rose of Sharon, Pink Chiffon is a tough yet elegant plant with graceful stems that bear gorgeous flowers from mid- to late summer. The semidouble flowers of newcomer Pink Chiffon are a deep pink, a color that doesn't fade in full sun. It looks terrific in the back of a perennial border in a large tub or container. You also can prune this handsome hibiscus, commonly called Rose of Sharon, into tree form.

Name: Pink Chiffon Hibiscus syriacus 'JWNfour'

Growing Conditions: Sun

Size: To 12 feet tall and 6 feet wide

Zones: 5-8

Source: Proven Winners

Image courtesy provenwinners.com

'Pink Frost' Purple Anise

When selecting shrubs for your landscape, always look for species that offer several seasons of interest. 'Pink Frost' purple anise is a great example for Southern gardeners. It has dark red, starlike spring flowers as well as beautiful cream-and-green variegated foliage throughout the summer. After the first frost, the leaves develop beautiful rose-color highlights. 'Pink Frost' also tolerates wet soil.

Name: Illicium floridanum 'Pink Frost'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist soil

Size: To 10 feet tall and wide

Zones: 6-10

Source: Bailey Nurseries

Image courtesy baileynurseries.com

Show Off Sugar Baby Forsythia

Just when you thought winter was never going to end, Show Off Sugar Baby forsythia bursts into bloom with its spirit-lifting boughs of golden blooms. This little overachiever grows only 30 inches tall, yet it produces more flowers per inch than any standard-size variety. It's also cold-hardy, so the flower buds won't freeze during a hard winter. If you are short on garden space, Show Off Sugar Baby is the perfect choice.

Name: Show Off Sugar Baby Forsythia 'NIMBUS'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 30 inches tall and 36 inches wide

Zones: 3-8

Source: Proven Winners

Image courtesy provenwinners.com

'Goldspur' Amur Chokecherry

Severe winters are no match for 'Goldspur' Amur chokecherry. This pretty, tough-as-nails shrub is hardy as far north as Zone 2. It's a narrow, upright, multistem plant that produces small white flowers in the spring followed by shiny black fruits in the summer. The shrub's smooth bark is ruby red.

Name: Prunus maackii 'Goldspur'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 12 feet tall and 6 feet wide

Zones: 2-8

Source: Bailey Nurseries

Image courtesy baileynurseries.com

Pucker Up! Dogwood

Redtwig dogwoods are prized for their gorgeous red bark that lights up winter landscapes. But newcomer Pucker Up! adds spring and summer interest with its glossy, textured foliage that's also resistant to leaf spot disease. Pucker Up! dogwood is a dwarf variety, growing only 4 feet tall. It's extremely winter hardy and will survive temperatures as low as -40 degrees F.

Name: Pucker Up! Cornus stolonifera 'Neil Z'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade

Size: To 4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-8

Source: Proven Winners

Image courtesy provenwinners.com

Lo & Behold 'Lilac Chip' Butterfly Bush

Butterflies will flock to your yard when you plant 'Lilac Chip' butterfly bush. This nonstop bloomer has richly fragrant, soft lavender-pink flowers that butterflies love. It's also seedless, so it won't become invasive in your garden. Because of its small stature, 'Lilac Chip' makes an excellent container plant, too. And it's deer-resistant.

Name: Buddleia Lo & Behold 'Lilac Chip'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 24 inches tall and wide

Zones: 5-9

Source: Proven Winners

Image courtesy provenwinners.com

Southern Lady Andromeda

Featuring better heat- and disease-tolerance than your average andromeda, Southern Lady is a brand-new belle for the garden. It features clusters of fragrant white flowers in early spring and lustrous, evergreen foliage that deer and rabbits typically don't eat.

Name: Southern Lady Pieris japonica 'Greprs'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, acidic, well-drained soil

Size: To 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide

Zones: 6-9

Source: Garden Debut

Image courtesy gardendebut.com

'Tiny Tower' Dwarf Alberta Spruce

Small gardens just got a new asset: 'Tiny Tower' dwarf Alberta spruce. This pyramidal evergreen gem is cute as a button, growing very slowly to 4-6 feet tall. Best of all, 'Tiny Tower' is deer-resistant and cold-hardy. It also requires little water once it is established in your garden. The plant has bright green needles that turn gray-green as they mature. Use 'Tiny Tower' in containers, or group them together in a sunny sliver of space.

Name: Picea glauca conica 'Tiny Tower'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 6 feet tall

Zones: 3-8

Source: Monrovia

Image courtesy monrovia.com

'Feelin Sunny' Cedar

Fresh from plant breeders in Oregon, 'Feelin Sunny' Deodar cedar sports dramatic golden-yellow needles that seem to glow, especially when planted near dark green plants. This low, spreading evergreen is ideal for rock or container gardens. 'Feelin Sunny' is also drought- and disease-resistant.

Name: Cedrus deodara 'Feelin Sunny'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide

Zones: 7-9

Source: Monrovia

Image courtesy monrovia.com

'Huber's Tawny Gold' Yew

Brighten your landscape with 'Huber's Tawny Gold' spreading yew. It grows slowly and reaches just 4 feet tall, and it's easily sheared to any shape. Unlike most yews that have dark green needles, this gorgeous conifer has eye-catching, tawny-gold needles throughout the year. It's relatively cold-hardy, too.

Name: Taxus x media 'Huber's Tawny Gold'

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide

Zones: 4-7

Source: Monrovia

Image courtesy monrovia.com

'Atomic Red' Trumpet Vine

Bigger and bolder than old-fashioned trumpet vine, 'Atomic Red' is prized for its orange-red flowers that gradually mature to bright scarlet. The flowers measure a whopping 3-4 inches long, making this new vine a top pick for trellises, arbors, or screens. 'Atomic Red' can grow up to 30 feet long, so be sure to offer it a strong support that can withstand the weight of a mature vine. It's also a hummingbird favorite.

Name: Campsis radicans 'Atomic Red'

Growing Conditions: Sun

Size: Climbing to 30 feet

Zones: 4-9

Source: Bailey Nurseries

Image courtesy baileynurseries.com

'Summer Cascade' Wisteria

Everyone loves wisteria, but it can be tough to grow in northern climates. Newcomer 'Summer Cascade' is hardy enough to bloom as far north as Zone 4. 'Summer Cascade' is prized for its fragrant 12-inch-long clusters of lavender-blue flowers in spring. Like other wisterias, 'Summer Cascade' is a vigorous vine that requires a sturdy trellis or pergola to support the weight of the mature plant.

Name: Wisteria macrostachya 'Summer Cascade'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: Climbing to 25 feet

Zones: 4-9

Source: Bailey Nurseries

Image courtesy baileynurseries.com