Exciting new tree and shrub varieties for 2022

You’ll love these hydrangeas, redbuds, roses, and more!

This content is presented in partnership with Rost Landscaping. There are a whole host of new or recently new trees and shrubs showing up in the market. Breeders have done a superb job! However, knowing if they will be available is a pretty big IF. Nursery inventory is the lowest we’ve ever seen it. A triple hit of the 2021 Texas freeze, Covid pushing demand over the top, and a strong housing economy have pretty much wiped-out nursery supplies across the country. So, if you find them, don’t hesitate to buy them. Here are a few great plants to look for in 2022. 

TREES Redbuds—With new propagation techniques making it possible to efficiently produce new cultivars, a great number have come into the market recently. 

• Flame Thrower: Awesome foliage display of new growth in burgundy, golds, and oranges. Stunning all summer long. Cross between Rising sun and Ruby falls bring the best of both parents. These sold out as fast as we could receive them last year.   
• Golden Falls: New compact weeping form with bright gold summer foliage. Can be staked to be a narrow tree to fit in tighter spaces. 
• Black Pearl: The darkest red summer foliage yet on a semi-dwarf tree. Nice tight dense form.
• Pink Heartbreaker: Best green-leafed weeper yet – greatly improved over Lavender Twist.

Seven Son Flower—China native that is an under-used late summer bloomer with two new varieties on the market.

• Temple of Bloom: The name alone is worth it! Tidy, heavy blooming small tree growing up to 18’ with beautiful bark and clean foliage—and it attracts butterflies.
• Tianshan: Bred in France, it is a dwarf variety only reaching 10’. Compact and heavy blooming. Again, butterflies and hummingbirds love them. Blooms in September in Missouri. 

SHRUBS Hydrangeas—Along with roses continue to drive the market in new and exciting cultivars. Their blooming power and hardiness make them an essential in every landscape. Probably 15 new ones on the market, but here are just a few to get you started.

• Limelight Prime: Huge improvement on the very popular Limelight. Somewhat more compact, and best of all the huge flowers are on sturdy stems which resist flopping like the original was prone to doing. This is a stunning plant.
• Little Lime Punch: The compact never-fail, heavy bloomer, Little Lime now has a partner—Little Lime Punch.  Again, sturdier stems, but most of all the lime-green flowers age to an array of white, pink and Hawaiian Punch red blooms. Reblooming all summer so you can expect the complete color mix for beautiful showstopper. 
• Little Hottie: Even smaller than Little Lime, this tight, upright variety will fit in the smallest of places. Proving to be an outstanding bloomer. I think it may become the “go to” dwarf. 

Roses—Petite Knockout. I thought knockout roses had run their course and were on the way out, replaced by even better varieties. BUT Petite Knockout is looking pretty good. Only 18” with fire engine red, 1 1/2” non-fading blooms, it is the first miniature knockout rose. Plant in mass, a tight space, or containers, they are a stunning rose. Grab them when you see them, they don’t stay on the nursery more than a day or two. A few other roses that are proving to be rock stars: Grand Champion Red, Top Gun, and At Last. At Last is a very fragrant, hardy shrub rose.

Spirea—Candy Corn. We never thought would see a showstopper in the spirea family. Leaves emerge bright candy apple red, maturing to a pineapple yellow, and the new growth continues to emerge bright orange all season. And yes, it flowers purple. When we can get this plant in, it stands out so much in the nursery that people are just drawn to it. Could have sold hundreds more than we were able to get. That being said, we aren’t sure what the 2022 supply will be. We are super excited about all these new varieties and it’s so remarkable what breeders are doing these days. We suggest doing a little research, shop quality nurseries, be leery of marketing gimmicks, and do some experimenting—you don’t need to be a plant junky to have some great plants in your landscape. 

It will be exhilarating to check out these plants as they become available in the spring, just in time for Superior Garden Center’s mid-March opening!