NEWSSCAPE
2025 "Year of the" plants announced
care tips, printable posters, galleries of photos, fact sheets and more. Each plant has a detailed webpage featuring consumer-friendly gardening information and fun facts to help educate and encourage consumers
inspire and motivate people to get involved in gardening and plant care, and members are experts in the field of horticulture. To help green professionals promote the 2025 “Year of the” crops, NGB is providing access to marketing tools on their comprehensive website, including hand- painted logos, “Did You Know?” graphics,
Each year, National Garden Bureau (NGB) selects superlative plants to represent six different categories as their “Year of the” crops. One annual, perennial, bulb, edible, houseplant and shrub are chosen because they are popular, easy to grow, genetically diverse and versatile. NGB is a non-profit organization that exists to educate,
to use these six plant genera: ngb.org/2025-year-of-plants.
Asclepias from Walters Garden - National Garden Bureau
Heart to Heart Heart and Soul from Proven Winners - National Garden Bureau
PERENNIAL Year of the Asclepias
BULB Year of the Caladium
Caladiums are native to the tropical forests of South and Central America where they thrive in high heat and humidity. European horticulturists have been cultivating them from tubers for their striking foliage since the 1700s, but they did not become popular in North America until much later. After the Second World War, breed- ers began growing caladiums in Florida, where the vast majority of caladiums are still grown today. Lake Placid, Florida, is now known as the caladium capital of the world, producing more than 90 per cent of the world’s caladiums. Site selection is key to growing vibrant caladiums. Choose a spot that receives filtered sunlight or light afternoon shade. While they love the shade, some tolerate full sun. Their most dramatic colours emerge with about four hours of dappled sun per day. When possible, shelter shade varieties from hot midday sun exposure which can cause fading or sun scorch damage. As lower caladium leaves age and fade during summer, they can be removed by pinching at the base. This neatens their appearance and encourages new leaf production, so plants stay lush all season.
Asclepias is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, and is a member of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae . Named for their latex, milkweeds exude a sticky and milky substance where cells are damaged. Monarch butterflies rely exclusively on milkweed plants as a food source for their larvae, meaning that without milkweeds, there would be no Monarch butterfly. Found throughout North and South America, there are many different species to choose from. Several are cultivated as ornamentals. Species that are native to your area are typically preferred, however, introduced species that are nonthreatening to native plants or ecosystems can coexist with the native plants. Know the status of the species for your region to prevent the expansion of harmful invasive species. Milkweeds can be started in the garden in a variety of ways: by seed, dormant roots or live plants. They are low-maintenance, longtime bloomers that come back each year.
continued >
8 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker