Fleuroselect’s 2026 Award Winners
Fleuroselect trials annuals and perennials at numerous locations across Europe. The trial entrants are judged by Fleuroselect’s expert and independent judges, and award winners are selected based on receiving outstanding scores on innovation, beauty and garden performance. The 2026 Fleuroselect Award winners are:
Echinacea hybrida Gold
Echinacea hybrida Gold from American Takii is a 2026 Approved Novelty Winner. It’s considered to be a next level F1 hybrid with strong branching, excellent flower uniformity and remarkable plant resilience. This medium sized coneflower produces loads of 3.5-inch (9 cm) gold colored flowers in the mid-summer. It grows 16 in. (40 cm) tall, and I’d anticipate it to be cold hardy to at least Zone 4 (I haven’t seen any hardiness study results on it yet). I also haven’t found it on American Takii’s U.S. website or any other websites; therefore, I anticipate it’s not immediately available. Stay tuned and be on the lookout for this award winner.
Digitalis Hanabee White
Hanabee White, also from American Takii, is a 2026 Fleuro Star Winner. This F1 hybrid digitalis is touted as being next level breeding in
Digitalis purpurea. It branches profusely from the base of the plant, producing multiple stems with an abundance of flower power. Its pure white tubular flowers are pollinator magnets. Hanabee white grows 16 to 24 in. (40 – 60 cm) tall and is hardy to Zone 4.
2027 Sneak Peek
While sharing the 2026 Fleuroselect Award winners, I thought I’d provide a little sneak peek into the sole 2027 perennial award winner.
Heuchera sanguinea Heucherette Pink
Heuchera Heucherette Pink from PanAmerican Seed impressed the socks off the Fleuroselect judges (nothing like being barefoot in the garden) and received both the Fleuroselect Gold Medal and Approved Novelty awards. This
Heuchera sanguinea cultivar is the first seed cultivar with exceptionally strong flowering, large pink blooms that mature to rich rose tones, and with a unique foliage pattern. It’s a reliable first-year flowering perennial, making it conducive for today’s marketplace. It grows 10-14 in. tall (25-36 cm). Heucherette Pink is currently listed as having hardiness to Zone 6; however, I’d expect this will change as more hardiness studies are performed.
What’s Going on In March?
As you would expect, the number of trade events significantly declines in March as growers and retailers are likely up to their eyeballs in spring preparations and/or sales. Here’s a handful of events I thought would be worthwhile passing along.
Simply click the name of each event you are interested in for event and registration information.
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March 3-5, 2026 |
Kalamazoo, Michigan
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March 3-4, 2026 |
Novi, Michigan
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March 4-6, 2026 |
Washington, D.C.
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March 8-11, 2026 |
Minnetonka, Minnesota
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March 8-12, 2026 |
Sydney, Australia
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March 24-27, 2026 |
Northern and Central California
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There’s Still Time to Discover the Hottest New Perennials
I mentioned this livestream in the last issue but I didn’t want you missing out on seeing the hottest new perennials from Walters Gardens and Proven Winners if you hadn’t gotten around to registering for it yet. So, here’s a gentle reminder and a recap.
Livestream: The Hottest New Perennials of 2026 (and a Sneak Peek at 2027 Standouts!)
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Date: Thursday, March 12, 2026
Time: 1:00 p.m. Eastern/12:00 p.m. Central
Come join perennial guru Laura Robles (Walters Gardens Regional Product Manager) as she reviews 15 of the hottest new perennials available at retail in 2026. As an added bonus Laura will also be providing a sneak peek at 15 perennials Walters Gardens is planning to introduce in 2027.
Laura will share her knowledge and expertise as she delivers practical insights, best practices and growing tips to help you optimize plant performance and increase sales. Be sure to bring your perennial questions!
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Sponsored by: Walters Gardens
Click
HERE to sign up to attend this FREE must-see livestream.
Weeds, Weeds and More Weeds
If you’re on the production side of the business, I’m sure you’re already all too familiar with weeds and how problematic they are and how costly they can be to manage.
A weed management program is a must for most greenhouses and nurseries. This means having a plan in place and actively managing it rather than just dealing with weeds when you can get to them. The fewer weeds you have at any given time results in fewer weeds to actively manage over time.
I invite you to join Dr. Anthony Witcher–Tennessee State University at 1:00 PM EST on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 as he presents “Weed Control in Propagation: Sanitation, Mulches, and Pre-emergence Herbicides.”
This FREE webinar is part of the tHRIve series hosted by AmericanHort’s Horticultural Research Institute (HRI). Dr. Witcher will discuss:
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How weeds can begin in propagation then persist throughout the production cycle.
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Using sanitation practices to prevent the spread of weeds.
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How mulches and pre-emergence herbicides can be used to suppress weed seed germination and growth.
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Best management practices for preventing weed infestation in greenhouses and nurseries.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
TIME: 1:00 PM Eastern
REGISTRATION: Dr. Anthony Witcher–Weed Management Webinar
Give Credit to Those Who Deserve It
Have you come across a young up-and-comer who you just know is destined for great things? Perhaps they are innovative, a problem solver or demonstrates leadership abilities beyond their age. If you have, I encourage you to nominate them for the 2026 GrowerTalks Young Grower Award or Green Profit Young Retailer Award. These two awards are excellent ways to recognize the up-and-coming professionals in greenhouses and garden centers.
The nominees for each of these awesome awards must be under 35 years old as of July 14, 2026, and reside in the U.S. or Canada. The editors of Ball Publishing will sort through the candidates and will select three finalists for each award. The finalists will each get to write guest editorials for the June 2026 issues of GrowerTalks (Young Grower Award) or Green Profit (Young Retailer Award), attend Cultivate’26, and attend a special dinner alongside Ball Publishing’s editors, judges and sponsors.
The winners for each of these awards will be announced at AmericanHort’s Unplugged event during Cultivate. Each winner gets a cover story in the September issue of these prospective magazines. Additionally, the winners will get to help select the 2027 winners.
Please hurry to get your nominations in as the deadline is March 1, 2026. You can nominate a friend, colleague, coworker, employee or even yourself. Follow these links to submit your nominees:
Thanks to all of the sponsors (AmericanHort, Ball Horticultural Company, BASF and The Garden Center Group) for making these awards possible!
My email is paul@pace49.com if you have any comments, article suggestions or if you'd just like to say hello.
Best regards,
Paul Pilon
Editor-at-Large—Perennial Pulse
National Sales Manager—Pace 49, Inc.
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