Q. What are the plants of the year for 2025? – Anonymous
A. As gardeners we are always looking for different varieties of plants to add interest and diversity to our gardens. There are several organizations that announce a “Plant of the Year” so I thought I would mention a few that you may want to add to your garden beds.
The first “Plant of the Year” I want to talk about is The Perennial Plant Association’s “Plant of the Year.” It is (Pycnanthemum muticum), also known as clustered Mountainmint, blunt Mountainmint, or short-toothed Mountainmint. It is native to the meadows and open woodlands across much of the eastern United States and is a must-have for pollinator gardens. It is not a true mint but belongs to the same family and has similarly scented leaves. Its stems grow two to three feet tall and form a dense clump that can help control weeds in the garden. Mountainmint spreads using underground rhizomes. The plant’s flowers of tiny white to light pink, blooms, attract butterflies, wasps, and bees from July to September. Although the flowers are not very noticeable, they are surrounded by silver bracts which make them a beautiful addition to your garden. Mountainmint has no serious disease issues and is unappetizing to deer and rabbits.
The Georgia Pollinator “Plants of the Year” program annually recognizes four landscape plants by season. These are chosen by the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and are selected for their horticultural value, their ease of propagation, and their ecological significance. They support pollinators and grow beautifully in the garden.
Plants include a Spring Bloomer which is the Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia). The Chickasaw Plum is a shrub that may grow 15 feet tall. In early spring, clumps of small, 5-petaled, white flowers mature. It grows best in average, well-drained soil with full sun to part shade. The shrub produces a 1/2-inch, yellow-to-red drupe that matures in summer. It is an excellent nectar and pollen source for many pollinators in early spring. It serves as a larval host for the eastern tiger swallowtail and red-spotted purple butterflies. Its fruit is a food source for mammals and birds. Be aware that the pits contain cyanide compounds, which are poisonous. The pits are more poisonous if they are ground up/crushed or the seeds are chewed.
The Summer Bloomer is the Beardtongue (Penstemon spp.). It is an herbaceous perennial in the plantain family that is native to mountains of the southeast. This plant will grow to 3 feet tall when in bloom and gradually spreads 1-2 feet wide. It produces numerous, tube-shaped, dark-pink, white-throated flowers from May to June. These perennials attract hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, and specialized bees, like the Distinct Mason Bee. Their seeds are also attractive to songbirds. They thrive in full to partial sun with well-drained soil.
The Fall Bloomer is the Climbing Aster (Ampelaster carolinianus). It is also an herbaceous perennial. It can climb to the top of fence posts or trellises. The plant explodes with purple flowers from September to November. It needs good drainage and full to partial sun. It is a larval host plant for the Pearl Crescent butterfly and is a valuable resource for foraging insects. Its seeds are a food source for songbirds and small mammals.
The last of the Georgia Pollinator “Plants of the Year” is the Georgia Native, which is the Golden Groundsel (Packera aurea). Also known as Golden ragwort, it is a native perennial in the daisy family. It is found growing in forests, swamps, ravines, or riparian areas in eastern North America to Texas as an herbaceous flowering plant. Plant it in full sun to partial shade in average medium to wet soils. It forms thick spreading mats, and, in the spring, it sends up clusters of daisy-like flower heads, the petals and disk flowers are yellow. The plants blooms attract many pollinators and will even bloom in the shade, adding some much-needed brightness to shaded spots in the garden. The seeds provide food for birds. Allow it to naturalize in the landscape, use as a ground cover in shady wet areas, or along a border, in a bog, butterfly, or rain garden.
Georgia Native Plant Society also chooses a Plant of the Year. This year they chose Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) as their 2025 Plant of the Year. Blue-eyed grass is a low- growing monocot, with straight, flat, narrow leaves. It looks like grass, but it is a member of the Iris family. Each blue or violet flower is less than 1” across with a vivid yellow center. Both the leaves and flowers of blue-eyed grass lend character to any area. Consider using it in place of liriope. Blue-eyed grass grows in full or partial sun and can handle some dryness. Its flowers attract many bees and butterflies.
There isn’t one single “Shrub of the Year,” but various organizations have selected different shrubs for 2025, Proven Winners has chosen the North Pole® Arborvitae as the National Landscape Shrub of the Year and the Scentara Double Blue Lilac as the Flowering Shrub of the Year. There is also no single designated “Tree of the Year” for the entire USA. In 2025, the Northern Red Oak was named the 2025 “Tree of the Year” by a professional arborist and tree care company, while Proven Winners ColorChoice selected the Show Time™ flowering crabapple as their 2025-2026 Tree of the Year.
For additional details or more information, you can contact us for questions about any gardening issues; contact a Master Gardener Extension volunteer at the UGA Cooperative Extension Carroll County Office at 900 Newnan Road in Carrollton at 770-836-8546 or via email at ccmg@uga.edu.
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