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The new Senetti® Blue Spoon stands out with electric-blue, spoon-shaped flowers that deliver instant shelf appeal.
Looking back on IPM ESSEN 2026, innovation was everywhere. Across the show floor, breeders and growers presented new plant introductions shaped by climate pressures, changing consumer behaviour and the commercial realities of modern ornamental production.
During the week, the AIPH team joined a guided tour of selected novelties led by Michael Perry, widely known as Mr Plant Geek, horticulture communicator and host of the AIPH International Grower of the Year Awards. A long-standing observer of breeding and retail trends across the global horticulture sector, Perry used the walk not to catalogue every new introduction, but to highlight novelties that reflected wider shifts in breeding priorities and market demand.
Michael Perry, known as Mr Plant Geek, guides members of the AIPH team through standout novelties at IPM ESSEN 2026, highlighting key breeding trends and retail-ready innovations.
“Novelty today isn’t about being different for the sake of it,” Perry said during the tour. “It’s about solving problems – for growers, for retailers, and ultimately for consumers.”
One of the strongest themes Perry highlighted was the continued search for reliable colour outside peak seasons, particularly during winter and early spring.
“Winter is still a really underdeveloped moment for colour,” he explained. “If you can offer something that flowers through the colder months and keeps going until spring, that’s incredibly valuable.”
Among the novelties reflecting this approach was Pericallis x hybrida Senetti® Blue Spoon, recognised in the IPM Novelty Showcase. With its compact habit and distinctive spoon-shaped ray florets, the variety offers strong visual impact at a time when choice is traditionally limited, while remaining straightforward for growers to handle and transport.
Suntory Flowers Europe from Leimuiderbrug (Netherlands), pictured here with Ed Mol, Yumi Murata, Hiroshi ABE, and Francesca Lanzillotta, for their new variety, Pericallis x hybrida Senetti® Blue Spoon.
Longevity was repeatedly linked to value. “If a plant gives you weeks of colour rather than days, it changes the whole conversation around price and sustainability,” Perry said. “Living plants with roots offer something fundamentally different from short-term decoration.”
Rather than introducing unfamiliar genera, many of the novelties showcased at IPM ESSEN were based on plants already well known to consumers, but refined for new settings and expectations.
Outdoor gerberas were a clear example. Once firmly positioned as indoor decorative plants, modern garden gerbera breeding has focused on resilience and extended flowering.
“People already know what a gerbera is,” Perry said. “You’re not asking them to learn something new; you’re just saying: ‘This one works better outdoors’.”
Garden Gerbera Garvinea® Sweet Pastry, bred by HilverdaFlorist, was highlighted as a strong illustration of this trend. Compact, floriferous and reblooming, it bridges the gap between bedding plants, patio containers and informal cutting.
HilverdaFlorist from De Kwakel, Netherlands, pictured here with Stein Schouten, for their new variety, Garden Gerbera Garvinea® Sweet Pastry.
Perry described this crossover as part of a wider move towards what he calls “bouquets with roots” – plants that deliver immediate impact while offering longer-term value once planted.
Urbanisation and smaller living spaces were clearly reflected in the woody plant categories, where compact growth and adaptability featured prominently.
A fig is normally a big tree, Perry noted when discussing Ficus carica Fignomenal. “But this has been bred to stay small. Suddenly, you can have a fig on a patio. That’s a genuine innovation.”
Fitzgerald Nurseries Ltd. from Kilkenny, Ireland, pictured here with Pat Fitzgerald, for their new Ficus carica Fignomenal (‘PT-DF-14’ PBR).
The variety, developed by Fitzgerald Nurseries, combines ornamental appeal with edible potential, meeting the needs of urban gardeners and balcony growers.
Climate resilience also featured strongly. Yucca ‘French Flag’, recognised in the perennial category, stood out for its drought tolerance and architectural form.
“These are the kinds of plants people are actively looking for now,” Perry said. “They’re tough, low-maintenance, and fit with how people are thinking about water use and long-term planting.”
Plantipp BV from IJsselstein, Netherlands, pictured here with Kim van Rijssen, with their new Yucca ‘French Flag’ PBR.
Several novelties also reflected a growing overlap between cut flower and garden markets. Clematis AMAZING®™ TOKYO, bred by Marginpar, was recognised in the cut flower category for its sturdy stems and open flower form.
“It’s a cut flower that florists love,” Perry said, “but it also has real garden value. That dual purpose gives growers more flexibility and helps spread risk.”
He added that this type of crossover thinking is becoming increasingly common, as breeders look to maximise performance across multiple end uses.
Marginpar BV from Aalsmeer, Netherlands, pictured here with Helena van Achterberg, for their new Clematis AMAZING®™ TOKYO (‘Zo07201’ PBR).
Throughout the tour, Perry emphasised that successful novelties are rarely the result of a single actor.
“What you see here is collaboration,” he said. “Breeders, licensors, young plant producers and growers all feed into what finally reaches the market.”
The tour introduced a broad range of new entries across categories, with the examples discussed reflecting some of the broader directions shaping ornamental plant development today.
As Perry concluded, “The most exciting plants aren’t just the ones that look good today. They’re the ones that still make sense five or ten years down the line.”
Diderk Heinje Pflanzenhandelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG from Jeddeloh, pictured here with Sebastian Heinje, for their new rhododendron ‘Grazeasy® Purple’.
While the IPM Innovations Novelty Showcase winners drew deserved attention, Perry was equally keen to spotlight finalists and category shifts that may prove commercially significant in the seasons ahead.
Hellebores, he noted, have quietly undergone a transformation. “They’re no longer just early spring garden plants,” he observed. “We’re now looking at four to five months of flowering, from December right through to April.”
Double-flowered and water-lily forms are increasing consumer appeal, while their suitability as both cut flowers and garden perennials creates dual-market potential. Their longevity and repeat flowering reinforce longer-term garden value rather than seasonal replacement.
Large-flowered cyclamen selections demonstrated how traditional indoor plants are being reimagined for greater garden impact and extended seasonal performance.
Cyclamen hybrid ‘Elixir’ by Morel Flowers, was another example of category expansion. Larger and more exuberant than traditional compact pot cyclamen, it offers a perennial, shade-tolerant option for borders. “It’s less tidy from a grower’s perspective,” Perry acknowledged, “but from a consumer point of view, it fills a gap.” The shift reflects demand for impact plants that return year after year, particularly in shaded garden spaces.
Compact woody innovation was also evident. A reduced-form strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) bred to remain around two feet in height combines ornamental fruit with patio suitability. Perry linked this directly to the growing UK appetite for “edimentals”, plants that combine decorative and edible appeal, particularly for smaller urban gardens.
Environmental considerations were equally visible in new dwarf Buddleia breeding. Modern selections now flower for up to five months and are largely sterile, addressing long-standing concerns about invasive spread. “That changes the conversation entirely,” Perry said. “It opens the door for bedding and container use without the environmental worry.”
Hardy landscape species such as Raphiolepis were highlighted for their coastal and wind tolerance, reducing failure rates in exposed planting schemes.
Prostrate rosemary forms demonstrated how even familiar herbs are being repositioned, enabling uses in hanging baskets and cascading wall plantings.
Perhaps most forward-looking was the Herba Flora range, a collection of nine plants bred specifically with environmental performance in mind. Developed in collaboration between Greenwood and Pinnacle Plants, the range focuses on traits that reduce air and noise pollution. Perry suggested this represented a broader shift in plant selection criteria. “We’re starting to see planting chosen for what it does, not just how it looks.”
Greenwood Plants were named AIPH International Grower of the Year in 2024 and continue to demonstrate innovation in perennial breeding and landscape-focused plant development.
Across categories, a clear pattern emerged: longer flowering periods, environmental responsibility, compact forms for urban living and plants selected for function as well as form.
For Perry, these were not isolated novelties, but signals of how breeding priorities are aligning with climate pressures, consumer space constraints and measurable environmental performance.
The IPM Innovations competition, initiated by the Central Horticultural Association (ZVG), attracted 42 entries from 27 exhibitors. Eight varieties were recognised across six categories.
Anthura BV from Bleiswijk, Netherlands, pictured here with Erwin Koopstra and Johan van Vliet, with their new Tillandsia Camina®.
Awarded introductions included:
As preparations begin for IPM ESSEN 2027, the 2026 novelties offer a clear snapshot of how breeding is adapting to environmental pressure, urban living and shifting consumer expectations.
Kordes Jungpflanzen Handels GmbH from Bilsen, pictured here with Christian Kordes, for their new variety Cercis griffithii Blue Lagoon (‘RAFMAR1’ PBR).
