Features
Introducing the 2025 ‘Year of’ crops

The National Garden Bureau recently announced the newest plants selected for their 2025 ‘Year of’ program.

For the ‘Year of’ program, the NGB selects plants and crops specifically for the North American market that are easy to grow, widely adaptable, genetically diverse and versatile.

The goal of the program is to help breeders, growers, retailers and marketers plan for the year ahead.

The 2025 Year of selections include: Asclepias (milkweeds), Caladium, Calendula, Dogwood, Monstera and Pea.

The crops chosen each year represent six horticultural categories: bulbs, annuals, edibles, perennials, shrubs and houseplants, a category added in 2022. 

2024’s ‘Year of’ crop selections include: African Violet, Squash, Angelonia, Lily, Buddleia and Hosta.

Marketing support
Once they’ve made their selections, the NGB then develops and makes available marketing tools to help members in the industry promote each year’s “Year of” crops. Promotional materials include: custom, hand-painted logos, hundreds of photos of all six crops, Power Point presentations, “Did You Know” presentations and graphics, printable posters and even pre-written social media posts, all of which can be downloaded and used for free after November 1. Prior to that time, more information about the program and its selected plants can be obtained by contacting the NGB.

Breeders, brokers, growers and garden centres across the U.S. and Canada can use this program as part of their marketing efforts. They can take advantage of the publicity the program generates by using the creative materials developed by the NGB in their own marketing.

Consumer promotion of the 2025 Year of the plants will get underway in earnest in early November, when a webpage for each selection will be launched where NGB members can share their own images of the crops.

Each of these crops will also be featured in future editions of Greenhouse Canada so stay tuned for more.

Founded in 1920, the National Garden Bureau is a U.S.-based non-profit organization whose mission is to disseminate basic instructions for home gardeners. For more information, contact NGB’s executive director, Diane Blazek at blazekdiane@gmail.com or info@ngb.org.