Perennial Plant Association National Symposium 2025 Recap
It is fitting that my first blog post coincides with another first – my first time attending the Perennial Plant Association (PPA) National Symposium. The symposium took place from July 28-31, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. Industry folks with a particular passion for perennials gather from around the globe to discuss and learn about perennials!
The Darwin team was there as a vendor to catch up with customers and talk about our assortment with other interested attendees. Just like the First-Year-Flowering Tool, we shared the booth with our sister company, PanAmerican Seed. The booth featured an array of vegetatively raised, tissue culture raised, and seed raised varieties.
Everything looked great and garnered lots of attention, but my favorites were those also featured in the New Variety Showcase. The first of these featured varieties is Coreopsis Sunfetti. Its flower power is something to behold. The latest addition to our Heuchera Carnival series, Lime Zest, was another standout. Unfortunately, the florescent lighting in the hotel didn’t do it justice, it truly shines the most in the shade of your garden.
Tied for most showstopping were our Rudbeckia Suntacular and Brunnera Frost King. Rudbeckia Suntacular is a stunning bicolor variety with a great columnar habit and Brunnera Frost King has huge, silvery foliage that is loved by people and hated by deer. In addition to Frost King, we featured several other Brunnera varieties which garnered the most attention from those who stopped by the booth. Whether it is jumbo foliage or striking silver color, the assortment of Brunnera has something for everyone (except for the deer).
The booth and the New Varieties Showcase weren’t the only places to find our Brunnera in their full glory. Unlike many of the other industry events that I’ve attended, the PPA places a unique emphasis on education by scheduling breaks from the tradeshow to listen to various speakers from the perennial world and to attend tours curated to showcase perennials and their application throughout local landmarks and culture.
It was at one of my tour stops that I saw the range of Brunnera in the wild! The Iowa Arboretum’s recently established trial garden featured tons of Darwin varieties and other perennials for the public to behold. Below is a photo I took of the newly planted Frost Magic at the arboretum – its silver foliage is absolutely breathtaking!
Next year, the PPA will be hosting the National Symposium in East Lansing, Michigan. I look forward to seeing all the familiar and new faces there!