Highlights from the 2026 California Spring Trials
At this year’s California Spring Trials in Santa Paula, we had a great time hosting our visitors at our Perennial Pro Shop!
For those who couldn’t attend CAST26, we created a golf-themed display decked out with new intros of Grasses and Daylilies.
All nine varieties of the rust-resistant Hemerocallis DayScape™ Series were on display showcasing their unique flower colors and clean foliage. This show-stopping flower is self-cleaning with continuous blooming. Varieties of this Daylily include:
- Berries and Cream
- Coral Blaze
- Coral Frill
- Golden Blaze
- Golden Yellow
- Lemon Meringue
- Peach Flame
- Scarlet Burst
- Scarlet Ribbon
Our Perennial Pro Shop also featured our latest addition of Grasses for the landscape. Two new series of ornamental grasses, Dream Catcher® and Free Spirit®, captured the interest of visitors and growers at CAST26. They offer a unique option and something fresh and new to their grass programs.
Grass Dream Catcher includes three varieties: Lightning Bolt® with an upright habit through rain and wind, Smoky Rose® with a compact habit, and Tumbleweed® with a rounded shape and a tumbleweed appearance when in flower.
Grass Free Spirit also include three varieties: Blue Arrow® with a shape of a broad arrow in a steel-blue color, Comet® with an upright habit, and Mystic Purple with blades that turn into beautiful tones of purple and red with silver plumes.
“Dive into Spring” with these new varieties
With our “Dive into Spring” display at CAST26, Darwin Perennials featured the Helianthemum SunBurst™ Series. It puts a whole new spin on an old school perennial genus, adding something different to the early Spring retail bench. Available in three brightly colored varieties: Pink, Rose and White. It’s also an excellent option as a hardy groundcover in the landscape.
The springboard exhibit also introduced our new Spanish Lavender program. Two varieties with strong, consistent habits are available: Plum Perfect and Poppin’ Pink, which brings a novel pink flower color that we hadn’t offered from Darwin Perennials before.
As the new varieties dove into Spring, the existing Spring Showcase varieties cheered them on from the bleachers (pictured here). Noteworthy spectators included Phlox Candy Cloud™ and Geranium Purple Glow, which continue to gain popularity among growers and retailers.