We asked top seed suppliers to tell us about the new flower, vegetable and herb seeds that they’ll be offering in 2025.
New seeds to buy in 2025 – these are the new seeds for the coming year – don’t miss the chance to try them out
Fancy growing something new from seed this year? We asked a range of top seed suppliers to tell us about the new flower, vegetable and herb seeds that they’ll be offering in 2025. From a pale and peachy sweet pea (or a Barbie-pink one, if that’s more to your taste) to an apricot sunflower and a magenta cornflower, there are plenty of exciting new flowers to grow. If it’s veg seeds you’re after, why not try a new dual-purpose onion, a cold-hardy mizuna, a super-hot chilli or a small ‘micro’ aubergine that’s perfect for pots? Or update your herb garden with a beautiful ornamental basil or red water pepper.
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New seeds on sale for 2025
FLOWERS
Sweet pea ‘Castlewellan’
Lathyrus odoratus ‘Castlewellan’ is a beautiful long-stemmed variety of sweet pea, with unusual pale peach-cream flowers. It is a grandiflora sweet pea that has a strong scent, excellent petal size and stem length. Makes a great cut flower and could be perfect for a wedding bouquet.
Height: 2.4m.
Buy from Chiltern Seeds
Sweet pea ‘Barbie Mix’
An eye-catching blend of large vivid pink and brilliant white flowers. The flowers on these vigorous plants have a strong fragrance. Ideal for cutting and bouquets.
H x S: 2m x 30cm.
Buy from Thompson & Morgan
Cornflower ‘Red Boy’
The flowers of cornflower ‘Red Boy’ retain the informal looks of traditional blue cornflowers but come in an eye-catching deep pink. The long stems are perfect for cutting and will last up to seven days in a vase. A great choice for wildlife-friendly gardens, attracting a host of pollinators. Easy to grow and tolerant of poor soils.
H x S: 1m x 30cm.
Buy from Thompson & Morgan
Didiscus caeruleus ‘Lacy White’
A beautiful white-flowered variety of the blue lace flower, Didiscus caeruleus. The large, lacy umbels of the flowers are held on erect and sturdy stems. Ideal for cutting; lasts well in water.
Height: 60cm.
Buy from Chiltern Seeds
Sunflower ‘Astra Rose’
Sunflower ‘Astra Rose’ is a unique variety with a distinctive flower form and colour. Emerging in soft cream and changing colour to apricot/pink, the semi-double flowers have fluffy chocolate-brown centres. It produces lots of flowerheads over a long flowering season.
H x S: 1.2m x 60cm.
Buy from Thompson & Morgan
Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Colletta Pink-White’
Cosmos are easy to grow from seed. This was trialled on Chiltern Seeds’ trial plot in 2024 to great success. The pretty white, semi-double flowers are streaked with varying degrees of pink.
Height: 1.2m.
Buy from Chiltern Seeds
Digitalis montrosa
This rare and unusual foxglove in shades of purple, pink and white has tall spires that terminate in a large bell-shaped flower – caused by a genetic mutation. Could be something of a ‘marmite’ choice?
H x S: 1.2m x 45cm.
VEG
Mizuna ‘Vitared’
A new, vigorous variety of mizuna that has attractive red stems and veining and deeply cut and fringed leaves. The leaves have a fresh, crisp taste and can be used raw or cooked. Highly resistant to cold and grown extensively during the winter months in Japan.
Buy from Chiltern Seeds
Salad onion ‘Ruby Red’
Onion ‘Ruby Red’ is a multi-use red onion, with a sweet and mild taste. For spring onions, harvest them young and pink-flushed, when they’re perfect for salads. Alternatively, allow to mature to full-size bulbs with burgundy skin and red flesh, which keeps its colour when cooked. The harvested mature bulbs will store for five to six months.
Sow: March to July Harvest: June to October.
Buy from Thompson & Morgan
Aubergine ‘Baby Black Jack’ F1
T&M’s first micro-aubergine, ‘Baby Black Jack’ produces dark-purple golf-ball-sized fruit and is perfect for small spaces. The compact plants reach a height of just 35cm and will happily grow in 2-litre pots on windowsills or greenhouse shelves.
H x S: 35cm. Sow: February to March Harvest: July to October.
Available from Thompson & Morgan
Chilli Pepper ‘Pit Viper Naga’
Chilli ‘Pit Viper Naga’ is a one of the hottest chillies there is, with fruits measuring up to 1,000,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units). A hybrid of ‘Ghost Pepper’ and ‘Trinidad Scorpion’ ‘Pit Viper Naga’ produces high yields of 5cm long, wrinkled and pointed fruits.
H x S: 1.2m x 60cm. Sow: February to April. Harvest: July to October.
Buy from Thompson & Morgan
Spring onion ‘Marksman’
Spring onion ‘Marksman’ is a hardy, UK-bred variety chosen for its versatility and ease of growth. It also boasts a long cropping period, meaning it can be harvested from spring through to autumn. It is suitable for growing in containers.
Buy from Unwins
Spinach ‘Nevada’
Spinach ‘Nevada’ is a fast-growing variety that produces smooth, thick leaves that are easy to harvest and have a long shelf life. This spinach also has a long cropping period, from spring until late autumn. Also suitable for growing in containers.
Buy from Unwins
HERBS
Basil ‘Sally’
This ‘lettuce-leaved’ basil is very ornamental, with large dark green leaves that are dappled with very dark purple. Like all basils, it prefers well-drained soil and a sunny position.
Buy from Chiltern Seeds
Red water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper ‘Rubra’)
Jekka McVicar of Jekka’s Herb Farm is always propagating, finding or trying out new herbs and 2025 is no exception. “We have a number of new herbs available by seed and these include red water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper ‘Rubra’),” she says. “Red water pepper has dark red leaves that are highly flavoured with a sudden intense heat. They are added just before serving in Japanese and Vietnamese cooking. It will make your tongue tingle!”
Sweet wormwood or Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua)
“Sweet Annie has highly aromatic and finely cut bright green leaves with tiny yellow flowers clustered in loose panicles. Medicinally, it is very important and endorsed by the WHO for the treatment of malaria,” says Jekka. “We are very pleased to have just harvested enough seed from Jekka’s Herbetum to start selling it online.”