Get ready for a great gardening season in 2006. Among all the wonderful cacti and succulents that you’ll find at garden centers and nurseries are some exciting new spurges or Euphorbias.

There are a number of new spurges or Euphorbias available that are usually hardy and can be grown as perennials. With a few exceptions, the ones below will be hardy in some areas. For the most part, these do best in full sun to partial shade.

Euphorbia polychrome Bonfire is an unusual kind of spurge. While many varieties may start out highly colorful in the spring, they typically are green throughout most of the growing season. Now there is one that retains its lovely color, and it is appropriately named Bonfire. The foliage emerges green, quickly attaining its lovely reddish-burgundy color. Initially, the spring flowers are yellow, eventually becoming orangish. These blooms contrast beautifully with the foliage. This plant has a neat, uniform, mounding growth habit. It spreads to about 1½ feet. Gardeners will like the fact that Bonfire requires little attention. There’s no need for trimming or staking this beauty. The species plant from which this variety is derived features red fall foliage. Bonfire is recommended for hardiness zones five through nine and heat zones nine through four. Apparently, this was originally discovered in New England.

Euphorbia Helena is a Proven Winners introduction for 2006. Recommended as a perennial for zones four through eleven, this features gorgeous variegated foliage in a mix of creamy yellow and green. This variegation also shows up on the white and yellow flowers as well. When the weather turns cold, the cream becomes a lovely pink. Helena is about 1¼ foot in diameter. This is recommended for zones four through ten. It is suitable for perennial borders, mixed borders, and container gardens.

Proven Winners is also introducing Euphorbia Diamond Frost. For best results, this should be grown as an annual and container plant since it will not be winter hardy in all regions. This award-winning variety garnered numerous honors. For example, it received 24 awards in field trials from Massachusetts to Texas. In addition, this was named the Plant of the Year in 2005 in the United Kingdom. Diamond Frost is ideal for using in hanging baskets, and mixed containers as well as an annual in flower beds and borders. Perhaps a little over a foot in height, this plant is quite tolerant of drought. This has a mounding growth habit. The attractive foliage is held on slender stems. As you might tell from the name, Diamond Frost features masses of cloudy-like white bracts at the tips of the stems.

Euphorbia amygdaloides Orange Grove is named for its beautiful flowers. This hybrid starts out a chartreuse, and deepens to orange. The new foliage provides an additional source of color with hints of red. This perennial has a spreading, compact growth habit. It is recommended for zones six through ten. Orange Grove is suited to shady areas, including spots with dry soils.

Proven Winners is introducing several other spurges or Euphorbias in 2006. Euphorbia Efanthia is a hybrid that grows to a little over a foot in height. It features vivid green blossoms during the spring months. When the temperatures are low during the spring and summer, the tidy, greenish-blue foliage shows signs of purple along the margins. At that time, the undersides of the leaves will be red. The new foliage is pinkish-red. This is suited to zones four through ten.

Euphorbia Kalipso is also from Proven Winners. This reaches about ¾ to a foot in height. This dwarf plant has a neat, mounded, compact, bushy, well branched, rounded shape. The yellowish-green to greenish flower clusters are beautifully displayed against the moss green to bluish-green foliage. This is an ideal choice for container gardens and beds with limited space. It is recommended for zones six through ten.