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Flowers & Plants

2007-06-01 16:32:00

Annuals that ‘W0W’!

Answer:While perennials and bulbs go in and out of bloom, annuals provide the garden with season-long color and continuity. At Botanica, many of our annuals are selected because of their heat and drought tolerance and as the temperature increases, they really begin to shine. As June turns up the heat, here is a list of “hot” summer annuals, recommended for your yard by our garden staff. Evolvulus: This is a low prostrate plant with a 4-6” height and a 24” spread. It has a grey-green foliage with small, sky blue flowers and is great for hanging baskets or front edgings. Lantana: This is the number one annual for attracting butterflies. It comes in multi and single colored flowers and a few varieties have variegated foliage. The upright form reaches heights of 24-36” and the trailing form grows 8-12” in height with a 24” spread. Lisianthus: This is a plant with a height ranging from 10-24”. It has a silver-green foliage and the flower colors range from whites, to pinks, purples, reds and bi-colors. This plant stays very narrow, so it should be planted on 6” centers or it should be interplanted with another annual, like dusty miller, for upright support and contrast. Ornamental Peppers: ‘Jigsaw’ has been our favorite variety of Ornamental Pepper. It has purple and white foliage and reaches a height of 18” with ½”- ¾” triangular fruit that turns from purple to red as it matures. Two new All-American Selections introduced over the past few years are also good performers. ‘Chilli Chilli’ and ‘Black Pearl’ are great plants for adding texture to the garden. Pentas: This is the second best annual for attracting butterflies to your garden. These plants range in height from 18-24” and come in flower colors of white, pink, red and violet. New seed varieties are also making this plant more economical to produce for the home gardener. Sweet Potato Vine (Ornamental): At least 15 varieties of ornamental sweet potato vine can be found at local garden centers. The foliage ranges in shades of green, yellow, purple, bronze and tri-colored varieties. The leaf shape can also vary from heart-shaped to several cut leaf forms to a more standard triangular form. With a trailing habit that spreads between 5-20’, these plants are perfect in a container or for covering a hillside or retaining wall. Torenia ‘Summer Wave’: This annual comes in shades of blue, white, pink, purple, yellow and violet. This variety is heat loving and will tolerate full sun, although afternoon shade is always welcomed. The plant has an 8” height and an 18-24” spread. The common name for this plant is Wishbone Flower and because it is low growing, it works well in hanging baskets, containers and front edgings. Zinnia Profusion: This is a wonderful new selection of zinnia. The plant gets 15-18” in height and spread and has clean, mildew resistant foliage. Available flower colors are white, orange, yellow, pink and fire. There is also a double form available in the pink color. Zinnia (linearis or angustifolia): This is a small zinnia, having a height and spread of 12-15” with a ¾” flower. It is available in shades of orange, yellow and white. This heat loving plant is never out of bloom, never looks unkempt, and does not require deadheading. Also known as a Creeping Zinnia, it is best planted in front borders and edgings. Although this is a bit commercial, since we are a non-profit organization, the good people at The Q & A Times let us get by with it. If you want to see different varieties of annuals that thrive in south central Kansas, visit Botanica. Throughout the summer, more than 25,000 summer annuals will be blooming for your viewing pleasure from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. From our garden to yours: Best of luck in all of your gardening endeavors!