www.gardeningforlove.com - Planting annuals for spring and summer

Annuals for Sun:

The top three for sun in our garden are:

Calibrachoa (sometimes called trailing Petunia, or Millionbells) Although sold as an annual, our plants have survived many freezing nights and look set to be healthy come spring! These do look like Petunias, but smaller, on a mat of dark green, small pointed leaves. Ours did wonderfully by the mailbox with very little watering all summer, blooming continuously, two four inch plants growing to make a mat of 3 ft x 3 ft . These were developed by Proven Winner and now come in pink, red, yellow and lavender. You should find them in your local garden center, as we did, or you may buy them direct from Proven Winners.

Lantana is a not truly and annual, but a tropical perennial, meaning that in the warmest climates, it grows year-round. In California, it is so rampant that it is listed as a noxious weed and it is prohibited to sell or plant it. But here on the east coast, we don't need to worry about that. You will find Lantana available in pots, in pastels and white, or a tutti fruitti coloring-pink, yellow, and orange on the same plant. These will get going slowly until the soil is consistently warm, but will be dependable bloomers all summer.

Lantana is very drought tolerant, which is vital for sunny plants in the drought-stressed areas. By the time August comes, this plant will have made a shrubby mound, 18 inches high and two feet across, and it will bloom until frost. Cut the berries that come after flowering if you like, but even if you don't dead head these, they will continually bloom with little help from you. We have had them successfully winter over some years, too.

Our next favorite summer sun pick is Geraniums. This, too is a tropical perennial, and many a grandmother has a method for wintering these over from year to year. One reason that grandmas do that is Geraniums are realatively expensive compared to other annuals, but quite worth it, we think. You will need sun, at least 6 hours of sun. Geraniums will look sickly under either or both of these conditons: too little sun or too much water. We like the ivy-leaved and varigated (two-tone) leaved varieties best. The Balcon series, sold under several names in the US, are the kind that spill from beautiful window boxes in France and Italy. These have a smaller bloom and a trailing habit.

Two things to do to keep the Geraniums blooming: feeding, and pinching back. Water your plants with liquid fertilizer like Peter's every other week. And, only water the plants when the soil looks almost dried out. In a small pot, this could be almost daily. Keep pinching back, too - snap off yellowing leaves and dead flowers at the base of the leaf stem where it looks a bit swollen. If you bend it just so, it will snap off neatly. Try it and you will get the hang of it soon.

Ask gardengirl anything -speak on dear friend!

trailing Geranium

New Guinea Impatiens

Spring wants to fool us all with heady, sunny and warm days, but don't be taken in! Don't plant till after the last average frost date (April 15 in zone 7.) Check the date for your area by clicking here:Last Average Frost Date

Annuals - plants that have a life cycle of less than a year. Why do we bother with something that won't last forever? Because many annuals are so good about blooming on and on - giving us constant color for a season or two. The nice thing is, they are not too expensive, so you can add a punch to your view without much outlay. Here are some suggestions on getting started.

Choose annuals at the garden center that look well kept. Don't take home any plants that look like they have not been watered at the store. Yes, you can revive them a bit, but they will loose some health from the droughty ordeal. Water your plants as soon as you get home and keep them in a shady spot till you plant them, even if they usually like full sun. Try to plant them within a week. Don't buy more than you can install in one or two gardening sessions. It's better to return to get more plants when you are ready.
Take a tip from landscapers, who always add more soil when they change out the annuals. Except add something with a bit of nutrition - when you clear an area out, add a bag of composted cow manure from the hardware store and mix that in before you plant. Or, better yet, add your own homemade compost. If you are planting here and there, and not a whole bed, add a handful of compost to the soil as you plant.
Use some time released plant food when you plant - you will see this at the garden center or hardware store. The great thing about annuals is that they bloom on and on, but they need lots of feeding to make that happen. And, to really be like a pro, water every other week with liquid fertilizer, like Peter's or Miracle Gro. These steps really will keep your plants looking great.
Add Water Grabber or a similar gel-based watering aid if you can. It will help in the long run with keeping the plants watered. This is absolutely essential if planting in pots. See our page about planting in containers. These products work by growing and absorbing water and later releasing it, when the product shrinks back down in size. To use, sprinkle a small amount in a big bucket and fill it halfway with water. Let it sit several hours - overnight if possible. Then mix it into the soil when you plant.
The nitty-gritty: to plant, dig a hole in the soil at least twice the size of the root ball of the plant. Put the plant into the hole and add half the soil, mixed with compost, back into the hole. Water, filling the hole. Let it drain down and now fill the rest of the hole with soil and compost. Press down around the plant with your palms, so that you have pressed out any air pockets. It is important for the new root ball to have contact with the soil all around it. If roots reach out and find air, they wither up, so we want them to reach out and find nice rich soil. The soil should be even with the top of the soil on the potted plant, and they should both be level with or slightly lower than the surrounding ground. Water again, and water every day for 10 days to get the plants established.
Colors - choose a color scheme for your annual plantings - don't buy some of this color and some of that. You will get the most impact if planting a swath in the ground of the same color or a repetition of colors. Try not to combine magenta with red, or orange with red - too glaring. White is always a classic choice and looks so cool with green foliage in the heat of summer.
Height - just as if you were arranging little choir members by height, arrange your annual planting with the tallest varieties in the back and the shortest in the front. Read the little plastic tags stuck into the plant package and it will tell you how tall you can expect it to grow.

Left: Tuberous Begonia, Right: Rex Begonias used in the landscape

Dead head your annuals religiously. No, this is not a Grateful Dead thing. When a bloom fades and dies, the next thing it does in the life cycle is to set seed. Plants that are busy making seeds don't make as many flowers. So, we want our annuals to keep flowering. Pinch or clip off each dead flower at it's base. With a geranium bloom, follow the stem of the dead flower down to its base, and you will find a swollen joint. You can carefully snap off the stem at the joint. At each place that you cut back the flowers, the plant will branch out with at least two new stems, so this will lead to bushy, well-filled plants. You may even want to cut it back when you plant them to encourage bushiness early. We always cut our annuals back right before we go on vacation, since we won't be there to enjoy them. By the time we return, they are more lush than before!

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Popular Annual Combinations for Hot Weather

A classic look is cool green and white - white IMPATIENS, green and white CALADIUMS, white VINCA (Periwinkle,) all look good against backdrops of Boxwood, Holly, Acuba and other foundation shrubs. Add white BEGONIAS - the tuberous, exotic -leaved kind, or green and white COLEUS for a even more sophistocated look!
Deep reddish purples with chartruse (limey green) really pops out and looks very of-the-moment. Get this look using deep purple GERANIUMS, purple or chartruse SWEET POTATO VINE, purple CALIBROCHA, purple SAGES (SALVIA,) purple and red COLEUS, and CROCOSMIA bulbs. (see our SUMMER BULB page!)
Silvery foliage and deep pink is a hot combo now - get it with silvery-gray DUSTY MILLER or other ARTEMESIAS, pink CALIBROCHA, pink GERANIUMS, VERBENA, or PETUNIAS. A splash of white really makes this color combo pop - add white VERBENA, or pink and white COLEUS. CALADIUMS with pink hues will be an exciting addition, as will grey leaved SEDUMS spilling over the edges.

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Exciting Annual Vines from Seed!

NO summer garden will be complete without summer vines to give us heady fragrance and lush color till frost. Here's a list for you of some to try - they are all easy to get started if you follow our tips below.

Moonvine - giant white nighttime blooms

Morning Glories - so many colors!

Cypress Vine - tiny red funnel cups, ferny foliage, also known as Hummingbird Vine

Cardinal Climber (Ipomea solteri) - pinky red flowers, beloved of Hummingbirds

Canary Creeper (Tropaeolum) - buttercup yellow blooms

Scarlett Runner Bean - lovely flowers and beans, too!

Mina Lobata - red, orange and yellow flag like blooms all together!

HOW TO GROW THESE VINES FROM SEED:

- Soak the seeds overnight in a cup of water

- Loosen the soil in your selected location

- Put a strong stick, trellis, or chicken wire in place BEFORE you plant the seed.

- Plant seed after the soil is really warm, around May 1 or a little later.

- Water, water, water! The seeds need moisture to germinate, and the seedlings must not dry out. So be prepared to give them a drink every day for about a month, unless you have rain.

-Once the vines get going, they won't need much watering unless it is very dry. They will let you know by drooping.

-Enjoy!

You can START THESE SEEDS INDOORS, except for the moonflower, which resents this treatment. You will need an egg carton, some Jiffy peat pellets or potting soil and a very sunny window. Put the soil or expanded Jiffy peat pellet in the egg carton sections. Keep covered with plastic wrap till you see the sprouts emerge from the soil. Then, uncover and water gently every day. About two weeks ahead of time will give your vines a head start.

Annuals for shade and part shade:

The top two for shade in our garden are :

Impatiens are so easy and available in ever increasing variety- little double rose like flowers, big New Guinea hybrids in electric orange and red shades with yellow striped leaves. Just give them plenty of moisture and feed often with liquid fertilizer.

Caladiums - these graceful plants are valued for the large multi-color leaves held on 10-12 inch stems, not for the relatively insignificant bloom. They are really tropical tubers (like a bulb) native to South America. We buy them in bags, but Caladiums can also be found already growing in pots. Unlike spring bulbs, these are planted in the spring and will come up within a month of planting. We like to buy the bags of sorted-out colors - they look great in a big swath of white and green or pinkish red, but mixed colors are good too. We are planning to line a short shady walk with Ostrich Fern and 'White Queen' or 'White Christmas' Caladiums -very elegant.

Caladiums look great planted right behind some impatiens. Be sure your colors go together - no orange or coral impatiens with red caladiums, please! Try 'Thai Beauty' - deep coral pink leaves, much larger than most - up to 8 inches long. This variety is available at Jackson and Perkins. You can find mixed sorts in bags at your local Home Depot or Lowes. Read about more Summer Bulbs!

Dig a hole about 5 inches deep and one foot across. You can put about 5 buls in each planting hole, spaced out evenly.Ass some compost and peat as you plant, and water very well Plant the caladium bulb with the hairy looking part (that's last year's root) down, about 3 inches deep. If you have trouble with squirrels digging up your beds like we do, then place a piece of chicken wire over each planting hole before you mulch. Pin the wire down with u shaped landscaping pins or make your own from coat hangers. (Cut hangers with a bolt cutter, to make u shaped pins about 5 inches long.)

At the end of the fall, dig the caladium tubers up before the foliage dies down completely. Store in a mesh bag in the garage or basement till next spring, when you can plant them again!

Begonias are terrific additions for summer color. We winter ours over on a glassed in porch or in the greenhouse. The great thing about them is the leaf color and texture give as much enjoyment as the blooms do. Tuberous Begoinias offer wonderful, vibrant color with double, ruffled flowers, like the 'Extreme Red' offered by Proven Winners. Also try the hot new favorites, Rex Begonia, 'Great American Series' - these have bright pinkish leaves with interesting markings, and would make a dramatic contrast with caladiums.