TAKE FIVE! Non-Stop Blooming Annuals
Fool-proof, powerhouse annuals are on my MUST HAVE list. Here are five front-runners for high impact, low-maintenance gardens and containers:
Supertunia Vista ‘Bubblegum’. Let’s salute the 2017 Annual of the Year! This nonstop blooming annual covers two to four square feet. WHAT?! ‘Bubblegum’ blows your characteristic view of petunias. No deadheading required, sweeping flower-covered stems, drought tolerant, and pollinator friendly. ‘Bubblegum’ is an ideal choice as a landscape groundcover, spectacular spiller for containers, or any location where you want a superhero annual! Sun to Part Sun (Pictured: Supertunia Vista ‘Bubblegum’, ‘Silverberry’ and ‘Fushcia”)
GRACEFUL GRASSES ‘Prince Tut’. This dwarf Egyptian Papyrus (Cyperus) is about half the size of ‘papa’, ‘King Tut’, making it better suited for many containers and smaller gardens. The shorter stems are very sturdy and less likely to flop. Although more compact at 18” – 30” tall, its poms are still large and flamboyant. ‘Prince Tut’ can be used in water or bog gardens as well as in soil with average moisture. Give it full to part sun and then recline on a lounge chair, fan yourself with one hand and nibble a cluster of grapes dangling from the other hand (or better yet, have someone else hold them for you!)
Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ Shimmering white confetti dancing in the air all summer long until frost. That’s ‘Diamond Frost’. This tough-as-nails annual is drought and heat tolerant, requiring NO deadheading for a marathon of color. Don’t limit it to containers as a spiller plant (it trails to 24”). Tuck it into the landscape, creating ‘vase-like arrangements’ in full to part sun. Its white, billowy flowers bring out the best in plants valued for their flowers or foliage! ‘Diamond Frost’ is also deer resistant and salt tolerant. Who said diamonds are a girl’s best friend?!
Canna ‘Toucan Scarlet’ Hubba-hubba. This spicy, continuous blooming Canna will have people staring. ‘Toucan Scarlet’s racy scarlet-red flowers adorn bronzy-chocolate foliage for a riveting combo. Highly tolerant of heat and humidity, it grows to 30” – 48” in full sun to part sun. Like other Cannas, it can adapt to damp areas but is just as happy in moisture-retentive soil. The luscious flowers of ‘Toucan Scarlet’ are greeted by butterflies yet ignored by deer. Supplemental summer feeding with a liquid organic fertilizer, such as Espoma’s organic Bloom! 1-3-1, will support a rich show all summer long.
ANGELFACE ‘Blue’ Angelonia. This blue ‘summer snapdragon’ pumps out blue-purple flowers nonstop into fall. The flowers cover almost 2/3 of the non-floppy, upright stems, creating a dazzling display. An efficient self-cleaner, it doesn’t put deadheading demands on you. A bonus is its grape-scented foliage. ANGELFACE ‘Blue’ is drought and heat tolerant, thriving in full sun. It tops out at 18”-24” and never gets an unwanted trim from nibbling deer.