Popular brand names such as Proven Winners provide reliable information about garden plants. The spring, 2009, list of top10 annual plants is one source of information gardeners should explore.
Annual garden plants that are easy to grow requiring lower maintenance make successful gardening fun and less expensive. Gardeners should look for categories like early spring, sun loving or shade tolerant, as well, to help narrow the search.
Early Spring Diascia
Scrophularlaceae is a family of plants that includes Diascia, Nemesia and the well known Snapdragon. Diascia, commonly called twinspur, is a mounding plant with an open growth habit. The flowers are tubular and the leaves are heart shaped. Diascia Flirtation™ Pink tolerates an early spring environment that has cool temperatures, short growing days, and occasional light frosts.
Easy to Grow Petunias
Petunia is a traditionally easy to grow flower that will attract pollinators. Gardeners should consider plant height, upright or trailing habits and bloom sizes as much as flower colors when picking plants for the garden. There are many types of Petunias to choose from including these:
- Petunia Supertunia® Mini Blue has dark bluish purple blooms on trailing plants.
- Petunia Supertunia® Citrus flowers have yellow centers fading to pale yellow and white at the margins.
- Petunia Supertunia® Vista Silverberry grows upright, two feet tall, and is a better choice for planting beds.
Low Maintenance Annuals
One annual plant maintenance task is deadheading, that is removing the almost faded or dead flowers from stems. Sometimes deadheading plants is for esthetics, but more often it is to encourage reblooming and growing a healthy plant. For this reason, plants that require no deadheading are called low maintenance. Here are more low maintenance ideas:
- Torenia Catalina® Gilded Grape is yellow with an inside purplish mouth. Torenias have tubular shaped blooms and forest green foliage. Torenia prefers part shade but tolerates summer heat.
- Calibrachoa Superbells® Trailing Lilac Mist grows many small petunia shaped flowers on each plant. Calibrachoa is a self-cleaning plant excellent for container gardens.
Annual plants referred to as sun loving, will grow in full sun. Most annual plants will bloom all season, however summer plants will have peak flowering during the hottest portions of summer. These are more summer plant ideas:
- Lantana Luscious™ Citrus Blend, like all Lantana, attracts pollinators and tolerates drought conditions. Known for multi-toned petal coloring, the trailing plant foliage is dark green. This plant does not require deadheading.
- Lobelia Laguna™ Heavenly Lilac has a soft lilac color. The cascading habit grows 8” – 10” long. Lobelia has a self-cleaning quality but, in addition, this cultivar has the added benefit of tolerating summer heat.
- Pelargonium Daredevil™ series is a zonal geranium. The flowers become large on fast growing plants. The seven colors include claret, fire, mulberry, orchid, rosita, salmon and snow.
- Verbena Tukana® Scarlet Star has very red flowers. Verbena is another flower that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. The plants should be grown in full sun and moist but well draining soil
History of Proven Winners
Proven Winners is an international plant grower of flowering bedding plants including annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses and shrubs. Founded in 1992, the company’s goals are to produce the best, most unique and highest performing plants. Proven Winners holds patents in the United States and Canada.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
Chris Eirschele - Chris writes on plants grown and gardens explored; she is a member of the Garden Writers Association.
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