Best Annuals To Try in Your Garden

Canna 'Toucan' series

If you are designing your spring/summer flower garden, here are some of the very best annuals that you should shop for at garden centers. Most bloom heavily through late spring through the summer months. They are very heat tolerant and demonstrate exceptionally good disease resistance.

                                                                                    

Alternanthera 'Purple Prince', 'Plum Dandy'

Angelonia Serena™ series 

Begonia Megawatt™ - whole color series were impressive

Begonia Whopper® series green and bronze leaf types 

Canna Toucan™ series

Canna Cannova™ series

Celosia 'Arrabona', 'Fresh Look', 'Dragon's Breath', 'Prestige Scarlet', 'Intenz'

Coleus FlameThrower™ Habernero, Salsa Verde

Hypoestes Hippo™ Rose

Impatiens New Guinea Divine™ Red, Lavender Improved, Orange 

Lantana Bandana™ series

Lantana Luscious® series

Marigold Taishan™ series Gold, Orange

Salvia 'Mystic Spires Improved'

Marigold Antigua Gold

Marigold Dune Gold, Yellow 

Marigold Moonstruck Orange, Yellow 

Marigold French Bonanza Bolero Improved, Orange, Yellow 

Ornamental Pepper Midnight Fire

Pelargonium (Geranium) Pinto series

Pentas Lucky Star™ series

Petunia Supertunia® Bubblegum, Vista Fuschia, Lovie Dovie 

Petunia Red Velour

Petunia Headliner™ Banana Cherry Swirl

Salvia Rockin'™ Playin' the Blues™

Salvia 'Mystic Spires Improved'

Scaevola Whirlwind™ series 

Thunbergia A-Peel® Lemon, Orange, Tangerine Slice 

Vinca Titan series 

Vinca Vitesse

Zinnia Profusion™ series 

Zinnia Zahara™ series

Zinnia Profusion Double™ series 

Zinnia Zahara Double™ series

Ivy Geranium 'Lila Compact'

Ivy-leaf geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum) owe their name to their leaf shape. While zonal geraniums are favorites in garden beds, the vining or cascading ivy geraniums excel in hanging baskets, containers and window boxes.

Earlier this month I spotted this lavender beauty called ‘Lila Compact’ Cascade™ (photo) in downtown Asheville, NC. City grounds crews have hand-watered all plants over a 5-6 block area every morning since mid-May.

Improved modern cultivars exhibit better heat and drought tolerances than in the past. Newer cascading varieties of ivy geraniums are also more floriferous. Ivy-leaf geraniums grow best in cool climates and lots of sun. They handle 85°F summer temperatures for short stretches. In warmer areas of zone 7, place containers in partially shaded exposures. Ivy leaf geraniums don’t hold up to long periods of drought. They are planted outdoors after threats of spring frosts have passed and the soil/media has warmed up.

The single flowering types produce more blooms than the semi-double flowering varieties. Plants hold their compact form throughout the summer months. Many colorful varieties are available -- from 12” sized miniatures to the vigorous 4- 5 feet cascading types highlighted here.

Intensia® Phlox Stand Up to Summer Heat

Photo: 'Intensia Lilac Rose'
The Intensia® Phlox series are the result of a cross between P. drummondii and a southwestern U.S. phlox species. Growth is low and cascading which makes this annual phlox ideal for planting in the front garden border. Equally, Intensia® Phlox excel in mixed containers, window boxes, and hanging baskets.

Intensia® phlox grow to a uniform 8-12” mature height in full to partial sun (best in 6 hours or more sunlight). Intensia phlox possess exceptional heat and humidity tolerances and flower freely all summer long. Insect and disease problems are minimal, exhibiting above average powdery mildew resistance.

Annual phlox thrive in well-drained garden soil which has been generously amended with organic matter. After planting, water on a 7-10 day schedule, particularly when rainfall is not plentiful.

By mid-summer plants may appear seedy and overgrown. Mow them back to 5 inches high, add fertilizer, and irrigate. The phlox bed will perk up and re-bloom within a few weeks, and right into the autumn season.

Blooms are slightly fragrance and attract frequent visits from nectar-hungry bees and butterflies.Flower colors of the Intensia® series range from white, several pink shades, lavender, and purple.

Try 'Fireworks' Gomphrena in Your Garden

'Fireworks' gomphrena was a sensation in the University of Tennessee Gardens at both the Knoxville and Jackson locations in 2009. Gomphrena (globe amaranth) is a great summer annual that asks for very little care. It is heat, humidity and drought tolerant. Gomphrena hold up to the wind, blooming from day of planting in May (after danger of spring frost has passed) until first hard frost in autumn. No bug or disease touches them.

By fall most gomphrena cultivars grow 18 inches to 2 feet in height and 12-15 inches in width. Add another 12 inches for more the vigorous 'Fireworks'. Can't find 'Fireworks', try another cultivar favorite- 'Strawberry Fields'. Gomphrena attracts large numbers of butterflies and are great as cut and/or dried flowers.

Buy plants at local, independently-owned garden centers. Generally, "big box store" garden centers carry more common summer annuals and not gomphrenas.