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Katie’s Top 10 Picks - Annuals
Spring is finally here and with it all kinds of wonderful new plants to tempt you!! Annuals are a fantastic addition to any garden. They can be planted outside after all danger of frost has past in the spring – usually June 1st is a safe bet in this area. However, you can always purchase plants early to get the best selection and harden them off gradually by putting them outside in the day and moving them inside at night until the weather warms up enough. At the end of the season, most annuals will die off with a hard frost. Just pull them out and start again next year. Annuals will provide continuous colour all season long and look great planted in the ground in amongst perennials or used in containers to brighten your deck, patio or door step. Please remember to fertilize your annuals throughout the season, especially if they are planted in containers. Sometimes the choice of annuals can seem overwhelming, even to seasoned gardeners, but I hope to help make the choice easier with my no fail Top 10 list! All the plants that made the list are my personal favourites, chosen for their exceptional performance and ease of care. Choose from this list and you can’t go wrong!!
Begonia Dragon Wing Red
This plant is a fantastic and versatile performer in both sun or shade. It is perfectly happy either in a shady, moist north location or a full sun, hot southern exposure. The bright red flowers create a real colour impact and are held in arching clusters over glossy green foliage. Dragon Wings are very easy to grow, requiring no deadheading and forming large mounds about 12” in height. They will tolerate a light frost in the fall. Great in hanging baskets, planters or in the ground and stunning combined with Sweet Potato Vine Lime. This combination has been planted in the Creemore street planters for a few seasons now, withstanding the rigours of street life well!
Papyrus King Tut
If you are looking for something exceptional and unusual to add that WOW to your garden, then why not give King Tut a try! This foliage plant grows very tall, reaching heights of 3-6 feet. Strong, tall stems of grass shoot up and open at the top in light and airy tufts of fine grass. Due to its height and dominant presence, this grass makes an excellent specimen plant both in containers or in the ground. In containers, combine with other foliage plants such as Sweet Potato Vine and Plectranthus Nico or plant alone for a minimalistic effect. King Tut grows well in a range of light conditions – from full sun to full shade and makes an exotic statement!
Talinum Limon
I love this unique plant!! Foliage is a bright and fresh lime green, similar in colour to Sweet Potato Vine Lime and forms an upright mound. Above and amongst the foliage, tiny pink flowers are held on upright stems that later turn into tiny red seed pods. It is fabulous used in the centre of planters as the seed heads will intermingle with other plants, creating a soft and airy effect. Talinum Limon grows best in full sun but will tolerate part shade well. It also handles heat and drought stress well. It will grow about 18- 24” in height. Try Talinum in the centre of planters as a fresh alternative for the tired and overused Draceana spike. It combines beautifully with any colour scheme and will last well into the fall.
Euphorbia Diamond Frost
This plant is very much underused, maybe due to its neutral white colour, but its uses are numerous. Tiny, bright white delicate looking flowers are produced in abundance, forming an upright mound, similar in effect to Baby’s Breath in a cut flower bouquet. However, this vigorous plant is far from delicate as it thrives in full sun and loves heat. Diamond Frost will keep flowering well into the fall, withstanding a light frost and requiring no special treatment or deadheading. Fabulous in mixed planters or happy in the ground where it will grow about 12” in height. Combine with Talinum Limon and Bidens Goldilocks for a delicate, airy effect.
Supertunia Vista Bubblegum
This spectacular and unique trailing Petunia will stun you with its massive size! Bubblegum pink flowers cover the plant for the whole season and will withstand a light frost in the fall. Bubblegum is extremely vigorous, forming a huge and beautiful mounding and trailing plant. No deadheading is required. As with all Petunias, grow in full sun and ensure that you fertilize it well. Use a water soluble fertilizer with every watering. Ideally, add a sprinking of slow release fertilizer too and this plant will be happy and just keep getting bigger! Combine with Supertunia Vista Fuchsia for a unique 2 colour effect!!
Superbells Dreamsicle
Superbells are our best selling hanging baskets and for a good reason too! They are available in a huge colour range, love sun and heat and require no deadheading. Dreamsicle is my favourite Superbell as the colour is such a unique rich orange. They are fantastic in a hanging basket or planter, forming large arching upright mounds that hang over pots. Over the summer they just keep on getting larger and more stunning! Combine with Supertunia Royal Velvet and Bidens Goldilocks for a bright and bold combo.
Sweet Potato Vine Lime
There have been many new colours of beautiful Sweet Potato Vines introduced in the last few years, but I still love Lime the best. This vigorous mounding, trailing plant is a real show stopper, creating a tropical effect in planters and hanging baskets. The colour is very bright and shows up from a distance. Leaves are large and can hang down several feet by the end of the summer. A word of warning though – Sweet Potato Vines do not like the cold, including a cold wind. Make sure the weather is warm enough before you plant out in the spring. In fact, this plant loves the heat - the hotter the better for this foliage beauty! Combine with Begonia Dragon Wing Red for a stunning no fail display all summer.
Superbena Royale Chambray
Verbenas are available in a range of colours but the deep violet - blue of Royale Chambray always calls to me the loudest! Flowers are formed in large clusters, creating a vivid effect. Plants will mound and trail, getting larger all season. They are easy to care for, loving heat and full sun, but tolerating some shade if necessary. Verbenas are extremely long lasting annuals – they are one of the last annuals to keep flowering into the fall. For the best effect, keep plants deadheaded. I love combining Royale Chambray with other blue tones such as Supertunia Bordeaux, Superbells Blue or Lobelia Sky Blue. Verbenas also thrive planted as a ground cover in garden beds, filling in gaps between perennials and shrubs.
Argeranthemum Daisy Butterfly
This yellow Daisy is my all time favourite annual Daisy – and I’ve grown lots of them over the years! It grows into a large, bushy, upright mound, reaching 24” – 36” in height. Flowers are yellow and will cover the plant until frost. Since it grows so tall, ensure that the container you grow it in is large enough and that the flowers you plant it with are also on the taller side, so that it stays in proportion with them. I love planting 6 or 7 of these Daisies in a wooden barrel and letting them fill out over the summer. Butterfly should be planted in full sun and deadheaded regularly. It will tolerate light frosts and cooler weather in the spring and fall.
Cleome Senorita Rosalita
We have grown this stunning Cleome for many years now and everyone who tries them always comes back for more the next year! Like the Butterfly Daisy, it too is a large, bushy plant and performs beautifully in a barrel or in the ground. Again, be careful what you combine it with as it grows so tall and could easily dwarf other plants around it. Lilac coloured flowers cover the plant all season long. They do not require deadheading – the only maintenance being regular fertilizing. Senorita Rosalita loves the sun and heat and will grow up to 36” in height. I plant Senorita Rosalita each year amongst my perennials – they fill in gaps and provide season long, easy colour amongst the perennials.
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