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Annuals That Like it HOT!

by Marsha Haefner

as seen in "The Gateway Gardener" - April 2006

Remember last spring, walking into your favorite garden center and finding all of those beautiful, new annuals that you couldn’t wait to plant in your garden? Selecting the perfect plant that becomes the jewel of your garden is always exciting! Those who get to admire your gardens are impressed with your amazing gardening skill, and you get to enjoy your efforts for an entire summer. What could be better than that?

That’s what happens when the plants you selected in April and May live up to their promises and expectations. The extreme heat, humidity and drought challenged even the most seasoned of gardeners in the St. Louis area this past summer.

Now that the planting season is winding down, I decided to survey professional growers and home gardeners around the area. I asked them how they felt some of the newer annuals that were the “buzz” last spring performed during this difficult summer. I wanted them to separate the winners from the losers and the “good” from the “not so good”. I wanted the local professional growers to tell me what will be in their production plan for next spring, and what will be replaced with the next newest, greatest plant.

Of course, there was quite a variety of answers. Everyone had their favorites, realizing that Wave Petunias were a given! However, a few of the new plants were consistently mentioned and stood out as true winners at the end of summer 2006. It’s a sure bet that we’ll see a lot of these plants next spring at savvy garden centers throughout St. Louis. They are perfect for commercial landscapes and home gardens across the area. These are the annuals that really can take it!

Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ was by far the plant most often mentioned in the (unofficial) survey that was conducted. It’s a unique compact plant that is stunning in beds, baskets and containers. With delicate gray-green foliage and tiny non-stop white flowers, it was a powerhouse all summer long. It never appeared stressed during prolonged heat and drought. It’s predicted that ‘Diamond Frost’ will become more and more popular as gardeners experience success with this tough beauty. More availability is likely next spring at local garden centers.

Phlox hybrid ‘Intensia Neon Pink’ is a beautiful annual that had impact when viewed from near and far. It’s a Proven Winner selection that will remain in the “yes” column for local growers as they plan for next spring. This new type of annual phlox comes from Germany and has won numerous awards. ‘Intensia Neon Pink’ is a vigorous, free flowering cascading plant with ½ to 1 inch hot pink blooms. It is a perfect choice for any container including hanging baskets. It also does well as a landscape plant. This is one of the few plants that remained happy when the heat was on!

Lobelia hybrid ‘Laguna Sky Blue’ deserves a mention as a keeper. This is one of the most stunning blue flowers ever grown! It’s a great companion plant in containers and baskets. Plant it with other sun loving blue, yellow and pink annuals and you’ll have a masterpiece. With care, it is considered heat tolerant. But most everyone surveyed stated this plant did suffer a bit during the prolonged heat. It tended to “fizzle” a bit in late August, but all agreed it should be given a chance to put on one more show before frost. This beauty really shined with its intense sky-blue blooms!

Capsicum ‘Black Pearl’ was the most talked about new plant last year and an “All American Selection” award winner for 2006. One look at this plant and it’s easy to see why it won the award! It is an upright ornamental pepper with semi-glossy deep purple to black leaves. Shiny round black-purple “pearls” of fruit grow at the top, and will mature to red later in the season. (They’re extremely hot, so don’t try to eat them!) This plant held up well in the heat, and continues to thrive in cooler weather making it a great choice for fall mixed containers. The only surprise with ‘Black Pearl’ was that the fruit didn’t set until mid to late summer. The response to this new plant has generally been good and we expect to see more of it next year.

Ruellia brittoniana commonly known as Mexican Petunia or False Petunia has become a real conversation piece in downtown Kirkwood as well as Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis. Now, it’s really not a new introduction, nor is it related to the petunia family. But it does deserve a mention here because of the outstanding way it performed this past summer. These tropical plants that are seen around town are native to Mexico and have beautiful lilac-blue flowers that open each morning, and close at sunset. Blooms are abundant from spring until frost. They took the heat and drought all summer long and have no diseases or pests associated with them. Mexican petunias are perfect 3 foot tall companions for mixed gardens and containers. Other added bonuses— they’ve been known to come back after a mild winter and butterflies love them. These will be around for many springs to come!