Top 10 New Annuals for 2011

Continuing on last week's theme of top performing annuals to check out for 2011, I now get to talk about the top 10 new annuals for this season. Some of these plants are new to market this year while some have been on the market for awhile but are new to Levi Runions Garden Center. New varieties are always exciting, even when they are old favorites that are making a comeback as some of these annuals certainly are. 

New for 2011

1. Petunia Black Velvet

This is one of the most highly anticipated new arrivals this year. Billed as the "world's only black petunia", this petunia is not merely dark purple but truly black. Black Velvet will be a fun one to add to container combos to add drama. Think of the possibilities! Also new for this year are Phantom, which features yellow stars on a black base color and Pinstripe, which has a creamy white star pattern on black.

2. Gryphon Begonia

This foliage begonia will add plenty of interest and texture to shade gardens. Large dark green leaves with white veining add a tropical look to shade gardens and will add drama and texture when combined with other blooming begonias such as Dragon Wing.

3. Plentifall Mix Pansy

A trailing pansy! This pansy will be another great addition to the shade garden. It can be used as ground cover for shade areas or used in container combos as a spiller. The mix is beautiful with shades of blue, yellow and white. 

New to Levi Runions

4. Lophospermum Wine Red

We had this vigorous annual vine last year in cream. I can't tell you how it fared because it flew out the door before it really even took off! The tubular flowers are adorable and the wine red will be magnificent. The plant can either be grown on a trellis or in a hanging basket similar to Black-eyed Susan vine.

5. Ornamental Grass Twisted Arrows and Twisted Dart (new for 2011)

Because Blue Arrows was so popular last year, we decided to expand our ornamental grass selection with these two interesting plants. Both are combined with curly juncus to give these plants whimsical curly leaves interspersed with the upright blue leaves the plants are known for. Twisted Arrows is the taller of the two with a height of 18 to 36 inches while Twisted Dart is more compact and shorter growing to 16 inches tall. Both are great as focal points in container combos. 

6. Rose Mallow (Lavatera trimestris silver cup)

This is not a new plant by any stretch but I saw this last year on the garden tour and I had to have it! This easy to grow annual looks like a hibiscus and grows very well here in our short summers. Plant details claim this plant grows to 36" but this one was at least 60". Perfect as a focal point in the garden. These gorgeous raspberry pink flowers will not disappoint. 

7. Vinca First Kiss Blueberry

Vinca is a great heat and drought tolerant plant for the sunny areas of the garden. Generally the colors tend to shades of pinks and reds but with First Kiss Blueberry the bloom is a deep blue color. Great variation for a tried and true plant. 

8. Zinnia Zahara Series

For zinnia lovers, this series is exceptional! Mildew and leaf-spot resistant, bigger blooms, continuous blooms, heat loving, drought tolerant plants in gorgeous colors. My favorite is the Starlight Rose which has to be the prettiest flower of any kind. We will also have Zahara Yellow which is a soft lemon yellow and Zahara Double Fire, a double zinnia in bright red orange.

9. Chocolate Cosmos

Smells like chocolate, look like chocolate! What could be better? This tropical perennial can be grown as an annual here. The plant is sterile so there is no reseeding as with the annual cosmos that are most common here.

10. Petunia Sophistica Blue Morn

Yes, last year I had the Merlin Blue Morn on my list of most anticipated. Wasn't impressed. Mostly because it died. So since I am still in search of a blue morn petunia to plant with my favorite red morn petunias I had to include this on the list. We did have a couple of other varieties of Sophistica petunias last year and were impressed with their growth habit and color. If this blue morn is like others in the series, it should not disappoint. 

Design Container Gardens for Multiple Seasons

With the upsurge in container gardening, I read much about seasonal containers. Spring containers, summer and fall containers. Even winter containers. Living in Minnesota with it's short growing season has not afforded me the luxury of more than one container garden season. I'm also stymied by seasonal allergies which makes fall gardening more than a little unpleasant. I suppose it can be done, but is there another way?

Here are the facts about frost dates here in western Minnesota: The risk of frost is from September 27-May 10. We have an average frost-free season of about 140 days. However, we are almost (note the almost) guaranteed not to have frost from May 21-September 16. That's actually only about 116 days (less than 4 months!) that we can generally count on.*

The advantage to container gardening is that we can plant earlier because containers can be moved into a protected area if there is a frost warning. This can extend our season by as much as 3 to 4 weeks as long as day time temps are warm enough. However, that's not always the case either. Yes, gardening in the Midwest is sometimes an exercise in frustration! I think that's part of why I love it. You just never know what you're going to get. 

I did do up some fall containers last year. They looked pretty good but the amount of time I got to enjoy them was fairly short. I wanted to enjoy them as long as possible because I had put the money into them and I ended up leaving them until the first snowfall and then had to drag those heavy things into the garage. As much as I love gardening, this is not ideal for me, nor is it money I care to spend for such a short period of time of enjoyment. 

The idea of planting up pots that would look good in the spring, summer and fall came to me last spring while working at the greenhouse. A friend of mine mentioned that she loved pansies but wasn't happy with them during the summer months. I said the trick was to plant them with other things that would do well in the summer so the pansies weren't the main show at that time. They look good in the spring, decline slightly during hot summer months and most times will spring back in the fall. 

That got me thinking about other plants that are less than spectacular in either the spring or summer but excellent in the fall. The first to come to mind was ornamental kale. I absolutely fell in love with it after my boss took this picture last fall.

Not that we need to see snow just yet but what Minnesota gardener doesn't love a plant that looks great through the snow?

However, kale isn't all that spectacular in the spring, and not all that much to look at through the summer either. It really isn't in it's full glory until the fall. This is not overly problematic when planting in the ground but for containers, it can be. My experiment this year was to plant the kale in a container with blue and carmine Picobella petunias in the front through the spring and summer. I loved the carmine and blue with the colors of the kale even though the kale wasn't full grown. I figured by the time the kale was gorgeous, the petunias would be played out. 

I was right and I was wrong. From the curbside the containers were eye-catching. The petunias were gorgeous all summer long, although towards the end of August they got a little played out. The kale didn't detract from the container, but didn't add much to it either until the end of August. Now, the kale is gorgeous AND the petunias have sprung back and look as good as they did in the spring! Turns out petunias can tolerate cool weather. From where I stand, I'd say they prefer it. 

Why I didn't know that before, I don't know. I now have a new found respect for petunias that I love anyway. This is one of the things I love about gardening. I always learn something new and I will never know it all ensuring that gardening will always provide challenges. 

The container today exceeds my expectations. Aside from some tweaking (there's always tweaking!) such as planting just one kale plant and getting something to keep the cabbage moths away from the kale, I will plant this container again next year.

Beside pansies, petunias and kale, other annuals that do well in the fall are dusty miller, calendula, bachelor's buttons. diascia, lobelia and nasturtium. Consider using these plants in your containers with other plants that do well in the heat of summer. Make sure to water containers well in the high temps so cool season plants won't die out. In the fall, you'll be pleasantly surprised when these cool season plants revive and take center stage again.


*Frost date stats from Dave's Garden.

Container Gardening Idea: Cool Season Charmer

2 Violina Orange Violas

4 Halloween II Pansies

1 foliage plant : Baby Tut, Big Twister or Ribbon Bush

I first showed pictures of this combo here. It didn't look like much at the time but I was hoping that it would grow up well and I have to say that it did indeed! As the name of this site suggests, I do love me some pansies and violas (they were my grandma's favorite flowers) so these trailing violas caught my eye immediately. I do not, however, generally like yellow flowers and definitely not orange. This picture once again puts the flower-color-namer-people under suspicion because I'm not sure on what planet these would be considered orange. They do have a slightly tangerine beard that I guess could be considered orange but the overall effect is YELLOW.

I did look up the other colors of this plant and the actual yellow of this variety is not nearly as stunning as this one but then again the picture of the orange doesn't do it justice either. At any rate, the whole reason that The Powers That Be (namely my friend who is my boss) chose this plant is for it's orangeness and it's cool season blooming as the high school colors here are black and orange. With the Halloween II pansies, this would make a great planter for graduation, right? Oh, well, best laid plans.

At any rate, this combo turned out to be a stunner after all even it didn't quite get the local high school spirit. I love how these violas trail, trail, trail and bloom profusely! They don't stop. The Halloween II pansies provide great contrast with their dark purple blooms and yellow eye. SImple, colorful and eye-catching. Good for our cooler weather here in Minnesota. Although we may see some decreased vigor in the extreme heat of July and August, this combo should pop back in September and look fantastic until freeze.

I did several variations of this planter using different foliage plants and they all seemed to do very well. My favorite is the Baby Tut. I think it provides the most  texture and interest. Who doesn't love a Baby Tut? I also did a version with Big Twister juncus which also turned out although it's a bit more subtle.

I had to try this combo at home. We sold out of Baby Tut and Big Twister early but that didn't matter because we did have Ribbon Bush. I had never seen this plant before so I had to bring it home to see what it would do. What better than to put it with my new favorite trailing shade plant?

It's not bad as combos go although my plants need some more growing up to match the planter at top! Patience...

I do have to say that I do love the Ribbon Bush. This is a shade foliage plant that actually gets some size. I have this on the east side of my house under an awning so it really only gets the early morning sun. At this point it's about  24 inches tall. Pretty good for a shade plant! And the texture is really interesting and fun. I do think this planter's finest hour will be this fall though.

This simple combo really packs a punch in the shade. Whether you choose a more tropical look with the Baby Tut (as if pansies could be tropical, HA!), a more subtle look with the Big Twister or a more unusual look with the Ribbon Bush, this cool season combo is sure to be a winner.

Gardening in the Shade: Using Container Gardening to Add Color

Adding color in shady areas can be difficult. When it comes to shade perennials many rely on foliage color and many flower in white. Pretty but not a lot of color. Container gardens with annuals can add a much needed color boost to shady areas. As an added bonus, container gardens can be rotated in and out of a shady area where other things might not grow.

It seems people equate shade with impatiens and for good reason. They are incredibly colorful, reliable bloomers and they grow well. I personally love them but even so I like a little variety. In the spirit of other very well loved and ubiquitous plants, rather than scrapping impatiens altogether, I suggest using them in new ways. Instead of using them alone or as the focal point, use them as fillers in your container combinations. Grow with coleus, upright fuchsias and shade tolerant grasses like King Tut.

Other plants that do well in the shade are tuberous begonias, lobelia, pansies and violas, torenia (both upright and trailing varieties) and upright or hanging fuchsias. With the exception of the upright fuchsias, most of these plants stay fairly small. Alone, they make look frail but planted together they have quite an impact. My daughter has planted container combinations using pansies, violas, torenia and lobelia outside her window for years and the effect has been outstanding. Colorful and robust.

One of the best shade plants is, of course, coleus. This plant has come a long way. I remember planting tiny little things from 4 packs that never got very big. They were colorful all right but not really that spectacular. With the Kong Series all that’s changed. Color and size! In the shade! In addition there are many, many, many varieties of coleus that do well in shade or sun in sizes from 14 inches to 3 feet.

My new favorite plant is the upright fuchsias. I’ve always been drawn to their beautiful flowers but am not generally a fan of hanging baskets so tend not to use them. However, there are several upright fuchsia varieties on the market. Most of them, including ‘Santa Claus’ and ‘Winston Churchill’ have the unique bi-color blooms traditionally associated with fuchsias. However, ‘Gartenmeister’ has a tubular bloom in a unique pink-orange color. These plants are wonderful in combinations. Be mindful, however, that these plants are grown as annuals in zone 4 so will not get to the shrub-size proportions reported in plant descriptions. In my experience, they will be 12"-24" at best.

So go ahead and add some color in your shady areas with container gardens. Use traditional shade plants in new and surprising ways while trying out new cultivars of coleus and fuchsia. With a little creativity and a few containers, your shade gardens will really shine.

Falling for Fall—Reviving Container Gardens

The sight of my burnt out flower containers at the end of August depresses me to no end. True, sometimes the cause of pathetic looking plants is my own fault for neglecting plants as I rush to get as much fun in as I can in the last bits of summer. But often for many plants, they are just at the end of their life cycle and there’s not much that can be done about that. Sure, some of the “annuals” we grow are really tender perennials not hardy to our climate and those, with a little care, we can stretch into the fall.

Early spring favorites of mine, pansies and violas will make a resurgence in the fall. While many people think these delicate looking flowers are tender, they actually thrive in cooler temperatures. It’s the heat that gets to them. A true Minnesota plant! Plant pots of them, baby them through the hottest days of summer (which means shade and some water), shear off the spent blooms and they will shine again in the fall. This is also true of most cultivars of osteospermum. They like cooler temps and will look great in the spring, take a breather during the heat of summer and come back swinging in the fall. In the case of osteos, I find that no matter what, they don’t do well in containers. I have much better luck planting these right into the garden. Other annuals that do well in the fall are calibrochoa (million bells), strawflowers, euphorbia, oxalis and sage. Using these annuals in some of your containers will give you some plants you can salvage to combine with other fall beauties when the others have gone to seed.

Ornamental peppers, kale and chard are also at their peak right now. I saw at one store where fully mature ornamental kale was being sold in a 8” pot for around $8. Not bad I suppose, but considering that if I was going to use kale I would want more than one, this is cost prohibitive. If I plan ahead in the spring I can purchase a 4 pack of kale for under $3, plant them either in my garden or in pots and have them ready to use in my fall containers. Easy and cheap, what could be better? This is definitely on my list for next spring.

I’ve also found that sacrificing some bloom time in the summer yields a longer bloom time into the fall. Specifically, I’ve found this to be true of petunias. Year after year, around mid to late July I found that my potted petunias were leggy and a little played out looking. Despite this, they would still be blooming so I was reluctant to cut them back. Short season and all, you know. This year I bit the bullet and pruned the plants by half around the beginning of August. Although my containers all have time release fertilizer, I also gave them a shot of liquid fertilizer as well. Petunias are heavy feeders and benefit from extra feedings even if you are using the time release fertilizer. I also had some lantana in some containers and trimmed those back as well. The result was, well, kind of ugly for a couple of weeks. But now they look like this:

Except for being windblown, this actually looks better than it did in the spring/summer. I’m sold. I’ll be pruning back potted petunias midsummer from now on.

You can also revive containers by pulling out the stuff that’s past its prime and replacing it with other annuals or things like red or yellow dogwood branches, curly willow, bamboo, or cattails. The cattails are rampant in ditches near here and I’d like to go steal some. It is okay in Minnesota to cut a few cattails for personal use in fall bouquets. Just don’t go trespassing…another experience I’ve had so you don’t have to. You can preserve cattails with hairspray. The cheaper the better so it has more lacquer in it. You can also add gourds, pumpkins and other seasonal items as decorative mulch to fill in where you have removed plants from containers.

This is my first attempt at reviving containers. I chose to do only the largest ones close to my front door since we’ll be spending less and less time out in the yard. Might as well make the effort with those containers that will provide the most punch. I removed the dried out sweet pea vines and the trailing verbena which if watered properly would have been just fine (oops, live and learn). I left the bacopa and sweet potato vine (which needs some dead leaves removed I see). I planted potted mums and placed several gourds around the base to fill in. Last, I pruned some errant branches from my red-twigged dogwood, stripped them of leaves and stuck those in to add height, color and texture. Not bad for a first attempt and certainly better than burnt out sweet peas and dead verbena.
Be creative. Recycle those cold hardy annuals and tender perennials you planted in the spring. Use branches from trees and shrubs in your yard for filler. See what fun fall containers you can create.