What would you guess is one of the fastest growing trends in gardening? The answer is more color in the landscape using annual bedding plants. Bedding plants are primarily annual crops grown in “beds”. The most common varieties are annual flowers, vegetable transplants, herbs and a few herbaceous perennials. In some years ago, the favorite bedding plants in terms of numbers sold were impatiens, petunia, cutting geranium, vinca, pansy and begonia.
Now, let me give you my list of top performers that should be used more in hot summers. These plants may not be beautiful in the traditional way that you are used to seeing color according to the flower. Instead, many of these have striking foliage that offer great color, as well as diverse texture.
- Lantana (lantana camara)
- Firebush (hamelia patens)
- Joseph’s Coat (alternantha ficoidea)
- Scaevola (scaevola aemula
- Coleus (coleus species)
- Wedelia (wedelia trilobata)
- Copper Leaf (acalphya wilkesiana)
- Nierembergia (nierembergia species)
- Iresine (iresine lindenii)
- Starflower (pentas lanceolata)
A great bedding flower introduced to florists in 1996 is the “Fantasy” series petunia. This petunia has also been dubbed “Milliflora” which implies thousands of tiny flowers. Now I don’t know if you’ll get thousands of flowers on a plant, but “Fantasy” is definitely a new class of petunia. It has a compact growth habit with continuous flowering, unlike the traditional and most commonly used trailing varieties. The flowers are smaller, very showy, and available in seven colors. The miniature habit of “Fantasy” makes them ideal for containers, window boxes, hanging baskets, as well as border and edging plantings.
The suggested bedding flowers and shrubs may not be easy to find at your local retail garden center But, if you give them the Botanical name they should be able to locate them from their wholesale sources (remember customer requests usually result in better supply). One reason these particular bedding plants may not be readily available is due to the customers first impression to the plant at the garden center. Take Firebush for example. It looks pretty sad in the small pot where it has been grown in a relatively cool greenhouse. Plant it outside in the heat and it will provide you with height, colorful foliage, and small flowers for the hummingbirds.
The majority of these annual varieties prefer full sun. As a matter of fact, it is best to plant them in late April when the soil temperatures really start to warm up. These beauties get better and better as the summer gets hotter. Joseph’s Coat, Copper Plant, Coleus, and Wedelia can tolerate some minimal shade. However, plants that prefer sun can loose some of their striking color when grown in too much shade. The exception is Iresine which performs in shade or sun.
Request information on the potential growing height for the varieties you select. Some can grow three feet tall like Firebush and Copper Leaf, while others like Wedelia are very aggressive ground covers. Generally locate the taller plants in the back of the beds and the smaller ones near the front. Most bedding plants grow best in soils that have been amended with organic matter and drain well. Consistent fertilizer applications are also very important when growing bedding plants. This can be accomplished by using a complete analysis, slow release fertilizer or applications of water soluble fertilizer according to directions.
Growing annual bedding plants
You’ll enjoy the beauty and low maintenance aspects of growing these annuals even more if you’ll also mulch the beds. I like to use cotton seed hulls because they pack down nicely and allow water and oxygen movement. I till them into the soil at the end of the growing season to add organic matter. A cotton plant or two may germinate in the mulch, but they are easy to remove. These bedding plants known to thrive in the heat will still need an occasional watering during drought times and especially for a few weeks after planting. They are generally not bothered with insects or diseases. None-the-less, always keep an eye out for pests, especially under stressed growing conditions.
So, give these a try if you are wanting annual bedding plants that love summer! And, don’t give up on trying to locate a source. Your neighbors will also be raving over the color and texture in your landscape – color that should last right up until frost!