Annuals for Fall

Fri. Aug. 31, 2018

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show:  Annuals for Fall

I think I echo many when I say, “this has been an odd year for the garden”.  However… we are approaching Fall.  The time of year when the air is generally crisper… today is not one of those (as I write this last Sunday)….  the humidity is yucky!  (scientific terms here on Garden Bite).  Anyhoo, our petunias are pooped and it’s time to move on…

This actually doesn’t look too bad in late August but it’s becoming leggy

All the plants I’ll mention now can handle a wider array of temps, so if it’s still hot, don’t worry and if a light frost starts nipping at their petals, don’t worry.

Osteospermum is one of my favorites. This flower is also known as the African Daisy.   Breeders are creating scads of lovely colors in shades of purple, yellow, orange, white, pink and blue and varying petal shapes to make them even more enticing.

Osteospermum ‘Serenity Rose magic’ by Flintwood Farms
Osteospermum ‘blue eyed beauty’ by Flintwood Farms

Don’t be alarmed if you come out in the evening and the petals have pulled in, they’ll reopen in the morning.

They can be the showcase to your trailing plants like calibrachoa, the mini petunia also called Superbells which last longer than regular petunias.

Lemon slice with coleus

This wonderful little eye popper also comes in lots of colors and is more heat tolerant.  Bacopa is another great trailer that prefers things a little wetter.

Bacopa

Lantana is a beautiful plant.  It’s a native of the tropical Americas and Africa.  The flower clusters come in many colors including several in one cluster.  Lantana is easy to grow and truly looks happy anywhere!  Lantana can be grown indoors!

Lantana – my burlap bag container

And no, I couldn’t forget mums!  The non-hardy variety have filled nurseries, grocery stores and big box stores.  Don’t forget flowering kale too!

Fall 2017