Information Please

I need some advice on plants that can stand up to full sun all day. I am looking for something to use in my hanging basket as well as some ground containers that will bloom all summer and not fade. I tried the heat wave petunia's last summer and the dark purple faded to an light lavender.

Maybe these would work well for you.

Convolvulus Royal ensign
http://www.sunriseseeds.com/Convolvulus.0.html


Calibrachoa
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Calibrachoa&sa=N&tab=wi

Thanks Pudgy I have some of the convolulus and will try them again this year. I really fell head over hills for the calibrachoa and all the different colors.

I really like it too, but I have heard that it is propagated by cuttings only, but I think I have seen seeds available. Might want to look into that first before you spend your money & then lose valuable growing time.
Donna

Oh, found the link I was thinking of:
http://davesgarden.com/t/391684/

and you might think about Asarina too. I love it & I grow a ton of it. Cannot get enough. It grows year around here if not exposed directly to frost. I have grown it is pots, as a climber and this year I am planting Asarina & also Diascia (another charmer that goes year around here) as ground covers in my flowerbeds.

I couldn't believe all the new colors they have this year.
I had the yellow ones last year planted in my ground containers but due to flooding most were wiped out.

I read that one last year and you will notice that someone sent me some seeds but it wasn't the colibrachoa at all, so this time I am looking for the plants.

So you were able to find them in your area, the yellow ones? I have not seen the plants locally, only online, like Park Seed, but it would be much more affordable (and bigger plants I am sure) to be able to pick them up.
http://www.springledgefarm.com/what_we_grow/Highlighted_varieties.htm
about halfway down the page. Called Calibrachoa 'Million Belles Terra Cotta' and Scaevola 'New Wonder' combination. Wow.

I'm trying to think of what I usually plant in the summer in Houston, where we have full sun all day too...

Mexican Heather is a very sun-proof plant, perennial, and has little purple blooms all the time.
Plain ole Sweet Basil is good for full sun. Blooms quite a bit, but will do better if you dont let it bloom.
Pentas also do well in my backyard, though they say they are part shade plants, they thrive in both sun and shade in my yard.
We also have a Jatropha, that has last several years in the full sun, we got it at about 2-3 ft and its now 5 1/2 ft.
http://davesgarden.com/t/415660/
butterfly weed (aschlepia) stands up to heat and sun also
for a hanging basket, i would recommend variagated spider plant, we have that in our gardens, but is also a great hanging plant. it might need light shade, however
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/1989/index.html

You said you want blooms, and some of these have them- but the rest of them might just be nice filler, or back ground plants . hope this helps!! i'll probably think of many more later. :)

Pudgy I am not sure what ones we will have available here until spring. Some of the nurseries here have only one maybe two colors of the 2" pots, they do ask a lot for the already planted baskets which has 2 to 3 different colors.
Park Seed and Jacksons & Perkins are to expensive, I couldn't believe how much they wanted for three plants.

I wish I had the money to start a co-op I am sure I could get a good deal on them wholesale.

Art thanks for the links but I am looking for plants to go in a hanging basket with at least 3 different colors,



This message was edited Feb 5, 2004 8:50 PM

portulaca for as much sun and heat as you can dish out

I'd like to suggest:
Coleus
Lantana
Verbena
Moss Rose
Ivy Geranium
Also, try the Wave Petunia again in a different color. I used the red and had no fading.
Ladibug

Jagon I have the short portulaca and plant it everywhere in the garden but in hanging baskets, they don't seem to do that well for me in basket or planters.

Ladibug Coleus can't take full sun and I have had my fill of wave petunias. I had them in hanging baskets last summer and they faded and didn't do as well as the ones in part shade.
When I say full sun I mean hot direct sun from 8:00 AM until 8:30 PM.

Windsurffer, I know that you are in zone 5, but I grow dwarf crepe myrtles every year. I start them from seed inside and move them to planters after the last frost. They grow to 12-18 inches high and bloom non-stop from the first of July on.

After the first season, they are transplanted in the yard (usually my friends' yard - -everyone loves the dwarf ones).

I know your winters are too cold for them - but if they were grown in containers, they could be overwintered in a garage or basement. Nat

wow nat, got a few extra seeds???

Sure tiG. I wasn't able to get the Rose Shades like I have in the past and was only able to get mixed colors - - pinks, roses and whites. THIS year, I'm going to save seed and that way, I'll have the colors that I want. Email me your address and I'll send you some.

BTW, here is one of them as a mature plant. These only grow to about 4 feet max.

They are beautiful Nat but I am looking for hanging basket plants.

NAt, we have a crepe myrtle bush in the back yard and every winter I have to remind myself that ungly thing is not dead and will be back beautiful in the summer. (See 2nd bush to the right of the wicker chair.)

Here it is starting into bloom in July

I like them because they bloom at the peak of hot weather here in Tennessee when other things are starting to fade.

I want to have at least one regular size crepe myrtle that can be trained into a standard. But I am holding out for one of the new red ones.

Molly, would you like me to save you several of my dwarf seedlings for you to pick up at the TNRU? They will just be small potted plants at that time and won't take up much room. But once you get them back to that gorgeous Florida sunshine they will take off growing. Nat

Sure Nat, that would be lovely. And keep and eye on my trade list and store items and see what you'd like to trade.

Thanks,

:^) Molly

Hi Nat, could I have a couple of those seedlings also? I will be attending the TN Roundup so watch the thread for my list of haves. I won't know for a while what I will be bringing. I love the dwarf crepes and have never seen them before I saw your pictures. Where do you get seeds as I would like to order some different colors?

Will have save some seedlings - Molly and Elena.

Elena, the only place that I have ever been able to find dwarf CM seed is from Parkseed. They used to carry them in different colors. This year, all they have is mixed colors.
And I gave away all my extra seed to DGers last year. However, they bloom sometimes when they are only 5 or 6 inches tall - - - so you can tell the colors fairly early.

Thanks Nat. I will love those. Just watch the thread in the TN Roundup and I will post what I have to trade in the spring.

salvia, petite marigolds, annual vinca, cascade petunias, verbena
For colorful foliage plants; include coleus and wandering jew.
summer geranium (Pelargonium)
trailing lobelia
PLANTS FOR HANGING BASKETS

Bacopa (Sutera) -- Trails and fills; blooms all summer (flowers are small). Besides basic white, you can find pink, orange and lavender.

Bidens -- Clouds of small, golden yellow, single flowers.

Dracaena -- Fountainlike growth works well as a centerpiece.

Million Bells (Calibrachoa) -- The small, petuna-like flowers on these trailers have a delicate look and bloom non-stop. Colors: pink, purple, white, apricot.

Lantana -- Full, hot sun for this tender shrub; some selections have two-toned flower clusters; fills and trails.

Marigolds 'Gnome' and 'Lulu' -- Single yellow flowers are more delicate than the big, chunky kinds of marigolds.

Pelargonium (summer geraniums) -- Use Martha Washingtons or any zonal geranium for a centerpiece. Ivy geraniums are good trailers, soaring off the sides of pots.

Scaevola -- Interesting one-sided flowers in shades of lavender; fills and trails.

Sweet potato vines (Ipomoea) -- 'Blackie' (dark-leaved) and 'Marguerite' (chartreuse foliage) can dangle and twine around wire supports.

4 o'clock vine (Thunbergia alata) -- Vining plant with orange or yellow flowers that have black centers.

Tapien verbenas -- Trailers in shades of purple.

Schizanthus -- Known as "poor man's orchids" for their flower shape; trailer.

How about some herb baskets:

lemon basket:

use lemon thyme, lemon balm, lemon basil and a pretty yellow edible flower such as a pansy, moonlight nasturtiums (creamy yellow), or calendula.

A spicy basket:

Choose a small hot pepper plant (Thai pepper are nice) for the middle and around it plant basil (lime and cinnamon), lemon thyme, and oregano. All of these can be used for salsa

A Summer Salad Basket:

Plant nasturtiums, fernleaf dill, parsley, and a cherry tomato plant.

A Fragrance Basket:

Try a chocolate mint, scented geraniums, and lavender or any other herb that you love the smell of. Look for dwarf varieties if possible, but they stay smaller in containers, so experiment

An Italian Basket:

Use basil, oregano, marjoram, garlic chives and a pepper plant in the middle. There is a dwarf variety called Jingle Bells that is not only charming, but the little peppers can be stuffed

Thanks CoCo, I am going to check out some of the ones you have listed here.
I really like the trailing geraniums, I had the purple geranium plant but couldn't remember the name of it. It was dark purple with white edging, you wouldn't happen to know the name of it would ya?

Try abutilon Victory. It make tons of yellow flowers in my hanging basket. Check out Logees, they have something like it blooms all year round

Thanks to all that have offered advice here and I think I have come up with the plants that I will purchase.
Again I have the greed bug on my back, there are so many that I want but now that I have a choice....I find it hard to choose.
Well at least I do have some hope for my full sun hanging baskets this year, again thank you all :}

Nathalyn I know I was looking for hanging basket plant and I was trying hard not to even think of buying another plant but I can't fight it any longer. Your beautiful Dwarf Crepe is just so beautiful and the fact that they don't fade and blooms all summer has me hooked. I had promised my Old Bucket that I wouldn't spend any more monies on plants, so I am going to tell him that it's your fault because you tempted me and I am very greedy and weak lol.

This message was edited Mar 14, 2004 5:27 AM

Hey, Wind. Mind if I borrow that line from you? DH thinks it is about time to stop adding plants to my collections. Nathalyn, maybe we can both blame it all on you, huh? LOL!

Be my guess, I am sure he'll understand lol.

All long distant blaming is allowed! But if we ever meet, I expect you both to run to my defense if your hubbys come after me. Of course, my DH would just stand by laughing. HE knows that I love to hook folks on new plants.

Wind I sent you email that may put the dwarf myrtles within your budget.

My DH is always thrilled when I take more stuff to folks than I bring home. He thinks that makes me wind up with less. NOT!!!! It might be that way at that particular moment in time but I always make up for the extra I give away somewhere along the way. The extra space made by taking more stuff to folks is always already filled in my own mind by the time I remove it from its home location.

Nathalyn my Old Bucket (DH) wouldn't come after you, he would probably think that I corrupted you since he knows how I cram all the plants in my small garden, so your safe.
I still will tell him it's your fault because I just can't give it up that it's really me being greedy lol.

Elena it does seem the more you give away the more you get back. I guess our DH's just don't get it and we're not going to explain it to them or they just might try and stop us lol.
I think my Old Bucket is just as hooked on plants as I am but he like the neon bright colors and I love soft pastel color.

When a person has an uncontrollable urge to aquire more and more varieties and collections of plants it shouldn't be expected that others will understand ......unless they suffer from the same "sickness". There are lots of us here at DH and isn't it fun. ..... "birds of a feather" flocking together here and at Roundups.

Ditto Eleana, I couldn't have said it better.

Ahhh, I bet you could have.....LOL!

Elena check this out boy did I get the best deal of the season.
http://davesgarden.com/t/421884/

Oh my goodness! What a great find! I have a truck but nothing wonderful like that to haul in it. You don't have a truck and have a need to haul! Somthing kind of unfair about that, huh? LOL!

It sure is but we do have a van so we loaded up eight 3mil bags and boy it was so much fun even the OB loved doing it and wanted to go back for more.....got him hooked lol.

And to think, I was doing the happy dance when I received 90 pounds of earthworm castings this weekend. Needless to say, I paid a lot more than $9 for them. But living in the red clay belt, means yearly additions to improve the soil. Fortunately, I have DH's blessing to get a worm bin started this year.

Stepson totaled our truck last year and so I have been limited to what I can haul in my SUV. If I could find a good deal on compost like you did Wind, I'd be right there with bags in one hand and a shovel in the other.

Oh believe me we are there every chance we get. Even though this stupid landlord doesn't appreciate anything I am doing for this yard he is getting it for free.
I was doing my happy dance as we spread it across the front and side flower gardens. We will need to go back at least four more times.
It sad because it's not open on the weekends so Lupy and I go sometime during the week but we cant get that much but every little bit helps.
Since my Old Bucket works during the week that is going to hard to get that much until he can take a day off to help.

I just want to stop the flooding of my garden it has been flooding for the last three years. Four years my garden was beautiful and no flooding but since this new water plant down the road a bit set up business it has every year so far.
I hope that adding a heavy layer of compost to all of my garden will help it from being so bad.