Favorite Blues?

I'm looking for some idea's for some Blue Annuals, what's your favorite?
Thanks,
Alice

We grew a Felicia for years although it's often treated as an annual we kept it in the greenhouse over winter and it never once stopped flowering until it died http://davesgarden.com/pf/search.php?search_text=felicia&Search=Search

Others like Borage, Heliophila, Echium,Cynoglossum, Convolvulus tricolor and annual Veronica species and cultivars are good, long blooming annuals too, well at least in my opinion ;)

Alice, I love forget-me-nots. They have a long bloom period and reseed easily. Larkspur is another favorite.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
Alice

Hi Alice,
My favorite blue annual is Nemophila "Baby Blue Eyes". Personally I like all three Nemophila colors.

Carol

I also love Heavenly Blue MGs.

Chicory, chicory it is so pretty in cuttings too. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/690/index.html.

The stones and shade and dryness preclude many flowers just behind our house, and the rise of the hill makes any "flat" spot so small that anything over 6" in height leans like a tipsy trussed turkey.

The solution: creeping torenia. It makes a constant waterfall of blue or violet or purple right over the stones - clothes its part of earth luxuriantly right up to frost. I have only seen it sold as a specialty plant in pots in the spring, not as seed. It may have another name, but the flower looks just like a torenia. Cuttings taken as soon as you bring your plant home root easily in time to flower for the summer, too.

Angelonas - little deep purple snapdragon-like flowers on thin wands of spikes to approximately 30". Does surprisingly well in partial shade

Plectranthus argentatus - Who would think such a woolly, silvery leaf would triumph over summer humidity, heat and the above other tribulations of gardening outside my back door. But at the end of the season, this coleus relative shoots out the thinnest wisps of stems clothed in zillions of the tiniest flowers that look like a cloud of ice-blue. Grows to 3' x 3' for us.

Streptocarpella - another plant to be bought in the "specialty pot" and, like the others I listed, if you buy it early in the season, it will easily root and flower the same season. This low, delicate-appearing, woolly-thick-leaved plant also does well on the edge of the stones in partial shade - conditions under which petunias would soon croak.

Further up at the back of our hill, we have more sun. The single, most important blue flower for blooming up to frost, for us, is sage. We don't have enough sun for any type of salvia splendens. But, salvia guarniticas 'Purple Majesty' and 'Indigo Spires' make towering 5' plants by frost with blue flowers always decked in hummingbirds. Wintered-over cuttings do best for us. Their are dozens and dozens of different kinds of sages - Sandy Mush is a good source. Salvia horminum 'Oxford Blue' makes a 12" haze of blue from seed.

My favorite blue....Lobelia erinus. Can't beat it for all summer bloom, pressing, great in containers, front of the border (if you don't have rabbits). Also available in white, light blue and pinkish purple, although none perform as well as the true blue color.

Opps, didn't realize that picture was turned on it's side...he is a better shot. Lobelia only grows 4-6" and keeps a nice form. It will get leggy in too much shade and does fine in full sun with adequate water, at least in PA.



This message was edited Jan 30, 2005 12:39 PM

here it is again...

Another blushish-purple annual I like is Ageratum.

I'm not a big fan of invasive Morning Glories, but have seen them used beautifully. Love their true blue color:

Attractive around the mailbox too...(not my house!)