I'm thinking about hanging some containers from the railing on our front porch & putting some trailing annuals in them. So I was wondering what your favorite annuals for containers in the northeast are. I have very little experience in this area, but from what I understand most annuals are pretty easy germinators, even without cold stratification, so I'm thinking of getting some seeds & "winter-sowing" them, even though spring's just a month away.
Oh, and pics are a plus if you have any. :)
Favorite container annuals for the NE
Million Bells put on a fabulous show in a hanging basket!
Looks like a really attractive plant!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/69743/
The only thing is, it apparently can't be propagated from seed, so it would be annoying to have to buy them as plants again every year. I guess they can be propagated from cuttings, but then I'd have to bring them inside for the winter, get some lights to put them under, & generally get really serious about it. :)
Most garden centres sell them cheap in the Spring. Unless you're looking for dozens of them it's just as easy to buy what you need.
OK, I'll definitely look into that then!
Yes I agree about million bells. This is million bells and petunias
Begonias are good for shade containers
Million Bells are great for taking the heat and providing continual bloom. In containers I use many things. Coleus, caladium, torenia, lobelia, impatiens - all types, begonia, geranium, salvia, verbena, nemesia, bacopa, abutilon, nicotiana - to name a few!
trailing and upright coleus, torenia, petunias, mimulus, trailing lobelia, impatiens, violina and that top container begonia
Well if you're gonna show off, Allison...^_^
:::::putting up my hand at Victor:::::
mimulus are super easy to grow from seed
most annuals can't stand the cold. So no stratification for the seeds. Plant them indoors before you want to put them out.
I love million bells to because you don't have to deadhead them. and the variety 'Terra Cotta' is a great color against my dark brown deck. I put them in three large pots which adorn the steps up to it. I buy them.
I've done caladium {also needs warmth to start the bulbs}, impatiens, coleus, the little pansies and the big ones, but I usually end up replacing them with something else midsummer. 'Wave' or supertunias will do nicely in a window box.
Also, you can get pre-sprouted daffodils at HD and other big stores. I always get a few 'Tete a Tete's to put in. I plant out the bulbs when they are done and the veterans are among the first daffs up the next spring.
If you want something different, try one box full of herbs if you have a sunny location. Flat and curly parsley, sage {you can get different colored foliage} Purple or speckle leaved basil, chives for height, and I am going to try this for the first time this year, cilantro. i just made a recipe with it the other night and I love the taste. The herbs from the market were kinda expensive. leaf lettuce, I have to grow mine in large flower pots sitting up on plastic outdoor tables or the woodchuck would get it all. also has leaf texture, color and variety.
this would provide a changeup for flowers and depending on where you place it, would be convenient to the kitchen.
Martha
I have some sweet potatoe vine seeds that I'm going to try to grow for my hanging baskets...onewish: I didn't know they were not a seed growing thing! any tips?
Trailing Verbena, Petunia's, and Bacopia both blue and white.
I thought they were sterile seeds... but I could be wrong... I have always done cuttings... no tips because I have no clue!
well I started looking it up.. I guess they can be seed grown
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/plantguide/ipomoea-batatas-blackie-sweet-potato-vine.aspx
Thanks for the advice, everyone. I have a lot of searching in PlantFiles to do. It looks as if the best strategy might just be to look around at garden centers this spring & summer, see what's available, & get whatever I like (& fits the spot). The house faces ENE, so the railing where I plan to hang the containers gets a fair bit of morning sun but is shaded by the house from noon on.
I do grow some herbs on the back deck, which is sunnier, every year, and I think I'll even expand that this year (but I never use all of any of it, apart from the basil).
Sweet potato vine really takes off and I've been able to keep a bit of it alive over the winter. I also hear you can dig tubers of it although I've never found them. How about black-eyed Susan vine, as long as we're talking about vines?
I dug my tubers.... they all rotted by winter.... didn't do the drying thing in the sun... oh well live and learn
I rooted some of my BES vine .... but they croaked with the other cuttings I forgot to water
LOL, but at least you FOUND the tubers and GREW the BES vine!
Blushing Susie
Allison, I cannot tell you how many times I have planted that! Never once saw a bloom! What do the leaves look like? Yours is gorgeous!!!!
(Maybe some of my NOID seedlings were BES, once, looking closely at yours . . . )
thanks here is one with a better shot of the leaves
found another
Yes, I think those have sprouted under my care but did not progress to flowering. ;(
Very, very nice - my favorite color (along with all the others)!
i started them inside... and too early ... what a shock... they were twining up everything... I just kept cutting them back and when they were able to let loose outside... they were really nice
Ah, you and your "I started them inside because I have space and no kids" line again. ^_^ I winter sowed mine AND lost the label. Chuckle. It's all part of the giant learning curve we call life.
yes tags are important.... don't worry been there done that... I had all my seedlings marked and when I went to harden them off... the rain washed all the tags off... well maybe these are the snapdragons... wasn't really sure who to plant where... no more permanent markers for me that's for sure... I didn't care how much the ptouch was... it's worth every penny to avoid that happening again... esp. since it was one of my first years and I didn't know what any of the leaves looked like yet... just imagine me outside scratching my head with 10 - 15 flats and not having a clue what anything was... well the polka dot plants stood out... that was about it.... had the nice list in my journal that was now worthless
I can well imagine it because it happened to me too, exactly that way! You're all excited (I grew that!) and then you have no idea what that is! LOL, at least we didn't quite give up. . . I kept fairly good paper records that first year, too. . .