One of the best things about spring is filling our greenhouse with row after row of colorful annual flowering plants. As plant fanatics, we can’t help but love them all. But with over 100 beautiful varieties to choose from, which do we most love to take home and fill our own containers and garden beds? Whether it’s for full sun, full shade, or something in the middle, here we share some of our team members’ favorite annuals for any kind of space you have.
Lots of Sun
There are so many beautiful annual plants that flourish in six or more hours of direct sunlight – what we call “full sun”. For bright, reliable, summer-long color in the hot sun, lantana is the go-to annual for several of our greenhouse team members. Lantana thrives in the heat and produces abundant golf ball-sized clusters of tiny blooms in a wide range of colors – including pink, yellow, orange, red, and white. Angelonia is another sun-lover that our annual buyer, Barb Marsh, loves for its tall spikes of purple or pink blooms and its toughness in the hottest weather. Barb also likes Sunpatiens. Just like the shade-loving bedding impatiens, Sunpatiens create mounds of bold and reliable color, but they tolerate a lot more sun. Marigold is another of our favorites for full sun, as are blooming vinca, snapdragon, portulaca, and zinnia. And our Store team leader and backyard bird guru, Bob Ewing, always plants several black and blue salvia – it’s irresistible to hummingbirds.
All Shade – Almost All the Time
In the summer, we all appreciate a huge shade tree protecting our home from the hot sun, and there are several colorful annuals that thrive in full shade too. Greenhouse team member Erica Tirendi recommends New Guinea impatiens – their huge, richly colored blooms really brighten up a shaded spot. And Container Design team leader Angie Phillipp relies on the classic bedding impatiens for reliable, shade-tolerating color in her shade containers and hanging moss baskets. Tuberous begonias – like those in the Nonstop® series – are another shade favorite among the team members.
A Mix of Sun and Shade
Then there are situations like the one that container designer Sherry Quinn has at her home – maybe you can relate. Sherry’s home is surrounded by mature trees, so her yard is mostly shaded. But certain spots get a lot of sun too – some all day, some only in the morning, and some in the hot afternoon. And some spots are ever-changing between full sun and shade throughout the day. It’s a trick to find annuals that thrive in all these different amounts of light but still let Sherry create a unified look across all the beds and containers on her property.
To meet that challenge, Sherry’s favorite annual is coleus. Coleus is a bushy foliage plant that comes in just about every color – from deep reds to dark purples, glowing oranges to bright chartreuse. In her sunnier containers, Sherry plants coleus with grasses and sweet potato vine – in shadier areas, she uses the same coleus with impatiens and ivy. For the rest of our team, another go-to for sun, shade, and anything in-between is the fibrous root begonia – including both the classic wax begonia and the popular Dragon Wing® begonia. Both of these begonias produce lots of blooms all summer long. In wax begonias – so loved for creating annual beds bursting with red, pink, or white blooms – you can choose either bright green or bronze foliage. Dragon Wing® begonias have green, wing-shaped leaves and pink or red blooms on arching stems – perfect for containers and hanging baskets. And for trailing plants that perform well in all kinds of light situations, try lysimachia, Algerian ivy, and vinca vine too.
Let’s Get Planting
These are just a handful of choices you’ll find in our greenhouse this spring. And with prices starting at $4.99 for our 6-packs – along with great prices on several larger sizes too – you’ll be able to complete all your spring planting projects on budget. If you need help choosing the perfect plants for your space, just ask one of our greenhouse team members – we’ll be happy to help you discover all your own favorites too.
