Some Favorite Annuals Now (pics)

15 years ago

I am delighted with a dwarf cleome I tried this year--Senorita Rosalita. So much better than the old taller, prickly, sticky ones. This dwarf one blooms constantly and doesn't peter out the way the taller ones do. I also tried some other dwarf ones--pure white and pink/white. They were doing well (not as floriferous as Senorita, though) when a passerby decided to yank off the blooms and make a bouquet (doubt that they hold well, but thiefs are usually morons too). The plants never did fully recover. Humans can be a much greater pest than deer or ground hogs!

Only about 30 inches tall; looks great with the vinca.

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VERBENA BONARIENSIS is also making quite a show. Of course, it self-sows so readily that it can be a pest. But when other annuals are spent, it is flourishing. A taller plant, of course, but I couldn't resist the butterfly shot.

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I really like browallia. It is a shade of blue one does not often encounter. Grows slowly initially, but makes a wonderful show till frost. Here it is planted beneath banana Red Jade. I admit, the underplanting is a bit vulgar, but I had to find a place for the browallia.

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A few weeks later and both the banana and the browallia have grown.

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Comments (14)

mantis__oh
Original Author
15 years ago
Here is a cottage garden shot with verbena bonariensis in back. It can spill over a bit too much as stems begin to arch.
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Yes, immediately after my post I noted that I had made an error in the plural of thief--"thieves," of course. Wouldn't you know that when I talked about morons, I would be moronic myself.
bouquet_kansas
15 years ago
I really like those dwarf cleome.......ive grown the taller ones and like them too........but i can see where the shorter ones can fit into my garden better......will have to pick up some next spring.......

carol
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tepelus
15 years ago
Very pretty. Those cleome are very nice, I like the browallia too.

Karen
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
15 years ago
Love the colors in that last pic!
Grandmaflowers
15 years ago
Beautiful pics! Your color choices were awesome and I don't believe at all vulgar.

Here is a link that might be useful: AboutYourFlowers
ladyrose65
15 years ago
Beautiful Pictures! I love the Salvia's.
robinmi_gw
15 years ago
Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita' is truly stunning! Lovely pictures!
This is quite new in the UK, where I live, and is becoming very popular. Unfortunately seems to be a sterile hybrid, so no seeds, but internodal cuttings root quite easily.

Seems to be greedy and thirsty most of the time!
zen_man
15 years ago
Zinnias are my favorite annual. This is a recent picture of one of my zinnia plantings.

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I develop my own zinnia strains by saving seeds from my favorites and also by cross pollinating some of my favorites. Zinnias are a fun hobby for me.

ZM
mantis__oh
Original Author
15 years ago
What variety of zinnia is this? All your own crosses?

Zinnias are still providing nice color here, though foliage disease increases now.
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They are also popular with smaller creatures.
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This one prefers verbena.
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porkchop_z5b_MI
15 years ago
All the annuals look so great! :0)
zen_man
15 years ago
Mantis_OH,

"What variety of zinnia is this? All your own crosses?"

They are all my own crosses. Those in the picture are an improvement on the Burpeeana Giants strain. They have lower growing bushier plants. I am also developing several newer flower forms, like these, which I refer to as "Aster Flowered".

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The conventional dahlia flowered zinnias have petals that are tightly overlapped, something like shingles on a roof. I prefer zinnia flower forms that are more "open". The aster flowered zinnias have longer narrower petals that are flat and recurved, something like some varieties of asters have. I also like zinnias that have an un-zinnia-like look, like this one.

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Zinnias have a lot of possibilities beyond what is available in commercial seed packets, and you can get many new forms in home bred zinnias. And you can save money by saving your own zinnia seeds. Zinnias can be a fun hobby.

ZM
mantis__oh
Original Author
15 years ago
The aster-flowered ones are very interesting. You should find a market for these. I do like long stems though.
pippi21
15 years ago
By any chance are these swarf Cleome by Proven Winners?
mantis__oh
Original Author
15 years ago
Yes, they are indeed Proven Winners; but Rosalita is the most floriferous and also sterile, whereas other Proven Winner cleome seem to have seeds.