It has been a glorious, colorful spring, but now we need to set our sights on summer color. Plants are arriving daily in nurseries and garden centers, but not all of them are up to facing the realities of an Arkansas summer.
In its fifth year, the Arkansas Diamond marketing program promotes great annual plants for Arkansas gardens, plants that can be trusted to grow well throughout our state.
The Arkansas Green Industry Association, in partnership with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, local growers and independent garden centers, created the Arkansas Diamond to help with your seasonal color choices.
In addition to four summer annuals, the program has added three annuals for fall planting.
The new summer plants for 2019 are SunPatiens "Compact Royal Magenta," Pachystachys lutea or Golden Shrimp plant, coleus "Lava Rose" and dichondra "Silver Falls." The fall options are Cool Wave pansies "Golden Yellow Spreading Pansy" and "Violet Wing Spreading Pansy," and "Bright Lights" Swiss chard.
We will talk more about the fall options later in the year, when it's time to plant them.
SUNPATIENS
If you have not tried SunPatiens, you are missing out. These are large-flowered impatiens that tolerate full or half-day sun, without needing constant water, like some of the older sun-loving impatiens.
"Compact Royal Magenta" has a brilliant deep magenta color and will bloom from frost to frost. The plants will grow upward of 28 inches by 24 inches, with a full, mounded growth habit. Regular water
and fertilization will keep them in their prime.
GOLDEN SHRIMP
If you are looking for color for partial shade, look no further than Pachystachys lutea, commonly called Golden Shrimp plant or lollipop plant. Native to Central and South America where it is an evergreen shrub, it will bloom all summer in Arkansas and is quite tolerant of heat and humidity.
The true flower is a small white bloom that pops out of the showy, bright yellow bracts. The plants will bloom best in light shade, where they get either morning sun or filtered sunlight, but no direct afternoon sun. They do well planted in the ground or in containers, growing 2-3 feet tall and wide.
They have average water and fertilizer needs.
COLEUS
The number of coleus varieties these days boggles the mind. Adding to earlier Arkansas Diamond coleus plants "Wasabi" (2018) and "Redhead" (2015) is "Lava Rose."
"Lava Rose" has a more compact growth habit and is trailing rather than upright. Its beautifully patterned leaves with shades of rose, burgundy and green are much smaller than the other selections. It will grow less than a foot tall by 2 feet wide. It does well as the spiller in containers, in hanging baskets or as a sprawler at the edge of your garden.
It will grow in full sun to heavy shade and has average water and fertilizer needs.
DICHONDRA
Last of the summer plants is "Silver Falls" dichondra. When you first see this small, silver leafed plant, it won't take your breath away, but give it time. Dichondra is heat- and drought-tolerant and trails or spreads like no other plant.
Great as the spiller in containers or as an annual groundcover, the silver foliage makes the color on neighboring plants really pop. Growing only 6 inches tall, it can spread more than 3 feet in one season. It needs full sun to partial shade and very little added care.
Try some of the new Arkansas Diamond introductions and you may find a new favorite. These four plants are welcome additions to the other 20 great annual plants in the Arkansas Diamond program, all bred to stand up to heat and humidity. To recap the selections:
The 2018 choices were cuphea "Vermillionaire," "Wasabi" coleus, "Bouquet Deep Blue" torenia and "Dragon's Breath" celosia.
• Cuphea "Vermillionaire" is a heat-loving plant that will produce hundreds of small, tubular blooms in red and orange all summer long. The more sunlight it gets and the hotter it gets, the better it blooms. Give it ample moisture to get established, and then it will be quite drought tolerant. The plant will grow 18-30 inches tall or more in one season. Hummingbirds and butterflies love this plant.
• "Wasabi" coleus is one of the strongest coleus cultivars on the market. Its bright chartreuse foliage will take full sun to partial shade. "Wasabi" will grow in the shade, but the intense color will fade the heavier the shade is. The plant will grow 24-36 inches tall and wide. It has large serrated leaves with very few, if any, blooms late in the season.
• "Bouquet Deep Blue" torenia is an outstanding performer in the shade garden. Wishbone flower is the common name for this plant, since the stamens form a small wishbone in the center of the bloom. The plant will be covered in small, deep blue flowers with a pale throat all summer into fall. To keep it blooming, fertilize every few weeks and water regularly. It performs best where it gets morning sun and afternoon shade or filtered sun throughout the day.
• "Dragon's Breath" celosia is not the cockscomb your grandmother grew. The reddish green foliage plant is topped with show-stopping bright red plumes all summer. It is great in containers or planted in the ground in full sun. The hotter and more humid the weather, the better it blooms. Water the plant in its first weeks, but once its roots are established it is fairly drought tolerant. The plant grows 24-36 inches tall.
2017 DIAMONDS
2017 plants include "Big" or "Whopper" begonia, "White Christmas" caladium and "Vista Bubblegum" petunia.
• The "Big" or "Whopper" begonia is basically the same variety with two different names depending on who is growing them. The plants come in pink or red with green leaves or bronze foliage. They will do well in full sun to partial shade. They get large, growing to more than 3 feet tall with a 2- to 3-foot spread.
• "White Christmas" caladiums have been on the market for quite a while, and they are a tough caladium that won't stop all summer. They will grow in partial sun to deep shade and have pure white leaves with green veins. Each plant grows 12 to 24 inches tall. Bulbs can be lifted in the fall to replant next season, or you can buy new bulbs every year.
• "Vista Bubblegum" petunia is a beautiful bubblegum pink on a plant that just won't stop blooming. They typically grow 12 to 18 inches tall with up to a 36-inch spread. They can do well in the ground or in containers or hanging baskets. As with most petunias, they will bloom best if given frequent fertilizer, but this is one that is not so demanding as some of the other varieties. Grows best in full sun with average water and fertilization.
2016 DIAMONDS
The 2016 plants were "Graffiti Red" pentas, "Sriracha Pink" cuphea and "Velvet Elvis" plectranthus.
• "Graffiti Red" is a compact pentas with bright red flowers that grows up to 10 inches tall. It has a uniform growth habit and rarely needs pinching. It will do well in containers or mass-planted in the ground. It needs a minimum of six hours of sun and likes more. As with most annual plants, regular water and fertilizer will keep it blooming at peak performance.
• Cuphea "Sriracha Pink" has almost quarter-size blossoms. Like the spicy chile sauce for which it is named, Sriracha Pink adds a lot of color with large, wide-open pink blooms from late spring through fall. The hotter it gets, the better it performs. The plant grows 24-30 inches tall and wide and works well in containers or planted in the ground. Once established, it is very drought tolerant.
• "Velvet Elvis" plectranthus has deep green leaves with a deep purple shade underneath, but it also has beautiful purple blooms all summer through fall in light shade. The plant has an upright growth habit, maturing at 18 to 24 inches tall and wide. It is great in containers or in mass plantings in the shade garden.
2015 DIAMONDS
2015 selections include purple angelonia, "Cora Cascade Polka Dot" vinca, "Redhead" coleus, blue scaevola, yellow or gold lantana and "Red Dragonwing" begonia. Angelonia or summer snapdragon does best in full sun to partial shade. These spike-forming blooms will continue all summer provided they get regular fertilization. It is very heat and drought tolerant, but will bloom best if given supplemental irrigation in dry weather. Mature size will vary by variety, but they have a range between 1 to 3 feet tall and a spread of 6 to 12 inches.
• "Cora Cascade Polka Dot" vinca is an annual periwinkle. While it only grows 6 to 8 inches high, "Cascade" spreads 32 to 36 inches wide, flowering from frost to frost. The blooms are very evenly distributed, eliminating the bald spots that plague some vinca. Large white to pale pink flowers with a red center bloom on a plant with glossy, dense green foliage. This plant thrives in full sun and is quite drought tolerant. This series is also very disease resistant.
• "Redhead" coleus is one of the deepest reds of any of the coleus plants on the market. Although it will grow in full sun, it can benefit from a bit of shade in the hottest part of the day unless you can keep it well watered. It will also do well in partial shade. The mature plant can be 2 feet tall and wide.
• Blue scaevola or fan flower is another full-sun bedding plant that will tolerate partial shade. The fan-shaped flowers are produced all season on low, spreading plants. It is heat and drought tolerant. The plant grows 8-10 inches tall with a spread of 12-24 inches, depending on variety.
• Lantanas are among the most heat-tolerant bedding plants. In south Arkansas, these plants are perennials, but in central Arkansas they are hit and miss; and in the northern tier, they are annuals. Size varies tremendously by variety, but they all thrive in full sun and warm conditions. Although they often can survive on their own, in the hottest, driest months, a little extra water is appreciated.
• "Red Dragonwing" begonia is a great all-season bloomer. This plant does best in full morning sun with protection from the hot afternoon sun, or in filtered sunlight. Give this plant room to grow since it does get 2 to 3 feet tall and wide by the end of the growing season.
The Arkansas Diamond Program offers you 20 choices for summer annuals and three options for fall planting. When choosing your summer annuals check out the Arkansas Diamonds at your local independent garden centers. They will be displayed beside the logo. If you find these same plants without the Arkansas Diamond logo, that means that they were not grown by a local grower or the nursery is not a member of the Arkansas Green Industry Association.
Here is a shortcut link to a list of retailers who are participating in the program: arkansasonline.com/420grow.
HomeStyle on 04/20/2019