Let's hope the recent cold weather is it for the year and we can safely begin planting our summer annuals. Some people jumped the gun and may be replanting after last week, but luckily they have plenty of options. Summer annuals are a great way to add color, and the Arkansas Diamonds program can guide gardeners toward some of the best ones for this area.
Arkansas Diamonds is in its sixth year of promoting high-performing annual plants that do well throughout the state and have been commercially grown and brought to market by Arkansas growers.
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Arkansas Diamonds is a program of Arkansas Green Industry in partnership with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, those local growers and independent garden centers. A committee meets annually to discuss what plants are working and what plants aren't before choosing options that should grow well statewide. In addition to adding three new summer annual plants this year, they have also added some ideas for your fall planting of winter annuals.
New for summer 2020 are:
• Persian shield
• "Bandana White" lantana
• SolarPower "Black Heart" ipomoea (sweet potato plant).
For planting this fall, you will have "Rose Pink" pansies from the Nature series of pansies and "Glamour Red" kale.
PERSIAN SHIELD
Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus) is an outstanding foliage plant for the summer garden. The leaves are a combination of green, iridescent purple and silver. It can grow 3 feet tall and wide in one season. It will grow well in light shade to heavy shade but avoid direct afternoon sun, which can bleach out the color.
It thrives in heat and humidity and will give you stunning color all season when given even moisture. Fertilize it once a month and it will reward you with nonstop color.
LANTANA
Lantana is a proven performer in Arkansas. The hotter summer gets, the better lantana performs.
"Bandana White" is a midsize lantana. At maturity, it will reach 24 to 26 inches tall and wide in a nicely mounded shape. Pale yellow flower buds open to pure white flowers, and this is another nonstop bloomer -- all summer. The more sunlight, the better.
IPOMOEA
SolarPower "Black Heart" ipomoea is one of the newer, more compact varieties of ornamental sweet potato vines. The original ornamental sweet potato vines could blanket a garden with their rapid growth. This variety will only spread about three feet and grow up to 10 or 12 inches tall.
It has a very dark purple, heart-shaped leaf that almost looks black. It holds the dark foliage color all season. It has a very mounded growth habit.
Planted in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil, this plant is very drought and heat tolerant.
Plant light-colored flowers around it, and it will be stunning. It does well in the ground or in containers.
STILL EXCELLENT
You have three new outstanding options for 2020, but don't overlook the other 21 from earlier years. They are:
• 2019 gave us Sunpatiens "Compact Royal Magenta," Pachystachys lutea or golden shrimp plant, Coleus "Lava Ros" and Dichondra "Silver Falls."
• The 2018 choices were Cuphea "Vermillionaire," "Wasabi" Coleus, "Bouquet Deep Blue" Torenia, and "Dragon's Breath" celosia.
• 2017 plants included "Big" or "Whopper" begonia, "White Christmas" caladium and "Vista Bubblegum" petunia.
• The 2016 plants were "Graffiti Red" pentas, "Sriracha Pink" cuphea and "Velvet Elvis" plectranthus.
• 2015 selections included purple angelonia, "Cora Cascade Polka Dot" vinca, "Redhead" coleus, blue scaevola, yellow lantana and "Red Dragonwing" begonia.
SUN VS. SHADE
To help sort through these selections by sun or shade, here are the best bets for full sun: Sunpatiens "Compact Royal Magenta," Coleus "Lava Rose," Dichondra "Silver Falls,"Cuphea "Vermillionaire," "Wasabi" coleus, "Dragon's Breath" coleus, "Big" or "Whopper" begonia, "Vista Bubblegum" petunia, "Graffiti Red" pentas, "Sriracha Pink" cuphea, purple angelonia, "Cora Cascade Polka Dot" vinca, blue scaevola or fan flower, and yellow lantana.
For morning sun/afternoon shade (partial sun): Pachystachys lutea or golden shrimp plant, Sunpatiens "Compact Royal Magenta," Coleus "Lava Rose," Dichondra "Silver Falls, "Wasabi" coleus, "Bouquet Deep Blue"' torenia, "Big" or "Whopper" begonia, "Red Dragonwing" begonia, "White Christmas" caladium, and "Velvet Elvis" plectranthus.
Your shade options are Coleus "Lava Rose," "Bouquet Deep Blue" torenia, "White Christmas" caladium, "Velvet Elvis" plectranthus.
IN THE FALL
Besides the 2020 additions "Rose Pink" from the Nature series of pansies and "Glamour Red" kale, the Arkansas Diamonds include three from 2019: Cool Wave "Golden Yellow" and "Violet Wing" pansies and "Bright Lights" Swiss chard.
Arkansas Diamond plants are Arkansas grown and Arkansas tough. To find a list of local retailers who are participating in the program visit the website argia.org/page/ARDiamondsPartners.
At nurseries, these plants can be identified by the Arkansas Diamonds logo. The logo indicates that sales support local businesses and that the plants will be successful in your garden. In some places, shoppers will see these same plants for sale without the Arkansas Diamonds logo. They will perform just as well in the garden. Absence of the logo means they were not grown by a local grower or the nursery is not a member of the Arkansas Green Industry Association.
To find out more about the program visit the website argia.org/page/ARDiamonds.
HomeStyle on 04/18/2020