Pushy Petunias

Pushy Petunias!!  How could I say that about my favorite, most reliable petunia?  I mean it in the kindest way.  Petunia Easy Wave 'Misty Lilac' has proven itself to me over and over.  This season is no different.  While many other petunias have hit the market with their flashy colors or unique names, Misty Lilac just continues to outperform all of them.  And don't be swayed by its generic soft pink color.  This gal coordinates with so many different color combinations.  Admittedly there are lots of individual plants in this container, but it is a giant of a pot and needed lots of stuff to fill the space.

This is very early in the season before Misty Lilac even got going.  I have had to prune it back several times since to keep it full at the top.  Petunias tend to sprawl, leaving the middle open with few flowers.  But if you clip some (about 1/4) of the trailers back to the middle every couple weeks, it will stay full.  But....most important of all....you MUST feed these guys at least once a week with a liquid fertilizer.  Even Misty Lilac likes her "drink".  

If you are wondering what is in the background, that is the companion pot that has a grass in the center - a panicum for sure but I don't know the cultivar since I didn't plant it.  Around it are/were white petunias and pink verbena.  I say "are/were" because this side of the container did not get watered properly and the plants all died so I had to replace with what I had around.  Oh well.....

In the center of this container is a juniper communis called "Gold Cone".  It will only get about 5 feet tall by 2 feet wide.  We'll see how long it stays in this container.  Around the base of it is Sage Bergarteen which will eventually get full and much taller as the season goes along.  I'll keep you posted on how this one evolves.  

Here is another container with Misty Lilac -- it has Angelonia 'Serena White' between it and the Centaurea 'Colchester White' in the middle.  One thing I need to mention is turning the pots.  All of these are round pots sitting in the square outer containers and every several weeks I (and a wonderful young man named Jack) give them a 180 degree turn to allow for all sides to get sun.  Otherwise the "dark side" gets skimpy.  So if you can, turn yours to be sure the plants get an equal opportunity to grow to their max.  

Misty Lilac should be easy enough to find at most garden centers since it has been around so long and has become a staple.  If you don't see it, ask for it.  May not get it that season but the nursery should be able to bring it in for the next one.  Try it....you'll like it!!!

Persian Shield - Sun or Shade - Still a Winner

Grooming the plants this weekend I had a chance to notice the difference in the two containers holding Persian Shield - otherwise known as Strobilanthes dyerianus - Persian Shield is so much easier to remember!  Both plants did equally but the one in the sun had more dense foliage and slightly smaller leaves.  The intense purple color was the same though.  Considering how well both plants did with minimal watering and the color impact they provided, they are definitely going to be repeats next summer season.

 

Persian Shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus)

Full sun to part sun - 3' x 3'

Zone

Companioned with Vinca Cora White and Angelonia Serena White

 

 

In the sun the plant was more compact with shorter stems and slightly smaller leaves, which provided room on the sides for other plants to grow to their full size.  Notice in the photo below of the container grown with only late afternoon sun that the leaves are bigger and the plant branches are more spread out.  This allowed the lantana to filter in among the Persian Shield leaves -- although with so much shade the lantana didn't bloom well.  You may be asking why I planted lantana "in the shade"....it didn't use to be so much shade...I didn't take into account how much the street trees had grown over the years.  Anyway..... 

 

 



....put this plant on your "tuff plant" list and use it somewhere in your designs next year.  Don't forget that this is a tender perennial and often used as a houseplant, so if you were interested, you could pot it up and bring it indoors.  But do spray it well so you don't bring in any "friends".  

More updates to come as the summer season comes to a close.....some of the containers are ready to give it up but quite a few are still struttin' their stuff as the cool nights allow them to recover.