A pot of Lanai Red verbena, Whirlwind White fan flower, white lantana and Angleface Blue angelonia herald the patriotic hues of the Fourth of July.
© Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
If you are looking for a patriotic pop of blooms for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, here are some suggestions.
First, go with premium annuals. These are usually in 4-inch (or larger) pots and cost considerably more than bedding plants. But premium annuals give you a lot of bang for your buck because they already have good size and maturity, making them showy right from the start.
Garden centers will stop selling bedding plants soon, if they haven’t already. Growers are no longer producing these because once they reach a certain size, it’s too hard to keep marigolds, petunias, vinca, salvia and other bedding plants alive in those tiny four- or six-pack plastic trays.
As the season progresses, even the premium annuals start to look a little scraggly. Because they are in larger pots, the plants can can be cut back, fertilized and allowed to rest for a couple of weeks before they start to rebloom, making them worthy of space on the garden centers’ tables and your deck or patio. Rehabbed plants will have a tighter growth habit, too, with more flowers. A premium annual costs $4.50 to $5 each.
Keep in mind the components of a container. Thriller is the focal point or dramatic plant. Fillers are mounded plants that take up space, usually at a mid-level in the pot. Spillers cascade over the side of the pot.
So, what would be good choices for your red, white and blue patriotic pot? Here are some suggestions of annuals for full to part sun locations.
Red
- Tall red salvias (S. splendens) work well as a centerpiece in a container
- Red geraniums serve as fillers and red petunias, verbenas are fillers and spillers.
White
- Victoria White mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea) can be used as a centerpiece plant. These get 15 to 18 inches tall and bloom all summer.
- White verbena, petunia, lantana, fan flower (Scaevola) all have mounded, trailing habits. Diamond Frost euphorbia fills the pot with tiny starts.
Blue
- Royal Velvet Supertunia, which is probably the best selling petunia on the market. The deep purple-blue flowers didn’t lose their scent during the hybridizing process, either.
- Victoria Blue mealycup sage adds nice height as a centerpiece in pots.
- Angelface Blue angelonia looks like 18-inch tall stalks of orchids. Use as a centerpiece or thriller in a pot.