New Annuals I’m Trying from Seed (Part I)

I like thunbergia and grow it in hanging baskets. I always assumed it was a shorter vine, but apparently it grows seven feet or more. In the baskets I just pinch it when it heads out. This variety, ‘Blushing Susie’ looked particularly pretty.


BLUSHING SUSIE

I have read that if you grow thunbergia in a pot you can cut it back in the fall, bring it inside, and have blooms over the winter.


We have a “pansy greenhouse” which has one heater and still occasionally goes below freezing. We put our tough plants in there like dianthus and dusty miller and of course, all kinds of pansies. New this year will be the viola ‘Endurio Sky Blue Martien’ which is an All American Selections 2010 "cool season award winner".


ENDURIO SKY BLUE MARTIEN


The Panola series is a cross between a pansy and a viola and is very floriferous. I am adding 'Panola Baby Blue Mix' to our collection.



PANOLA BABY BLUE MIX



One of my earliest blooming pansies is 'Purple Rain' and I will offer it again, along with a new variety, 'Rain Blue and Purple. This series spreads and is taller than others. It can cascade, when used as an edging, making it perfect for window boxes and hanging baskets (if you have the patience to dead head them).


RAIN BLUE AND PURPLE

'Rain Blue and Purple' changes in color from purple and white to purple and blue as each bloom matures. The flower is 1.5 inches, smaller than most pansies, but there are so many of them there’s quite an impact.


I like the ‘profusion’ series of zinnias and this year I am also branching out to try some of the ‘zahara' series. These are not cutting zinnias, rather shorter varieties used for bedding. My problem with zinnias in our cooler growing conditions has always been botrytis and the "profusion" series have been trouble free. 'Zahara promises more of the same, with 20 percent larger flowers.


ZAHARA MIX


ZAHARA YELLOW