Annuals for Summer Color

Flower power and foliage color from annuals are some of the most effective ways to add bright, colorful highlights to your garden or patio. This is especially so during the warmer months of the year when our spring blooming gardens are losing their magic. Annuals are plants which technically live only one year, but many annuals used in the Pacific Northwest might live longer if they were able to survive freezing temperatures. Thus these plants are annuals in our climate zone here in the Puget Sound Basin.

This is a timely topic for the month of June. Last month our night-time temperatures began to rise and many of our best performing annuals prefer warmer night time temperatures. However hard it might be, wise gardeners should wait until May to plant pots and gardens with zonal Geraniums, Nicotiana, Lobelia, Zinnias, Petunias, Coleus and the many other annuals for summer color. If you like to experiment, try planting one of your favorite annuals in early April and then again in mid May; my experience has been that the annual planted in May out-performs the one planted in April.

Many annuals can be used either in pots or planted into the ground among the other plants in your gardens to add color beyond your patio or porch. A short list of annuals best suited for “bedding out” includes: the newly introduced Tidal Wave Petunias, which have abundant two-inch flowers and grow over a foot and a half in height, Nicotiana, Zinnias and Marigolds for sunny areas. Impatiens, Fuchsia, and Begonias work in shadier places.

Annuals require some care. Annuals grow rapidly and bloom for a long time whether in the ground or in pots; if they are given a fertilizer which has phosphorus and potassium (the second and third numbers on the bottle) as well as some nitrogen, they will often give you more of the color you want. Some annuals, Zonal Geraniums among them, perform much better if you remove the spent flowers. Other annuals like the Wave Petunias and the Calibrachoa are easier of care and do not require you take off the fading blooms. With some knowledge and the right kind of care, you will be able to enjoy summer color accents in containers and in the ground.