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Knockout Color Pots
Need something that not only makes it through summer heat, has great
color, and thrives in neglect? If you have a hot spot that could use a pot,
you’ll want to do a little research ahead of time to get the most bang for
your buck with the least amount of effort.
We in Texas are blessed with a number of native plants and other
drought tolerant annuals (need replanting every year), and perennials (usually
come back the next year that survive with minimal care and water.
Some of these do quite well from seed, making them very inexpensive.
Some shrubs also foot the bill nicely, bringing in color and usually
additional height that is often helpful in larger scaled spaces.
To narrow down your choices, look carefully at your needs by using this
checklist.
1)
What color do I want? Consider also that your CONTAINER might be
the focal point and the plants just background.
Mixing colors will usually give a less formal feel while monochromatic
schemes will typically appear more formal.
Repeating colors found in your home --- especially when they look out
onto the area --- will tie your inside and outside space together.
And remember, GREEN is a color!
2)
What size does it need to be? Size DOES matter! The
bigger the pot, the less often you will need to water.
But a single 4” plant in a 4’ pot will look ridiculous.
Use several types of flowering plants (upright, weeping, rounded) and
mature sizes to fill all of the space. That’s
how the pros do it, instead of using 10 tiny pots each with its own type of
plant. Don’t be afraid to
trellis one of our great native vines in a container too if you need
additional height.
3)
How can I water it? That
takes us to the big stickler…..how can you keep your new plants watered,
especially if you will be gone on vacation during the heat.
If you have an automatic irrigation system, think about reworking the
spray area to either include your pot or replace a spray with an emitter line
that goes directly into your pot. (If neither of these is an option, move the
pot into an irrigated area while you are gone.) You might also consider
purchasing potting soil that has ingredients to absorb and retain water better
also or add these “hydrating crystals” into your own soil mix.
Once established well with a vigorous root system, your pot will need
to be watered less often.
4)
Do you want to bring in ALL of the sense, or even some wildlife?
Specific flowers have scent. Some
types of flowers (i.e.. tubular) or colors (especially reds) attract
hummingbirds or butterflies. Seeing
brightly colored flowers, watching the antics of hummingbirds, and smelling
sweet fragrances can provide wonderful family alternatives to the reruns of
summer television (few of which, in my opinion, were worth watching the first
time they came around!).
Now that you have an idea of the type of planter you want, here are a
few plants that will take Texas sun with flying colors.
The following list is but a small sampling of natives and well adapted
non-natives that foot the bill, making it happily through the dog days of
summer with only occasional watering and drawing in wildlife to boot.
So many others could be added to this list.
Ask any gardener and they will come up with fifteen other favorites of
their own. But don’t forget to
feed your bloomers. A bit of slow
release fertilizer put in when planting will carry flowering plants a long way
when it starts to really get hot. Then top-dress your pots with mulch, sit
back and enjoy. You may even be
calling Goodwill to see if they might have a need for a good, used television.
Asparagus fern --- Asparagus densiflorus (green
w/ tiny white flowers)
bachelor button --- Gomphrena globosa (pink,
purple, white, lavendar, rose)
black-eyed susan – Rudbeckia
hirta or R. fulgida (yellow);
butterfly bush – Buddleia
davidii (white, pink, purple);
butterfly weed – Asclepias
tuberosa (yellow, orange with yellow);
coneflower - Echinacea
purpurea (pinkish purple or white);
coreopsis – Coreopsis
var. (yellow);
cosmos - Cosmos
bipinnatus (various);
flame bush, hummingbird bush – Hamelia patens (orangey-red);
lantana – Lantana
horrida, L. montevidensis, L. camara (various);
Mexican heather – Cuphea
hyssopifolia (purple or white);
Mexican petunia – Ruellia
brittoniana (purple, white, pink);
ornamental grasses --- pennisetum, miscanthus, etc.
penta – Pentas
lanceolata (white, pink, purple, red);
salvia – Salvia spp.
several species with leucantha
& greggii two of my
favorites (blue, red, pink, white);
Texas star hibiscus – Hibiscus
coccinea (crimson red);
vitex – Vitex
agnus-castus (purple, white);
zinnia – Zinnia
elegans (various)
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