Not Your Grandma’s Flowers

May 7th, 2024

   If you’re like most gardeners, you’ll probably gravitate to the petunias, marigolds, zinnias, and begonias in the next few weeks because, well, that’s just what you plant every May.

Mecardonia Garden Freckles in bloom.

   Most of these old-favorite annual flowers still do a reliable job in filling the beds with summer-long color. But if you’re willing to try something different – or just plain tired of planting the same-old same-old every year – garden centers and greenhouses are offering way more choices than ever.

   Plant breeders have made big strides lately in improving under-used annual flowers, while plant hunters have introduced several new species that weren’t available at all in Grandma’s day.

   Here’s a look at 10 of these off-the-beaten-path annuals for your 2024 garden beds and flower pots:

Mecardonia

   This three- to four-inch-tall gold-blooming creeper came along only a few years ago and is scarcely known even by avid gardeners.

   However, it’s heavy in bloom, not attractive to animals, as good in the ground as trailing out of pots and baskets, and excellent in heat and drought (just avoid wet clay or too much shade).

   Gold Dust is a variety I planted and was impressed with.

Petchoa

   Petchoas are a new cross between the familiar petunia and the similar but smaller-flowered calibrachoa (also known as “million bells”).

   They offer the best traits of both parents, resulting in a heavy-blooming trailer with the flower power of petunias and the brighter colors of calibrachoa.

   These are best grown in containers or hanging baskets, in full sun to light shade, and they come in a wide variety of bright, pastel, and bicolor shades.

   Caliburst Yellow and the EnViva series are two good choices you’re most likely to run across.

White euphorbia in a pot and close up.

Euphorbia

   This mounded, white-blooming one- to two-footer looks like the popular wedding flower baby’s breath, but it’s actually more closely related to the poinsettia.

   Annual euphorbias hit the market about 20 years ago with the introduction of a variety called Diamond Frost. Now you’ll find multiple varieties that are both heavier blooming and more compact, plus a few pink-tinged beauties.

   Euphorbias are highly animal-resistant and grow best in full sun, in pots or in the ground.

Angelonia

   Also new in the past 20 to 25 years, angelonias send up 12- to 18-inch flower spikes that look like a cross between snapdragons and orchids.

   The flowers might seem dainty, but these plants are exceptionally tough in heat and drought and hardly ever bothered by bugs, disease, or animals.

   Angelonias come in purple, pink, white, bluish-purple, and lavender, and they do best in full sun. The Angel Wing and Angel Face series are excellent, and the Serena and Serenita series are superb compact choices.

Scaevola

   Sometimes called “fanflowers” for their fan-like leaf arrangement, scaevola is an excellent spreading/trailing annual that blooms primarily in bluish-purple but also in darker purple, pink, and white.

Scaevola Surdiva Sky Blue.

   It does best in partly shaded hanging baskets or pots but also can do full sun and in-ground plantings.

   I’ve had good experiences with Surdiva Blue and Bombay Dark Blue.

Alternanthera

   Also known as Joseph’s coat, this amaranth-family plant is grown mainly for its colorful foliage.

   The best ones for annual beds are the low types with burgundy leaves, such as Little Ruby, Purple Prince, Plum Dandy, and Red Threads. These put out rich color all season from the leaves and make an excellent front-of-border edging at only 6 to 12 inches tall.

   Alternantheras grow in full sun to mostly shaded spots and tolerate dry soil. Animals seldom mess with them.

Bidens Take Tuka.

Bidens

   These look like miniature marigolds and bloom mostly in warm shades of gold, orange, red, and bicolors of those.

   Plants grow only about eight to 10 inches tall and bloom heavily all summer, despite heat and dry weather. The deer and bunnies don’t seem to like them. So I’m not sure why bidens aren’t better known or used more often.

   ‘Goldilocks Rocks’ and the Campfire and Taka Tuka series are good ones I can vouch for.

Interspecific geraniums

   Most people know tried-and-true red geraniums, which are reasonably good, heat-tough performers but not superstars when it comes to quantity of blooms.

   Lesser known are ivy geraniums, which bloom better, tolerate shade better, and have a trailing habit.

   Breeders have crossed those two different species of geraniums (hence the term “interspecific”) to come up with new lines of geraniums that grow bigger, better, and bloom more.

   One of the best is the traffic-stopping Calliope Dark Red, but most anything in the Calliope, Caliente, Timeless, or Boldly series are good.

   They’ll grow well in pots or the ground and in full sun to part shade.

Semponium Surreal ‘Diamond.’
Credit: Monrovia

Semponiums

   This is an all-new type of plant that resulted when a British breeder crossed hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum) with Aeonium.

   Semponiums are succulents that come in a range of interesting leaf colors and formations – blending the glossy, colorful leaves of Aeoniums with the rosette habit and equally colorful leaves of hens-and-chicks.

   These debut in 2024 in a five-variety line of plants named Surreal. Sizes range from 10 to 16 inches tall. They’ll do best in full sun, are deer-resistant, and can be overwintered as houseplants.

Browallia

   This little-known annual – sometimes known as bush violet – started catching on 10 years ago when an impatiens-killing downy mildew disease sent gardeners looking for new shade options.

   Browallia produces purple, star-shaped flowers on its foot-tall stems and prefers shaded to partly shaded conditions. It’ll do pots or the ground.

   I’ve had good luck with both ‘Marine Bells’ and ‘Blue Bells.’