Vinca ‘Jaio Scarlet Eye’

* Common name: Vinca ‘Jaio Scarlet Eye’

* Botanical name: Catharanthus roseus ‘Jaio Scarlet Eye’

* What it is: A sun- and heat-loving annual flower with glossy leaves and deep-rose flowers the size of quarters – bigger than most annual vincas. Flowers have white eyes.

* Size: 1 foot tall and wide

* Where to use: Mass in your hottest spots where you’re looking for summer-long color, such as along driveways or on a south-facing bank. As with most annual vincas, the sunnier and hotter, the better.

* Care: Work a little compost and timed-release flower fertilizer into the soil at planting time in mid to late May, water a few times to get the roots established, then enjoy the show. These are one of the few annuals that actually bloom despite the abuse of clay-infested, shopping-center parking-lot islands. No spraying, no deadheading.

* Great partner: Japanese garden juniper or birds nest spruce.