Container gardens ready to burst

Every spring there are new annual plants to love. Many new introductions are part of a series with each new addition promising improved uniformity, better branching, and new colours or patterns. These are not empty promises. Before plant companies bring a new plant to the market, it has been developed through years of extensive plant breeding and undergone rigorous evaluations in plant trials under tough conditions. Still, it is gardeners who determine the ultimate success of a new plant variety.

Which new annuals raise the bar this spring? Here are several new annuals that gardeners are about to see almost everywhere.

I’Conia Begonias from Dummen Orange are back this spring in a very big way. Not that I’Conia went anywhere but last year there was only one new I’Conia introduction — I’Conia La Luna — and it was exclusive to The Home Depot. This spring, the beautiful double-flowered I’Conia La Luna with its creamy white petals, soft lemon-yellow centres, and contrasting peachy-pink colour on the underside of the petals will be widely available along with five other new I’Conia Begonia varieties. Look for Upright Blush, Upright Red, Portofino Dark Orange, First Kiss Orange, and First Kiss Saffron.

It’s almost too much of a good thing. Where does one start? Surely with I’Conia Miss Montreal, an old favourite, because gardeners will always have her on their list of favourites, but these stunning begonias for 2024 with their rich saturated colour, upright or trailing form, non-stop blooms, robust branching, and dramatic foliage will soon be new favourites for hanging baskets, window boxes, and containers for part sun and shade.

The Coleus Great Falls series also from Dummen Orange is a new series of trailing coleus for mixed containers and hanging baskets. The series includes five non-fading cultivars with small multi-coloured leaves — Angel, Iguazu, Niagara, Yosemite, and Rose Gold. In addition to a vigourous trailing habit and tighter, more controlled branching, the Great Falls series is suitable for sun or shade containers. Susan Jensen, co-owner of Jensen Nursery and Garden Centre, 2550 McGillivray Blvd. says that the Great Falls series is one of her favourites and is ideal for pairing with I’Conia Begonias. Great Falls Yosemite has golden-yellow leaves with bright chartreuse edges. The dainty serrated foliage of Great Falls Iguazu has glowing burgundy-red centres edged in a narrow band of chartreuse. Stunning.

New Coleus ChargedUp Marble Mania from Ball FloraPlant is an official new launch for 2025 but early-release samples will be available at select garden centres. Jen Van den Ham, annuals grower at The Green Spot Home and Garden in Brandon, managed to obtain a supply of 100 and says she is excited to offer customers a sneak preview. Adaptable to sun or shade, Marble Mania is an upright coleus with a height and width of 16 to 24 inches (41 to 61 cm). The painterly foliage is a unique golden-chartreuse splashed with maroon.

Asparagus fern adds soft, feathery texture to container designs. New Asparagus FuzzyFern Frizz from PanAmerican Seed is adaptable to shade or partial sun and has a mounded habit with trailing foliage. “We trialed it last year and found it to be more compact than other asparagus ferns,” says Van den Ham. Interestingly, FuzzyFern Frizz was bred to provide growers with a more reliable supply of Asparagus densiflorus Spengeri seed with higher germination. Van den Ham thinks that FuzzyFern Frizz will offer more versatility for gardeners. “It could go into a hanging basket and not take over.” An attractive combination for a container garden would be Asparagus FuzzyFern Frizz with Gryphon Begonia, Beacon Orange Impatiens, and an upright coleus such as Marble Mania or Premium Sun Coral Candy Coleus which was a 2023 All-America Selections Winner.

The ultimate accessory for containers of all types this year is sure to be Centaurea Silver Swirl from Darwin Perennials. This new silver-foliage plant with wavy, lobed leaf edges is hardy to Zone 6b but will be grown as an annual in our cold climate. Drought tolerant, rabbit resistant, and low maintenance, Silver Swirl has a mounded habit. It grows to a height of 8 to 11 inches (20 to 28 cm). “I’m excited about this one,” says Van den Ham. “It’s a bigger version of Dusty Miller.” I think that Centaurea Silver Swirl would look sensational in a black ceramic pot but it’s likely to be one of this year’s most stylish accent plants that goes with everything. Sun loving, Silver Swirl is also ideal for front-of-the-border plantings in dry, well drained soils.

The Cuphea Sweet Talk series from PanAmerican Seed will surprise you. New for 2024, the series debuts with three colours — Red, Deep Pink, and Lavender Splash. Each one is so lovely. When I trialled Cuphea Sweet Talk Deep Pink in my garden last summer, I planted it in a window box as well as in the ground. I was expecting a flower shape similar to Cuphea firecracker plant which has tubular flowers, but the Sweet Talk series is entirely different. The large flowers are polypetalous; that is, they feature five petals that are separate from one another. Another unique characteristic is that the petals are ruffly. Sweet Talk Red has violet-purple centres and star-like purple streaks that radiate from the centre of the flower. Sweet Talk Lavender Splash has bicolour purple and white flowers. Bushy and upright with a height of 8 to 14 inches (20 to 36cm), Cuphea Sweet Talk is a floriferous magnet for hummingbirds.

Optimal performance in the heat of summer is a prerequisite for full sun container gardens. Gardeners want prolific blooms that stand up to wind and extreme heat without ever cycling out of flower all summer long. New PassionFruit Lantana is a trailing, spreading, hanging-basket-type lantana that produces masses of multi-coloured flowers. It is gorgeous in a monoculture container or plant it at the base of a thriller and watch as it grows into a bountiful skirt. Bloomify Lantana, a recent introduction, is also a high-performance, heat-tolerant lantana. Bloomify is available now in five colours. “Bloomify Lantana is nicely mounded and has lots of flowers,” says Jensen.

The Kalama Tecoma series is an intriguing new option for gardeners that will bring tropical colour to patio containers. Tecoma itself is not new — it is a warm-climate native plant with a vining habit and a prodigious height of up to eight feet (2.4 meters) or taller. Kalama Tecoma, however, was bred to be compact. It grows to a height of just 18 to 24 inches (46 to 61 cm) and has a width of 16 to 18 inches (41 to 46 cm). The tubular blooms have an opening size of a 25-cent piece. Hummingbirds will be attracted to all three varieties in the series — Kalama Blood Orange, Kalama Papaya, and Kalama Pomegranate.

colleenizacharias@gmail.com

For advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing, sign up to receive Winnipeg Gardener, a free monthly digital newsletter Colleen Zacharias writes for the Free Press at winnipegfreepress.com/newsletter/winnipeg-gardener