Verbena

(October 2012)

Arkansas Gardener  Central zone report October 2012

We are all thrilled to put this summer behind us, and start moving forward.  There are so many dead plants in landscapes across the state, that replanting is definitely called for.  Fall is a great time to plant hardy trees and shrubs, perennials, spring bulbs and winter annuals.  With trees, some it is quite apparent are dead, while others may have simply gone into early dormancy.  You may want to wait until spring to assess if it is really dead or alive. Evergreen plants that are totally brown you can be sure are dead.  If you know for certain a plant is dead, remove it now and consider replacement options.  Prepare the soil well, plant, water and mulch.  Hold off on fertilization until spring. Now is a great time to dig and divide spring and summer blooming perennials.  There are also great perennial plants to choose from that can be planted now.  By doing the work in the fall, we allow the roots to get established while the tops are dormant, and they will be in a stronger position by next growing season.  Now is also a great time to seed wildflowers and many perennials including poppies, purple coneflowers, columbine, foxglove and the annual larkspur, Texas bluebonnets, bachelor’s buttons and cornflowers. What is in bloom in your garden?  If you took care of your yard, you should have colorful perennials, shrubs and annuals now.  Beautyberry (Callicarpa) is loaded with purple berries, and the foliage is turning a wonderful yellow.  The burning bush (Euonymus alatus) is turning red, along with Itea and oakleaf hydrangeas.  Roses are rebounding and the Knock-outs look particularly good.   Perennials such as Toadlily (Tricyrtis), turtlehead (Chelone), Japanese anemones, and goldenrod (Solidago) are all blooming. The Hellebores are starting to put on new foliage growth for a winter bloom, and chrysanthemums and asters are readily available for instant color at nurseries.  Summer annuals that survived the summer are still going, but if yours died, there are great options now at all nurseries, from pansies and violas, to snapdragons, dianthus, diascia, dusty miller, parsley, edible and ornamental forms of kale, cabbage, Swiss chard and beets.  We can even find blooming petunias, callibrachoa and verbena now, which have been overwintering well and blooming through several light freezes.  If your garden doesn’t have color in every season, you can quickly remedy the fall color now.

(April 2006)

I would like to plant some pink and purple annual flowers in some containers on my deck. The containers are quite large and the area gets almost no shade the entire afternoon. What are some good plant combinations that will allow me to have non-stop color all summer?

When we design container gardens it is always best to have three different forms in the pot - something with some height, something filling, and something cascading. For your taller plant, consider one of the beautiful pink mandevillas. It does need some support, but it will grow quite tall and bloom non-stop all summer long. A nice fill plant could be pink or purple pentas and the cascading flower could be trailing verbena or wave petunia - in pink or purple. For some contrast, add some asparagus ferns, dusty miller or Artemisia. Regular watering and fertilization and you should be good to go all summer long.

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