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Bedding plants

Bright Summer Fillers

It’s time for colour! Bedding plants are an easy way to get colour into your garden or a container instantly, and there is a bedding plant for every spot, sun or shade.

Coleus

For bright leaf colour in shade, coleus has to be at the top of the list. The bright colours verge on luminous, and some varieties offer a combination of colours that will excite any gardener. Coleus can also be planted in the sun too, so there’s just about nowhere in the garden that they won’t work. The botanists have changed the name from Coleus scutellarioides to Solenostemon scutellarioides, but you can still find them in the nursery as coleus.

New varieties

Check out the new varieties in the ‘Premium Sun’ range called ‘Crimson Gold’, ‘Pineapple Surprise’ and ‘Watermelon’ – wowzer-colours to brighten up any garden.

How to grow

Soil: Well-draining with added compost.

Light: Full sun or partial shade.

Water: Water well, especially in containers.

Feed: Organic fertiliser when planting. Liquid fertiliser in summer.

Winter: Not frost-hardy. Move containers indoors.

Prune: Pruning can be mild or severe, when the plant starts looking bare at the base and scraggly. Pinch back the growth tips to get bushier plants with more leaves.

Lewisia

If you have a garden with sandy soil and hot conditions, then lewisias are the plants for you. A member of the portulaca family, they are succulents with the prettiest flowers in pink, peach, yellow, red and white during spring and summer.

Varieties

The ‘Elize’ range is known for being floriferous with a long flowering season, and also for being able to tolerate drought and heat. Lewisias make an excellent container plant and can even be used indoors in a brightly lit room. Look out for ruby red and ultraviolet colours.

How to grow

Soil: Poor, well-draining soil.

Light: Full sun to light shade.

Water: Moderate, with less in winter.

Prune: Deadhead regularly to increase flowering.

Portulaca

Like lewisias, portulacas love the heat and need very little attention to perform in just about any soil, as long as it drains well. They have a lowspreading habit with succulent leaves that cover gaps and trail over rocks, and then burst forth with brightly coloured flowers on sunny days.

Varieties

You will find many different varieties at your local nursery, some with single-type flowers and others with more rose-like semi or double flowers in colours ranging from yellow, white, red, pink, and orange, as well as some two-tones.

How to grow

Soil: Sandy.

Light: Full sun or they won’t flower.

Water: Minimal, at ground level. Drought tolerant.

Use: Groundcover.

Winter: Susceptible to frost.

Fun fact

Portulacas are also known as time flowers in certain parts of the world because you can set your watch by them. They will open and close at the same time every day – that should keep the kids busy in the garden.

Celosia

Another set of brightly-coloured bedding plants that are great for summer gardens is the celosias. The plumes of showy blooms produced in summer make for an impressive statement when planted en masse. They grow in full sun and like a bit of shade for half a day, and they make great pot plants to bring indoors when the weather gets colder and there may be a chance of frost.

Varieties

Choose from a variety of hybrids like ‘Armor’, ‘Ice Cream’ and ‘Kimono’ in bright yellow, red and pink, but also look out for the jaw-dropping ‘Dracula’ with its dark purple to red cockscomb above green and red foliage. It makes a stunning cut flower and will last a while in a vase.

How to grow

Soil: Rich with added compost.

Light: Full sun or shade for half the day.

Water: Keep well-watered.

Feed: Feed regularly with fruit and flower fertiliser or liquid plant food every 2 weeks.

Prune: Deadhead regularly to encourage flowering.

Brought to you by the Bedding Plant Growers Association (BPGA)

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The Gardener