Favorite full sun bedding flowers??

[DTisme]

I need to replace a few beds of full-sun bedding flowers - I'd used vinca/periwinkle before, but they get sorta leggy after a while. I'd like to replace w/something about this same height. Would prefer perennials or annuals with a long life. Any suggestions? I'm in lower HPP.

[Andy]

I'm a sucker for Celosia. I have variety with purple foliage and pink flowers. It self sows a little too so it never really needs to be replaced. I'm also in lower HPP....it loves heat and doesn't seem to be bothered by drought or abundant rainfall. As a bonus the birds love the seed

[Iju]

I like pentas...beautiful flowers all year round with little care. But the plant is more bushy and taller than periwinkle.

[DTisme]

Mahalo, Andy & Iju! I ended up getting some zinnias, esp. for the color, but there's another bed I need to redo, so the advice is most welcome.

[Andy]

If you want some Celosia, I've got tons of seed.

[missydog1]

I haven't grown zinnias for ages, brings back memories. Hope to hear how they do. They tend to mildew as the plants age in other places I've tried them.

I've been enjoying spathoglottis, ground orchids. As much as the name isnt a household word, if you google image it you'll get lots of pretty pics.

I like that they bloom and bloom and I do absolutely nothing. ;-)
I like mini-roses in a hot sunny spot. Portulaca is a nice ground cover. Evolvulus aka blue daze or Hawaiian Blue Eyes. Fibrous begonias are tough little work horses. Common yellow day lilies, Stella d'Oro bloom year round.
Gaillardia (Mexican blanket flower)
Verbena
White trailing lantana
Gazainias "Aztec"
Torenia (wishbone flower, Olaa Beauty). (Plenty water.)

[Carey]

the mini roses in my yard do bloom like crazy, but mine also grow like crazy... in the rain last fall they got a litlle out of control...then we were busy with the holidays & fencing, and now they are over my head (granted I'm short...but they are now big bushes )

Are there mini roses that stay in the 1-2 foot height?

and those spathoglottis are really nice looking (had not heard of them)...are they really that low maintenance???

[missydog1]

Carey, yes I do have mini-roses that stay about 12-18" in height. I bought them at Garden Exchange and they weren't labeled as any specific variety. Lots of colors from white to yellow to red ot orange to pink and bi-colors too.

The ground orchids are really carefree, especially the purple ones. The yellow ones remind me of having freesias or daffodils, very cheerful. They go dormant about half the year but the purple ones don't seem to.

As an example of tough, I had a purple clump that was hanging over the front sidewalk and not blooming, kind of shaded. I took the shovel and scooped it out, maybe a 4-6" deep rootball. Then I didn't even plant it, but set it down in a bit of a hollowed out area and walked away. Two days later it had new buds and proceeded to bloom non-stop for the next six months. [] I did nothing for it.

[DTisme]

Wow...so many good suggestions. turns out I put in a new sun bed, so I'll have plenty of choices! Particularly like those ground orchids!

[grumpyscosmos]

quote:

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Originally posted by Iju

I like pentas...beautiful flowers all year round with little care. But the plant is more bushy and taller than periwinkle.

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There is a dwarf variety...stay pretty tight and only gets up to about 18 inches..