{"id":44902,"date":"2014-05-06T15:35:23","date_gmt":"2014-05-06T19:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nybg.org\/plant-talk\/?p=44902"},"modified":"2014-05-06T15:35:41","modified_gmt":"2014-05-06T19:35:41","slug":"annual-exotica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2014\/05\/tip-of-the-week\/annual-exotica\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Exotica"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sonia Uyterhoeven<\/a> is the NYBG’s<\/a> Gardener for Public Education.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Cape<\/a>
Cape fuchsia (Phygelius<\/em> \u2018Devil\u2019s Tears\u2019)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you would like to introduce some razzle-dazzle into your container displays this summer, I would suggest hunting down an unusual South African member of the mint family called Hemizygia<\/em> \u2018Candy Kisses\u2019 (zone 9-11).<\/p>\n

In the wild, Hemizygia<\/em> (syn. Syncolostemon<\/em>) needs to contend with drought and fire. It does this by producing a woody swollen root crown called a lignotuber. This tuberous crown holds starches to get the plant through times of deprivation and fire while keeping dormant buds intact and ready to grow.<\/p>\n

You would never know that this lovely sagebush (Hemizygia<\/em>) was so embattled by looking at it. It grows to 2 feet tall in this area; has fleshy, variegated foliage with a creamy edge; gaudy dark purple stems; and tall, upright, pinkish-purple blooms.<\/p>\n

In flower, \u2018Candy Kisses\u2019 is not shy. For the earlier part of the summer you will be enjoying the variegated foliage and it will look akin to a variegated mint. The flowers will appear in late summer. If you grow it in a container, take it inside once the weather cools and it will continue to grow through the winter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In terms of its cultural requirements, \u2018Candy Kisses\u2019 is a real treat. It is a dependable, no-nonsense member of the mint family\u2014easy to grow in part shade to full sun while handling heat and drought like a champion. Give it a good pruning after flowering to keep its shape. Like other members of the mint family, its aromatic foliage acts as a pest deterrent for deer, rabbits and the like.<\/p>\n

Another South African beauty that I am delighted to see in the nursery trade is the Cape mallow (Anisodontea \u00d7 hypomadara<\/em>). I fell in love with this mallow years ago when I was visiting the Royal Horticultural Society\u2019s garden at Wisley in Surrey, England. It grows to a little over 4 feet tall and maintains a nice form\u2014flowering throughout the summer to frost. It has a quintessential mallow flower with a happy, hibiscus-type face that modulates from light pink to dark.<\/p>\n

\"Anisodontea
Cape mallow (Anisodontea \u00d7 hypomadara<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An exotic annual that we have grown successfully for years in the garden is Cape fuchsia (Phygelius<\/em>). They act in a similar fashion to dahlias in a seasonal display, providing good height (generally 3-4 feet), flowering prolifically, and adding structure to the border with their nice shrubby form. Unlike dahlias with their showy, full-rounded heads, Cape fuchsias have tubular flowers that dangle gracefully from spires.<\/p>\n

Two varieties to look for are the 3-4 foot tall \u2018Devil\u2019s Tears\u2019, which displays a predictably red flower that will bleed through your border, and the 4 foot tall \u2018Winchester Fanfare\u2019 that produces candelabra spires of blooms in salmon with a yellow throat. Newer on the scene is the compact Phygelius<\/em> \u2018Tie Dye Yellow Submarine\u2019. This pipsqueak only reaches 10-14 inches and is covered with bright yellow tubular flowers.<\/p>\n

\"Lion\u2019s<\/a>
Lion\u2019s ears (Leonotis leonurus<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>A final wonder from South Africa that can be grown successfully in our region as an annual is the showy lion\u2019s ears (Leonotis leonurus<\/em>). It can reach 4-6 feet tall, but pinch it early in the season to create a nicer compact form. It is a latecomer in the garden, and the fuzzy orange flowers look like a tropical bee-balm on steroids from late summer through the fall\u2014just in time to create a powerful color contrast with tropical sages (Salvia<\/em>) or more commonplace asters and mums.<\/p>\n
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Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These vivacious annuals will keep your home plot looking bright and lively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[1304,3943,3944,3945,3942,3946,154,192],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ph0lU-bGe","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44902"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44915,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902\/revisions\/44915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}