Pretty in Pink... and Purple Prince for her!

By Onika Amell, tropical plant specialist

Q: I have a bare spot in my front garden, behind a low wall, in part-sun. I'm hoping to find an evergreen, flowering ground cover that will cover it quickly. Any ideas on finding something with the ability to eventually also cascade over that wall? I live on Marco Island, Florida.

A: Barleria Repens - Small Bush Violet, is a tough, fast-growing evergreen that blooms from late spring to autumn. Of the many Barleria we see in the tropics, Pretty in Pink is one of the most striking! The name tells the whole story: pretty and pink. A lot of gardeners enjoy using them as a ground cover. They will quickly cover a large area - their stems root readily as the plant crawls along. They are easily propagated by lifting the rooted runners or using cuttings. They also reseed easily. Flowers are followed by seed pots that explode open when dry, dispersing 4 seeds at a time! But perhaps best liked by many gardeners, is their habit to cascade. It will be well suited for covering the bare area in your garden and spilling over that wall beautifully.
When used as a ground cover, remember to pinch out young shoots to encourage bushiness and prune the plant back hard after flowering to keep it neat.
Barleria repens will also adapt to different situations in a garden if you need them to. Although they usually form a rounded to spreading bushy shrub, 2 ft high by 3 ft wide, they will climb when you give them support. They are often allowed to lean into nearby trees and shrubs.
Hardy to 28F, Barleria repens is pest-free and fairly frost-tolerant. They love sun and part shade, as well as well-drained soil and plenty of organic material. Avoid planting it in deep shade as it will get leggy and reluctant to flower.
They will thrive when fed with a slow release fertilizer at intervals of 6-8 weeks, throughout the growing season.

There is another cultivar of this exact variety that has blue-purple flowers, it is called Purple Prince! It couples perfectly with Pretty in Pink! :)

See all Barlerias from our store

Colors of Cannas

By Onika Amell, tropical flower specialist

Q: I’m a beginner gardener and looking for something easy to grow that will add a lot of color to my garden fast.

A: Try growing Canna lilies. They are a favorite of many gardeners as they are so easy to grow and always provide a reliable, beautiful show of flowers. In fact, Cannas are one of those plants that are spectacular even if they never bloomed. The leaves are tropical-looking, banana-like and huge! They range in a wide variety of shades and colors, always accentuating the large showy flowers on top.
One of our favorite cannas right now is Canna Cleopatra - very striking and most unique. Large yellow flowers speckled with red spots, or red flowers and even flowers with a little bit of both. Foliage is exotic and very beautiful, often dark green, dark chocolate or a combination of both. This is a canna that will definitely illuminate your garden!

Caring for Cannas

Cannas like a lot of water, full sun and high heat. They are also heavy feeders and prefer soils that are well drained, organically rich and moist. The leaves will quickly tell you when the plant is hungry. Feed your cannas weekly with a water-soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer Broad Leaf Plus, and they will quickly respond with beautiful, lush growth. Deadhead often to encourage continued flowering. Cannas are winter hardy in US hardiness zones 7 and warmer. If you live in colder areas, the rhizomes need to be lifted in the fall, and stored indoors in a dark, warm spot until spring arrives. Be sure to divide clumps every three or four years. Give them lots of room as they grow into large plants, forming spreading colonies up to 7 feet high and 4 feet wide. Show them off in mass plantings, in large containers or in mixed flower borders. Lure in hummingbirds with these beauties!