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Gary350
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Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Looking for beautiful flowers that blossom all summer?

This is my list of Colorful Flowers so far, Cosmos, Moss Roses, Vinca, Scarlet Runner Beans, Marigolds, Nasturtium, Zinnias.

Not interested in flowers that blossom a few weeks then do nothing the rest of the summer.

Not interested in bulbs that come up every year & make flowers for a short time.

Not interested if flowers that reseed them self that are hard to rid of like Morning Glory. No more Moon Flowers either.

Not interested in plants that blossom only the 2nd year.

We are interested in beautiful colorful flowers that blossom all summer, if they attract butterflies, bees and birds that is better.

Can you add to my list?

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

How about salvias and celosia?
Ones that you listed so far are pretty easy to grow from seeds, and so are these.

Are you looking for ones that are easy to grow from seeds or are you going to buy a flat of bedding plants? Some annuals are not as easy to grow from seeds and I’ve decided I’ll just buy the plentiful and inexpensive flats — I’d rather spend my efforts on other difficult to find plants and varieties.


Perennials — there are daylilies that bloom all summer....

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ElizabethB
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Gary, a combination of annuals and perennials would be your best bet. There are exceptions but many annuals do not do well during the heat of summer. By mid summer early annuals are reaching the end of their growth cycle. That is where perennials take over. Stagger your plantings to get the most out of the blooms. Keep shade and sun in mind. Some annuals can be grown in partial sun in the northern regions but require deep shade in the south. Colorful ground covers are also nice for filling in and providing color between bloom cycles.

Every region is different. What works for me may or may not work for you.

Have fun and take pictures.

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Gary350
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I have already ordered seeds on ebay 99¢ to $1.50 free postage for a pack of seeds 50 to 200.

I will also buy plants in trays at the garden store.

Zinnias & Marigolds are easy to grow from seeds. These both do very well in TN all summer. I will buy plants in trays too.

I have a fence for Scarlet Runner beans to grow on they do well in TN. I have never planted Nasturtium so we will see how they do. I will buy a few plants and plant seeds too.

Cosmos are very beautiful I have never grown them from plants or seeds so not sure what to do? I will probably buy plants then sprinkle seeds round the plants.

Panzys are beautiful too I have grown these from plants, people claim they do not grow well in hot weather but I have let them grow all summer and they always did good.

I tried Moss Roses from seeds once not many came up but I planted them late it was already in the 90s it was probably too hot already. I will buy plants then sprinkle seeds in with the plants.

I have seeds for the most beautiful Purple Morning Glories I ever saw but I am afraid to plant them. Once you get morning glories started they are very hard to get ride of.

Vinca is nice, plants are expensive, not as colorful as Cosmos, wait and see when the times comes not sure I will plant these but they do very well all summer in 100 degree hot sun.

I am not going to spend much time planting seeds in trays, I will buy plants and sprinkle seeds around the plants. If seeds don't grow, OH well I tried. We are going to be gone the whole month of June camping in Michigan the garden is on its own until we return. I will have it planted before we leave.

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KeyWee
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I love euphorbia marginata in summer. Beautiful green and white flowers, long lasting. They look great for months here in our hot dry KY summer.

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applestar
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Nasturtiums like cool temps to germinate, so don’t wait too long to sow seeds. I have had more success with self seeded (seeds in the ground and overwintered in the garden) volunteers than ones I try to start in spring, but that might be just me?

Since they are large seeds, I thought they might benefit from pre-soaking and pre-germinating like peas, but that made them rot. When I showed them dry in the ground, they came up.

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ElizabethB
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In my region I plant pansy, Johnny jump ups, petunias and snap dragons in the fall. They do not do much over winter but bloom with a vengeance in the spring and early summer. Much better than if they were planted in the spring. I do not have mush luck with them over summer - just too hot unless they only get a few hours of morning sun.

Zinnias are great for summer blooms. I like Profusion and Dreamland. Profusion lives up to it's name - it blooms profusely all summer and is mildew resistant. An issue in the south. The blooms are small 1 1/2" to 2". Dreamland produces large blooms - 4". It is suceptable to powdery mildew. Perfect for cutting. Actually does best if the blooms are harvested. If the blooms are not harvested they need to be dead headed. If they are not cut or dead headed they will go to seed and stop blooming.
Cosmos and rudbekia also do very well over summer. I have a fondness for New Gold Lantana - a sprawling perennial with abundatant bright yellow blooms all summer. It does suffer some in July and August. A heavy pruning revies it. It will grow and bloom until first freeze'. Impatiens are my favorite shade bloomer. In my region they are considered tender perennials. If a heavy layer of pine needle mulch is applied before a frost the parent plants come back and they seed profusely. In the deep south Impatiens will only survive if planted in deep shade. I like to plant ornamental sweet potato vines as a ground cover. A mix of the purple and chartreuse makes a stunning combination. Purple sweet potato vines and new Gold Lantana are a favorite of LSU fans. Geaux Tigers. New Gold Lantana and both the purple and chartreause sweet potato vines screams Mardi Gras - purple, green and gold!

To show well Vinca needs to planted in masses. Actually most annuals show best en mass. Individual plants get lost in the garden. Sweeps of plants rather than clusters. Keep height in mind.

Leaving your garden neglected for the month of June may be a problem. Can you get someone to water? My neighbor's girls are always willing to water my veggies for me when we are away. They also collect the mail and check on the cats. I pay $10 a day and bring them a gift. Cheap when you consider the investment in the garden. They also get to harvest veggies. They love that. So does their Mom.

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Gary350
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When I lived in Arizona I had Lantana, red, gold, yellow around the pool & mix color in front yard. True red was hard to get when Lowe's and Home Depot got some in they were gone in a few hours. Lantana grows fast, the more water they get the faster they grow 3 ft or more every month and 114 degrees was no problem full sun all day with no clouds. I can not find true red pics online. Plants looked dead in winter in 21 degree weather but roots were not dead they come back every summer for 3 years. These were cheap in AZ $5 for 6 plants but TN they are $9 for 1 plant. I have not grown these from seeds.

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Vinca comes in several colors.

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Zennias state fair color

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cosmos

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moss roses

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nasturtium

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marigolds do well all summer in 100 degree weather

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thanrose
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Location: Jacksonville, FLZone 9A

My mother had a window she looked out in her last years. I had my natives, but also had scaevola and cleome growing in the dry sandy and sunny bed in her window view. Both scaevola and cleome bloomed through the summer and tolerated drought.

Cleome is supposed to reseed prolifically, and it certainly did in South Jersey, but not so in Florida. The seed pods never matured. I didn't bother to deadhead. Scaevola also did not reseed for me. I trimmed off very leggy bits on both of these a couple of times a long summer.

The periwinkle of tropical gardens, Catharanthus roseus, will reseed more toward the end of the season. They can be short lived perennials. They can be sheared, but not really pruned into formal shapes. Die with a hard freeze.

thanrose
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Now that I'm thinking about it, if you are willing to buy plants, you probably can have lupine and Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) blooming by the early fall. They tolerate drought and are both short life perennials.

Ksk
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Four oclocks

xtron
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for bees and butterflys, hollyhocks and English lavender. if you have spots you want permanant ground cover ie slopes or ditches, try creeping sedum. I believe it comes in several colors.
not a flower, but a bush..the butterfly bush (buddleia davidii) attract bees, butterfly AND humming birds. wish I had a spot for one

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Gary350
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Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Has anyone grown Lantana from seeds? Do they all germinate? How long does it take to germinate?

rolayla
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I personally like the purple blooms of Catmint.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Lantana New Gold (does not reseed, but has no pollen), you have to start with plants, other lantanas are invasive.
Blue daze ( blooms most of the year but only in the early morning, flowers close up after 10 am unless it is grown in morning sun.
Mexican oregano: it is a shrub in the verbena family, but I have had it for years and it has not reseeded. It is covered with small white flowers for most of the year
Fennel, Finnochio. Treat it as an annual. It blooms for a very long time and attracts all kinds of beneficial insects. To keep it from being invasive, I take it out every year before it sets seed and start a new from seed.
Sage
Calendula
Marigold, single gold
Black eyed susan
cuphea hyssopifolia (false heather) it does have invasive potential but it is not
Lavender zone 6-9 perennial start from plants. cut back annually.
Pentas
Russian sage
let some basil go to seed in the garden, the bees love it. Yep, it will reseed and more basil will pop up, but they are not hard to
move.
plant some native berries
Cilantro in spring and fall.
allyssum- attracts a variety of beneficial insects. It does reseed. It is a short lived annual and reseeding gives it the appearance of being a perennial in warm climates. It is not winter hardy. It can be sheared back for rebloom. When it lands in the lawn, just mow it before it matures it does not grow back. Seeds usually drop nearby it does not travel very far unless you spread it when it is cut.

Pollinator.org and the xerces society have plant lists of native plants for bees for each state. However, native plants are best for native insects, but not be the preferred plants for bees and butterflies. Bees cannot see the color red and they like relatively small flowers with a landing pad like plants in the daisy family. Honey bees have short tongues so they have a hard time reaching nectar on deep throated flowers. Long tongued bees and butterflies can reach the nectar of those plants. Bees need to collect both pollen and nectar from plants and need a variety of plants that bloom all year or nearly so. Pollinators will also need habitat, artificial hives, trees, shrubs, rocks for shelter. Modern hybrids that have been bred to be seedless or for double flowers are less attractive to pollinators. Seedless plants do not have pollen, double flowers have nectar that is hard to reach. Pollinators pollinate, that is what the plants put out flowers for, to reproduce. The best plants for pollinators unfortunately will probably also be plants that will reseed. You just have to pick ones that you can control or deadhead them before they drop seeds. There are some plants that bloom and rarely reseed, but sometimes that is dependent on zones. I can grow dahlias from seed and they will bloom, but the dormant tubers will never wake up if left in the ground in Hawaii.

cathiinminn
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Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2018 11:00 pm

Someone else mentioned cosmos. I planted seeds in a layer of good dirt to help them get started. They should
bloom in a month. They are EZ to grow and self seed for next year. Very hardy and dainty looking.

Another idea is sunflowers. They come in many varieties from dwarf to 25 feet tall !



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