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daffodillady

easy care flowers

daffodillady
14 years ago

So I already have a love affair with daylilies, cannas, crinums, and irises. Is there anything else along those lines that grows well in pots, bright shade to full sun, easy care, not a water glutton, overwinters outside, and has large flowers? I am especially looking for summer to fall blooming ideals, as most of the ones already mentioned have bloomed already, although the canna will bloom repeatedly all summer(-:

Comments (13)

  • madabouteu
    14 years ago

    It depends on what you mean by large. Coneflowers are readily available right now and will bloom a long time. The blooms tend to be about4 inches across and a pot may have half a dozen blooms at a time.

    You may want to consider the Asian-type lilies, though they seem to be past their prime already. I'm not familiar with them, though.

  • lsmcw
    14 years ago

    Phlox - long blooming, big bunches of flowers, bright colors, full sun perennial, starting to bloom now in my area - bomb proof. Linda

  • tedevore
    14 years ago

    Large flowers--I have some hibiscus in a pot that terry gave me blooming now.
    I also have some very large Texas Star hibiscus that will be blooming with big red flowers in July. I do water these often, and am not sure how they would do if i didn't. But they are lovely. The only thing that bugs me is that the hibiscus often starts blooming early morning, and by the time i get home the bloom can be done for. But you get lots of blooms. I also have some formosa lillies that get about seven feet tall and get really big easter-lilly size blooms, late july.
    Outrageous plants, but really cool.

  • tweetypye
    14 years ago

    Have you tried growing different types of rubeckias and maybe tithonia (mexican sunflowers) They are heat resistent, drought tolerant and will bloom till frost. They aren't all perennials, but will easily reseed and are so easy to get to grow. I also recommend coneflowers. An added bonus with these plants are the butterflies they attract. Check out the link below on tithonias.
    Jan

    Here is a link that might be useful: Mexican sunflowers

  • sinai
    14 years ago

    Nothing as informative and helpful as repeating what everyone else has already mentioned.......:)

    Coneflowers, Texas Star Hibiscus, rudbeckias, 'David' tall phlox and last but not least Moonflower vine, big blooms, blooms till frost, smells heavenly and watching it open up in the evening is a hoot......

    Paul from Alabama

  • caroleena
    14 years ago

    clematis, blanketflowers (reseed themselves) tickseed.

  • kabby_z8
    14 years ago

    Is there anything else along those lines that grows well in pots, bright shade to full sun, easy care, not a water glutton, overwinters outside, and has large flowers?

    daffodillady, we seem to have the same taste regarding the love of daylilies and crinum so allow me to introduce my third love. Hedychium gingers. They grow well in pots, tolerate full sun,(for me the more sun the better) easy care, overwinter outside, and have large flowers. They DO like water but if they are in containers they have to be watered more often than not right? The canes shrivel down to the rhizome in the winter, all you have to do is pull them off in the spring.
    coronarium
    {{gwi:364368}}
    Kinkaku
    {{gwi:364369}}
    Pink Flame
    {{gwi:364370}}
    Sherry Baby
    {{gwi:364371}}
    They start blooming in July/Aug and continue until frost and OH they are wonderfully fragrant!

  • daffodillady
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks, all, for the great suggestions. I was out of town over the weekend, so I am just getting around to checking my email. I will have to look most of these flowers up. Jan-birdlady10 told me about the Hedychiums at the spring swap, but I couldn't remember what she called them. I have the white butterfly, but have not seen the others. Kabby, those pictures/flowers are right up my alley!! Other ideals are still welcome(-:

  • daffodillady
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Okay, so I have a pot of winter-sown Formosa Lily seedlings. They are on their second summer. Last summer they got about 3-4 inches tall. So far this summer they have grown to about 6 inches. If the seeds that I received in a trade were correctly marked, then I probably will not see blooms until next summer, if they are supposed to reach 6-7 feet tall?

  • tedevore
    14 years ago

    When I got my formosa lillies at plant odyssey a few years ago, they were already a few feet tall in the container. it may take a few years from seed started plants to get to blooming stage. I've had to wait a few years for little hellebores to ever get big enough to bloom, so it all takes some patience I guess.

    Heres a picture of the tall formosa in my yard last august.

    {{gwi:364372}}

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:364367}}

  • daffodillady
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I recieved two hardy hibiscus this spring that have just started blooming, and tedevore is right, while the flowers are wonderful, they are closed up by late afternoon. I wonder if it is because the late afternoon full sun is too strong for them? I had Maximillian sunflowers in the ground before I moved. What a tall airy bright plant!! I think I will try those in pots and the tithonia as well next year. I had some blanket flowers last year that did not come back- now I see that there are annual and perennial forms- I will try those again as well. Phlox-yes!! Recieved a pastel pink one at the spring swap- love the variety of colors- will be adding more (-: Rudbeckias, tickseed, and coneflowers all sound interesting, as well. The clemantis in my area are all done blooming, will they rebloom? I wonder if I could plant moonflower and morning glories together and achieve round the clock blooms?

  • caroleena
    14 years ago

    i have had great success with clematis, gerbera daisy, rudbeckia, and the small garden mums. i put my clematis in the ground this year but if i had it to do over i'd have left it potted. also a pretty plant to have in a mixed container is autumn joy sedum. i have a pot of that with vinca and both have come back for years and i've split them every year. the sedum is a fav b/c when it pinks out it is gorgeous.

  • daffodillady
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Enjoy the garden mums! I have a small yellow flowering NOID sedum, that I love. Several of us had talked at the spring swap about potting up starts of our sedums so that they would be ready for the fall swap (-: