Osteospermum flower like GANGBUSTERS, all the way until they freeze to death! I had great luck w/ them last year.

the nurseryman gave you good advice - Gerberas will bloom best in cooler temps.

I agree with ademink - the Osteo's will be great in heat, as long as you pick from the Symphony series (yellows, oranges, cream), which I find to be much more heat tolerant than some other series (those with pinks and purples, such as Soprano series, amongst other series)

PP

Thanks for the advice pp and ademink! I was leaning toward the osteos, and my research led me to the conclusion that the Symphony series were the more heat tolerant selections. I still have reservations about St Louis heat, though. It gets super hot here, lots of mid to upper 90s, and into the 100s on occasion. Are the osteos able to withstand that?

I'm not sure on the almost 100s...we don't get it that often here. I found another link on GardenWeb that has some flower suggestions. It may be helpful! :)

I *did* have an Argyranthemum (a white w/ yellow center Marguerite) that was in my west-facing bed last summer (and it was HOT last summer). It didn't miss a beat, got REALLY big and was healthy as can be. It was a tough little sucker! I didn't say anything initially in my first reply b/c I didn't know that argyranthemum=marguerites! LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread on annuals

I had suspected that the Argyranthemum were tough little guys, and was surprised that no one had mentioned them. Hah! I did not know they were Marguerites! Thanks for the link. I had seen that thread before and have done almost all of those flowers before, except Zinnia, go figure! IÂm looking to branch out a little and also need something that is yellow, orange or red. Already have blue/purple and white represented. Heck, maybe IÂll just go with zinnias. I know theyÂre tough. TheyÂre readily available, nice colors. Like I said before, just wanted something a little different, exotic. Hey... maybe Tropical Hibiscus! Kind of pricey for 4 pots on a deck, but theyÂre exotic all right! I wanted to put them on my front porch (only 2 pots), which gets morning sun 'til about 1 pm, but every nursery person I talk to says that they need more sun than that. The cheapest IÂve found them is $13.50... whew! Never thought IÂd say this, but thankfully the weather is really icky right now and the greenhouses are like ghost towns. Gives me a little more time for research and thought. Thanks for all the help.

Osteospermums close up at night, so if you were looking for something to gaze at in the evening, you'll need to find something else. They also need to be deadheaded in order to keep blooming....

They close up at night and when its cloudy.

I grow gerbers every year and there is always a period of time without flower. I didn't realize that they were dormant, I just thought they were very slow to rebloom:) Every year I say I won't buy any because of it, but I can never resist. I only bought one this year. I'm in west suburbs of Chicago - hot and humid summers, but not as bad as yours.

Poppydog,
Do you do anything special to get your gerbers to rebloom? I've heard you need to trim away some of the leaves so the flower bud gets enought sun to actually flower. Also that gerbers, if planted in a container, like to be with certain other plants, but there are other plants it doesn't like to be planted with and as a result doesn't bloom. I have no idea what these "other plants" are. Any insights will be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance,
Chris