Fuchsias are well known as container plants, and the small woody shrubs are overwintered indoors. Enthusiasts, as well as commercial growers, strike cuttings in early spring. They take root easily and come into flower soon afterwards. The mass-produced plants find their way to the containers and hanging baskets of consumers who normally allow the plants to freeze to death in autumn.
Although this species is peerless, it has many different names, including Mina lobata and Quamoclit lobata. Whatever its name, it is always the same magnificent Mexican climber that displays its beauty best in southern countries. In cooler climates, it needs a warm and sunny position, but even then it will not flower until the second half of the summer. Sowing indoors early in the year will encourage it to come into flower slightly sooner.
CAPE MARIGOLD
“Sophisticated marigolds” – that may be the most succinct way of describing Dimor-photeca sinuata. This South African species bears orange-yellow flowers, but has a far more expensive aura than the “cheap and cheerful” marigolds. Perhaps that is because of its stylish shape and its contrasting center. Or is it due to the satiny sheen on its petals? Whatever the reason, Cape marigolds add distinction and beauty to flower-beds and, above all, to containers adorning a smart patio or balcony.
DAHLIA
Many people will remember dahlias as long tubers that were kept in the cellar in a bed of peat dust waiting for spring. They were then planted out to provide colorful flowers in late summer. Fortunately, there are still devotees of this romantic way of enjoying dahlias, but there is no need for anyone to do without them if they no longer have a cellar or anywhere else in the house where it is cool enough to prevent the tubers from drying out. The plants may also be grown from seeds or cuttings and commercial growers produce huge quantities of plants for flower-beds and containers by these methods. Dahlia plants grown from seed will have developed some tubers by the end of the season, and this also applies to some dahlias grown from cuttings. Some of the specialist firms, however, strike the cuttings in such a way that the plants will produce hardly any viable tubers, thus ensuring that you will be obliged to buy more dahlias next year.
Low-growing dahlias for pots and flowerbeds are the principal kinds grown from seed or cuttings. Their ancestors include Dahlia merckii from the warm regions of Mexico. It never freezes there, so the plants – and this applies to all dahlias – do not tolerate a single degree of frost. The very first autumn night frost causes the leaves and stems to turn black and die off immediately. It will then be time to remove the tubers of all tuberous plants from the soil. They will be protected briefly by the cushioning warmth of the soil, but will not tolerate any further frost.
SWAN RIVER DAISY
This newcomer rapidly conquered the world of containers and hanging baskets. No wonder, because it has everything going for it: beautifully divided leaves and, above them, white, yellow, or lavender-pink to blue flowers which are borne non-stop throughout the summer. The foliage tumbles over the rims of pots, containers, and hanging baskets. Because of its dense growth, it is advisable to combine this brachycome with other species in the same container. It grows trouble-free in sunlight and better still in partial shade, either in a border or in a pot. If you are growing it in a pot, make sure the soil never dries out completely, as the leaves will turn yellow otherwise.
