The Gardener South Africa – September 2019

http://www.thegardener.co.za I 37

Star’, ‘Lemon Slice’, ‘Pomegranate

Punch’, ‘Coralberry Punch’ and

‘Double Ruby’. All are excellent summer-

performing annuals and are also self-

cleaning (which means no-deadheading

is needed).

Bacopa MegaCopa (Sutera cordata)

This modern range of an old favourite

indigenous groundcover has been bred

for improved heat performance, a strong

well-branching habit and large flowers

in blue, pink and white. They are simply

gorgeous to include in a hanging basket.

Note: All of the varieties mentioned

can easily go it alone in a hanging

basket, but if you mix them together

you will create a real flower bomb of

mixed colour. They are obviously not

the only plants to use for hanging

baskets as there are many others that

are also suitable, like pansies and

violas. Remove the brakes from your

imagination!

growth habit as you want them to tumble
and grow wildly over the basket’s rim. Try
Petunia ‘Cascadia’ (50cm spread), ‘Tidal
Wave’ (1. 5m spread), ‘Shock Wave’ (90cm
spread), or ‘Easy Wave’ (1m spread).
There are also novelty petunias: ‘Amore
Queen of Hearts’ is a bicolour petunia that
displays five red hearts on each bloom.
Dashes of yellow add striking contrast to
complete the happy look. It has a semi-
trailing and densely blooming habit that will
dip nicely from hanging baskets. The ’Amore’
range of petunias holds up well to rain.
You might also come across ‘Night Sky’,
which has a cosmic appearance with dark
purple flowers dotted with white marks
resembling stars. Breeders of this neat variety,
which has a very floriferous flowering habit,
reckon that you can never fully rely on all the
flowers consistently having the same look,
but it remains a fascinating petunia to have
as an eye-catching filler in a mixed basket!

Lobularias
Call on lobularias (alyssum) and more
specifically, ‘Stream’ Lavender, ‘Stream’
Raspberry and ‘Stream White’. They form
densely mounded flower cushions and stay

in fragrant bloom for ages. Great for adding a

soft and fill-in touch to a basket.

Lobelias

These bordering annuals have always

been the stalwarts of flowerbeds and

containers, with their dainty white, sky blue

or dark blue flowers. Try the semi-trailing

basket range called ‘Curacao’, which have

been bred for excellent heat tolerance. The

‘Fountain’ series are equally suitable.

Calibrachoas

Hundreds of bell-shaped flowers on

Calibrachoa hybrids make them ‘must-

haves’ for hanging baskets. Calibrachoas

look similar to petunias, and the flowers,

while much smaller, look very alike. The

plant forms small mounds of leaves with

trailing stems that become covered in

brightly coloured flowers. Calibrachoas

are prolific bloomers from spring right

through to autumn. Look out for the many

varieties to brighten up your baskets with

flowers in virtually every colour of the

rainbow. Well-known varieties include

‘Conga Pink Kiss’, ‘Strawberry Sunburst’

and the ‘Superbells’ range with ‘Cherry

Bacopa ‘MegaCopa’ Pink Bloom Bacopa ‘MegaCopa’ Blue Bloom Lobelia ‘Curacao’ Dark Blue

Calibrachoa ‘Superbells’ Cherry Star Calibrachoa ‘Superbells’ Pomegranate Punch Calibrachoa ‘Superbells’ Lemon Slice