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| Photo Credit: Lane Greer |
| The orange flowers of million bells spill over the edge of window boxes. |
Early this summer I planted sweetpotato vine (Ipomoea batatas) in a pot, expecting to divide it several times during the growing season. Three months later, it was only a foot long. Needless to say, I was underwhelmed.
Many common trailing plants used in containers, such as sweetpotato vine and variegated vinca (Vinca major), are well-suited to hot and humid summers. West of the Cascades, however, we have much cooler summers and very low relative humidity. What annuals perform well under these conditions? Petunias (Petunia) and million bells (Calibrachoa) are great plants for Northwest container gardens. Almost all of the large containers I’ve seen this past summer contained one or both of these plants, including hanging baskets in Victoria, Canada, and huge baskets in Lake Oswego, OR. Available in almost every color, petunias are extremely popular because they’re so easy to grow. Their smaller-flowered cousin, million bells, comes in similar shades, but the range of colors is slightly smaller. (Million bells look great in rock gardens, too.) Both species bloom all summer, even when temperatures are really warm, and I’ve talked to several people who, like me, have noticed that hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers of million bells – a bonus! | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Lane Greer | | In cool blues and purples, trailing lobelia bears hundreds of tiny flowers. |
Another summer-long bloomer, trailing lobelia (Lobelia erinus) is available in white, blue and purple. I had lobelia in both a pot and a hanging basket this summer; the hanging basket looked stunning, while the pot was so-so. In other words, give lobelia room to spread out, and it’ll really shine.
I planted silver licorice (Helichrysum) late in the season and saw it grow 3 feet in one month. What a performer! The fuzzy, gray-white foliage combines well with almost anything, so use it in all your containers. There are also yellow variegated types of this plant available.
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