Warning! The following list has been developed for Canadian gardeners, so for a climate where transplanting in the ground will take place in late May or early June. For readers who garden in more temperate regions, I suggest that you consult a specialist in your sector to know what to sow in February.
Angelonia
Latin name: Angelonia angustifolia
Elegant yet tough plants bring long-lasting color with very little maintenance. These look beautiful in mixed combos on the patio or create a soothing sea of soft color in the landscape. This heat-tolerant plants is a good replacement for alyssum and ageratum. Pelleted seed
Sowing month: 2 Temperature (°C): 23 Days germination: 4-5 Blooming: June to September Exposition: sun Spreading: 20-25 cm Height: 25-30 cm Soil: dry Usage: border plant, pot, patio container plant, flower bed, dry soil
Asarina
Latin name: Asarina scandens
This flower, sometimes called "Twining Snapdragon", features a dense screen of soft green leaves on a fast- growing vine, crowned with rich snapdragon-like trumpets of small pink, scarlet, violet and blue flowers. It takes 18 weeks from seeds to festive flowers that attract hummingbirds.
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 20
Days germination: 10-15
Blooming: May to October
Exposition: sun
Height: 350 cm
Usage: cut flower, hanging plant, climber
Bidens
Latin name: Bidens aurea
Improved variety with golden yellow, 5 cm flowers on a compact plant.
Latin name: Bidens aurea
Improved variety with golden yellow, 5 cm flowers on a compact plant.
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 20
Days germination: 10
Blooming: July to September
Exposition: sun
Height: 45 cm Usage: hanging plant, flower bed, rock garden
Canna Hyb. South Pacific™ series
Latin name: Canna x generalis
This series is more vigorous, more uniform, and has more basal branching than comparison cannas. Pollinator gardens will love this series of a canna that sports uniformly colour flowers over a long blooming period. This series is grown from seeds, not tubers, meaning less chance of succumbing to the disease.
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 24
Days germination: 14-21
Blooming: June to September
Exposition: sun
Height: 60-80 cm
Soil: moist
Usage: flower bed, border plant,
Dusty Miller
Latin name: Senecio cineraria
Its silver-dusted, intricately defined leaves are a dramatic addition to your garden, especially among brightly coloured annuals.
Sowing month: 2-4
Temperature (°C): 20
Days germination: 14
Blooming: June to September
Exposition: sun
Height: 20 cm
Usage: border plant, flower bed, deer resistant
Cigar plant
Latin name: Cuphea ramosissima
Pink Shimmer is easily sown at home. An abundance of small flowers covers the delicate leaves all summer long. This showpiece is superb when in full bloom, even in hot weather, and requires no deadheading. Ideal in any arrangements. Multipellet seeds
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 22-25
Days germination: 4-5
Blooming: July to September
Exposition: sun, half-shade
Spreading: 30-45 cm
Height: 25-40 cm
Soil: dry, warm
Usage: rock garden, flower box / pot, dry soil, border plant
Dichondra
Latin name: Dichondra argentea
Distinct with its long silvery stems covered with small, elegant, rounded silver leaves, Dichondra displays vigorous growth and heat tolerance under full sun conditions. It is also a nice ground cover but requires well-drained soil; keep a 5-8 cm space between the plants.
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 22-24
Days germination: 4-7
Exposition: sun
Spreading: 90-120 cm
Height: 5-8 cm
Usage: ground cover, flower box / pot, hanging plant
Gaura
Latin name: Gaura lindheimeri
All America and Fleuroselect winner, this little star sparkles in your garden! Sparkle White is a great summer performer that adds a touch of airiness to a border, in mass planting and patio containers. This first year flowering perennial in zone 5b presents earlier with a more uniform flowering. Thanks to its better branching habit, long panicles of 3.5 cm starry white flowers decorate the garden until fall.
Winner: AAS Flower Award Fleuroselect
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 21
Days germination: 5-6
Blooming: June to September
Exposition: sun
Height: 60-70 cm
Soil: Dry
Usage: flower box / pot, flower bed, dry soil
Cape Daisy
Latin name: Osteospermum ecklonis
The osteospermum (or Cape daisy) is an asteracea native to South Africa. From a botanical point of view, it is a perennial, but as it hardly withstands temperatures below -4 / -5 ° C, it is generally cultivated by us as an annual...
It is a very flowering plant, which produces in quantity flowers similar to beautiful daisies, in shades of white, pink, mauve or orange, borne between 20 and 40 cm in height by rather dense and good-looking foliage.
It flowers continuously from May to October. If you live in a region with mild winters, you can also take advantage of its graphic foliage, which persists during the winter.
Sowing month: 2-3
Temperature (°C): 20
Days germination: 7-10
Blooming: June to October
Exposition: sun
Height: 25 cm
Soil: well-drained
Usage: border plant, flower bed
Vinca
Latin name: Vinca rosea
Also known as "Madagascar Periwinkle". Trouble-free, easily grown plants do well, where most other annuals would die of heat and pollution. DO NOT overwater these plants and give them heat.
Variety description: «All America» winner. A burgundy halo surrounding a large white center makes a vivid contrast for this bicolored bloom, quite spectacular in a garden or patio containers. Heat and drought tolerant, it requires little water. Quite carefree and known as the sun's Impatiens.
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 26
Days germination: 18
Blooming: June to September
Exposition: sun
Height: 25-35 cm
Soil: dry
Usage: border plant, container, flower bed, hanging plant, rock garden
Ornamental Pepper
Latin name: Capsicum annuum
Onyx Red is a stunning plant that steals the show! This compact, well-branched ornamental pepper is adorned with eye-catching dark black foliage which contrasts with tons of shiny red fruits by the end of July. It is an ideal plant for beds, borders, and containers. It will attract pollinators and make a nice fall decoration. Its decorative fruits are nontoxic but are not meant to be eaten.
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 20-25
Days germination: 5-7
Blooming: July to October
Exposition: sun
Height: 20-25 cm
Soil: well-drained, warm
Usage: border plant, container,
flower bed
Ptilotus
Latin name: Ptilotus exaltatus
For those who are constantly in search of special flowers! Joey is a unique plant with large, conical, 6-10 cm bottlebrush flower spikes, glistening silver with a darker neon pink colour near the tips. Excellent as an accent plant in mixed containers or as a complement in annual flower beds, Ptilotus is heat and rain tolerant.
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 24-26
Days germination: 7
Blooming: June to September
Exposition: sun
Height: 30-40 cm
Soil: well-drained
Usage: flower bed, border plant, container, rock garden
Bunny Tail
Latin name: Lagurus ovatus
The popularity of ornamental grasses is growing steadily and landscapers can't get enough of them! Tall or dwarf, annual or perennial, their graceful spikes dance in the wind, in neutral shades that match the spirit of fall. Though many are propagated vegetatively, here are some other popular ones that are propagated from seeds.
Variety description: An annual, this grass produces small 3-5 cm wide inflorescences, resembling a rabbit's tail. Use in pots or for cut flowers.
Sowing month: 2
Temperature (°C): 12-15
Days germination: 15
Blooming: July to October
Exposition: sun
Height: 20 cm
Soil: well-drained
Usage: border, flower bed, container