Tropicals & Tender Perennials: 'Phoenix' bird or paradise, 1 by dyzzypyxxy

dyzzypyxxy wrote:
Actually, my Knock-outs are pale yellow, and not as double as those. (I'll see if I have a pic from before) They've all just finished a bloom cycle. The coral one is called 'Easy Does It', another landscape rose bred to be disease resistant etc. I got these for a steal last summer when my local nursery was clearing them out for $3 each and planted 7 of them in a big clump out front to see how they do. Interplanted with some pentas to give the roses a bit of relief in the height of summer, but the rest of the year, and when the pentas are resting they should bloom like crazy. It's another experiment - we'll see how it pans out through the year.

They looked really good last week when they were all in bloom and now they're putting up new canes. We got a bit of rain last evening, so nice!

Btw the zinnias are something you could seed along with the nasturtiums in the fall. If we have a mild winter like we had this year, they'll bloom from February, maybe even before. Don't forget to thin them out so they'll be big plants! Each of those seedlings could be in a 6in. pot now. OR they make a great window-box plant, too. Keep an eye out for mildew on the leaves - things with fuzzy leaves like that are prone to it. A spray bottle with 1/2tsp. of baking soda per quart of water will keep the fungal diseases from ruining your plants. Spray often, it is soluble so it washes off easily.