plants to put in front

can anybody suggest plants, (any kind) that can block the bottem of these 2 1/2 ft tall straggly poinsettias, take half day of florida sun, and maybe flower? :)

You looking for an annual or perennial? Sorry, I'm not a big Poinsetta fan, I see taking those out and that wall is just begging for a climbing or rambling rose. A deep red or yellow would just POP on that. Yummy!

i don't mind annuals, i'd take the time to replant and fertilize, but perennials would be better... roses might work but they are a major hassle, the ones i have usually burn up in summer if you give them thier amount of sun and won't flower if you dont give them enough without the heat

This message was edited Dec 20, 2007 7:57 PM

Well you need some mid height ones so: Mid-sized (1-15 inch plants) are many: aegeratum, impatiens, petunias of many kind, lisianthus, marigolds, nasturtium, celosia and phlox. Taller varieties include rudbeckia (black-eyed susans), snapdragons, larkspur, leonotis, hollyhock, strawflowers, statice, baby’s breath, cleome and cosmos. Those are all annuals and easy to grow.

wow, i got alot to look up on, thanx, any perennial suggestions??

Try this site to start you off :)

Hi
Have you considered Lantana? Lots of colors available. Fragrant. The hot orange shade is stunning and will go with lots of other flower colors. Should be perennial in your area. Once you got a nice stand of them you would forget all about what you got going there. (smile) I wish we could grow them in NC (advertised as perennial but I have yet to have any return) ...but tiny plants over the summer fill in all the spare spaces for us around the stream..very beautiful and more horizontal growing than vertical. Delicate appearance but they just keep going when other things fail from drought and sun. Hope this helps! Happy Holidays.

Also consider Mexican heather- it's SO easy- it spreads well, is heat and drought tolerant, and is easy to maintain. Each year, sometimes twice a year, I just go crazy with the pruners to get it back down to size and it comes back better, bigger, and stronger- nice pretty little purple flowers. Good luck!

redzone911, I would second the lantana, the Lantana Montevidensis is a trailing type. There are at least 3 cultivars, a Lavender, a White, and my favorite 'Silver Mound'. These are more prostrate and a sort of ground cover type. The Lantana Camara is the upright form and there are a ton of stunning colors if you can use them. They will get to 1 to 3 feet high depending on cultivar. 'Dallas' is a screaming red, 'Horrida' is a two tone red/orange, 'Samantha' is a varigated pastel yellow, 'Irene' is a lavender/pink and on and on and on. Gene

I love mexican heather - it is an annual here unfortunately. But it does look great with lantana --the red lantana and the purple of the heather. My favorite is Dallas! It is hot red and can compete for attention on the brightest sunniest days.

I would love to put the small variety of Crown of Thorns there. Yellow or the creamy white variety would be lovely in combination with the poinsettias. The Poinsettias will benefit from a good pruning in summer, by the way.