There are several different types of flowering plants for full-sun gardens. Among these are the Lenten rose, the Confederate rose, and the Million bells. This article will explain each plant’s best characteristics and which ones can thrive in our state’s climate. Choosing the right plant for your home garden will also ensure its success. Here are a few tips for choosing the right plant for Alabama:
Lenten rose
One of the best rose varieties for Alabama is the Lenten rose. While it tolerates drought and competition, it does need a little shade. Plants that receive direct sunlight will not develop their rich, red foliage. Shade-loving Lenten roses are great for ground covers. If you want to grow your Lenten rose in the shade, make sure you plant it in a container with partial shade.
When planting a Lenten rose in your yard, make sure to place it in a well-drained location. Its bloom season lasts for two to three months. Once established, Lenten roses are drought-tolerant, but they are sensitive to soggy soil. During the winter, you should water and mulch the plant well. This is a great way to increase the rose’s bloom period.
Hellebores can be planted in a container. Hellebores grow best in soil that is alkaline. Add lime and wood ashes to the soil when you plant them. The Hellebores are best planted a foot or two deep. They like moist, rich soil with a good drainage. Hellebores also like to be pruned after blooming. If you don’t have room for a large Lenten rose plant, consider other species.
For a low-maintenance Lenten rose plant in Alabama, try Hellebores. These perennials are hardy and drought-resistant once established. However, the Lenten rose seeds quite often and may not be very persistent. You may want to consider the bear claw hellebore, which can be biennial and produce seedlings in a year. You can also try a variety that is deer resistant.
Shasta daisies
When considering plants for your yard, you should consider which ones are native to your area. Native flowers have been grown in Alabama for hundreds of years. Because they are native to Alabama, they are hardy and easy to maintain. If you’re planning to grow non-native plants, check your garden first to ensure they’re disease and pest-free. Bugs like weak plants, so you need to make sure they’re resistant to disease before planting them outside.
Butterflies love butterflies, and the blooms of this flowering perennial attract hummingbirds and butterflies. It grows well in a sunny spot and will tolerate light shade if you know how to care for it. Its large purple blooms attract butterflies, and the flowering period lasts from June through September. It grows well in full sun and tolerates partial shade. This plant is native to southern Alabama, where it thrives in marshy areas.
The state has a rich floral landscape and thousands of native plants. Because Alabama is a long, narrow state, the top and bottom halves have distinct ecosystems. In the north, you’ll find snow and freezing temperatures, and the southern half has a hot, humid climate with subtropical weather. However, no matter what part of Alabama you live in, you can be sure to find a suitable plant for your yard.
Confederate rose
The first step in growing Confederate roses is to ensure the soil is well-drained and fertile. Confederate roses are drought-tolerant once established, and grow well in a full-sun location. You should water the shrub at least once a week during the growing season, and spread compost around the base in spring. Fertilize the plant three to four times during the growing season. Plant the Confederate rose in the spring, and it will bloom in late summer or early fall.
This southern rose grows best in full sunlight, but it can tolerate partial shade. The confederate rose is a tender perennial, so treat it as such. A hard freeze can kill the plant to the soil level. To protect the plant until spring, add a thick layer of compost to the soil. Mulch will protect the roots from the cold and encourage multiple shoots, so it won’t turn into a tree.
You can prune the Confederate rose for size if desired. It can be pruned to 12 inches during its dormancy. This will help the plant grow moderately and bushy. Be sure to sterilize pruning shears before you start pruning. Then, spread one to two inches of compost around the plant every spring. Then, watch the rose bloom in no time. It will produce brittle seed capsules, which you can plant or store for future use.
Million bells
For the most beautiful blooms, plant the colorful Million Bells in full sun. The flower-bearing plants bloom from spring through fall, depending on the variety. Million bells can also be used in combination with other plants. If you’re looking for the best plants for full sun in Alabama, you should consider purchasing these in early spring and planting them in the ground after the last frost. Million Bells grow fast and reach toward the ground as a “spiller,” meaning that they spread quickly. They also look great planted in hanging baskets, mixed containers, and in the ground.
Calibrachoa million bells are a genus of flowering plant native to South America. This plant is a perennial in USDA zones nine to 11 and a tender perennial in colder climates. The flowers grow along stems 6 to 15 inches in length, resembling the growing habit of trailing petunia plants. The bells are a half-inch in diameter and fall off once their bloom period is over.
To increase the chances of blooms, plant the Million Bells in containers or other containers. If you’re unsure of which varieties to choose, the best choice would be a container for your plants. These container plants require little to no maintenance, but they do need pruning every now and then. This process ensures a full, bushy plant. Million Bells don’t require deadheading and are self-cleaning.
Chinese snowball viburnum
The Chinese snowball viburnum is a beautiful flowering shrub that grows up to 12 feet in height. This shrub is fairly drought tolerant once established, and it will bloom head-sized globes of white petals early in the spring, usually around Easter in Alabama. This plant will need about one inch of water per week for optimal blooming, but it will survive periods of drought without losing its appearance.
The flowering period of the Chinese snowball viburnum is from April through May or early June in cooler climates. Its leaves and flowers are lime green at first, turning to pristine white when it opens up. The flowers are sterile and do not produce fruit, so you do not have to worry about them causing any problems. They do not smell, and they blend into other plants quite well, so they require plenty of space to grow.
The Chinese snowball viburnum is one of the few plants that tolerates a wide range of soil conditions. It is deer-resistant, and its delicate white flowers attract butterflies. It will grow up to 12 feet tall, and can handle pruning easily. It is best to prune it after blooming to prevent the shrub from growing berries. The Chinese snowball viburnum also tolerates drought well.
Honeysuckle Bush
Honeysuckle Bush is one of the most popular flowering shrubs, but it can also be a problem. This plant grows up to 20 feet tall and 24 inches wide, but it can also be leggy near the base. You may not want to plant your honeysuckle bush near a walkway, patio, or other structure, though, because of the potential for damage.
It requires regular watering, but mature honeysuckle plants do best with well-drained soil. It can benefit from mulch around the root zone, which retains moisture and reduces watering requirements during dry summer months. Honeysuckle is not a heavy feeder and requires only a small amount of fertilizer once a year. Fertilizing too often will stimulate foliage growth, so be careful not to overfeed it. A single annual spring feeding will do the trick.
Once planted in the ground, honeysuckle will start flowering by the time many other plants are flowering outside. If you’d like to start honeysuckle seedlings indoors, make sure to start them at least six weeks before the average last frost date. You should plant them in 3 inch peat pots or in CowPots and fill them with seed starting mix.
