flower suggestions please.....

[betcsu]

im looking for flowers that will do well in a plant urn located in direct afternoon sun. sumpin' low maintenance and inexpensive yet purdy. suggestions???

[LFE]

Consider plastic ones :-)

[Kensey]

The first thing that comes to mind is to look at (http://www.wildflower.org/collections/collection.php?collection=WV) some native plants of WV (http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/flowers/natvplts.htm) -- they are likely to do well in prevailing conditions with the least intervention. As to which ones would do well in a container, I would think that as long as the container is big enough and well-drained, you wouldn't need to worry too much as long as you're sticking to flowers and not trying for shrubs or exotic stuff.

[KatherineA]

I planted Lantana for the first time along my "sidewalk" this is clay, the sun beats down and they were planted next to rocks. They did GREAT! and bloomed and bloomed until we had a heavy frost. They are an annual and are sensitive in the spring to cold - so plant them later - after Mother's Day. They come in a variety of colors and are generally available at nurseries (or home Despot). They survived the drought and were fine with very little extra watering

I would not go "native" in an urn, unless it is big and you can leave the plant in all winter without breaking the urn. I am assuming that is not possible because the urn would likely crack.

[WVGeo]

Enough light for blackeyed susans? Deer aren't crazy about them, either. Although the groundhog thought they were OK.

[MoeMoe]

geraniums are also great....they bloom and bloom all summer, into fall....do have to keep pinching the old flowers tho...Kath A...LOVE lantana!!

[KatherineA]

Lantana - yeah - I never knew about this flower until last year when I went home to help my Mom with her yard for the summer/spring. She insisted on buying a couple of kinds and showed me photos my sister took of the plants the previous year. They are really nice. Her's get particularly big and beautiful because she has the good midwest black dirt and waters a lot.

And, I forgot to mention -the deer did not touch them in my yard and do not bother them in her's either.

[MoeMoe]

I had bought them as flower baskets one year for the porch....never saw them before that either.....the dead flowers sort of fall off, and then a new one is under there...they bloom and bloom and bloom. I think Home Depot had them.

[AshleyT]

I always end up getting whatever looks pretty at the garden center. I'll have to look for the Lantana as I don't think I have any of those. I do have lots of geraniums in my garden and in pots. As far as pots and planters, has anyone ever used
www.newprocontainers.com (http://www.newprocontainers.com/)?

[Willis]

WV is emerging as a resource for rain gardens. Rain gardens are used to mitigate great BIG messes like we have i the slopes of our big blue hill. but that's another story. The WVDNR has a list of nurseries where native plants can be obtained w/o fear of introducing an invasive species. The link to a page of these nurseries is HERE (http://www.wvdnr.gov/Wildlife/NativeVegetation.shtm). One advantage to using native plants is their resistance to being eaten by our abundance of fauna that make our area so special.

Some of the plants offered are not going to be suited to planters or flowerbeds, but some will do just fine and dandy. The nascent Blue Ridge Watershed Coalition will be sponsoring workshops on stormwater management in the future. Have you considered a rain garden to control runoff and erosion? Stay Tuned and attend our next meeting at the MCC on May 7th

[katybelle]

Love Lantanas. They come in a variety of colors and really take off when the summer heat cranks up. I've had great luck with coleus in pots on my deck the last few years.

[KatherineA]

I've said it before and I will say it again - if you want nice native plants try Prairie Nursery.com. They are great and guaranteed .