Top 5... summer-flowering shrubs for pots
These long-blooming varieties will transform your patio with a season-long floral fiesta
1 Anisodontea capensis
Upright, soft-stemmed shrub with a woody base clothed in small, triangular leaves. Small, pink, hibiscus-like flowers with darker centres from summer to end of autumn. Full sun. Tender, so winter indoors. H: 90cm (3ft), S: 80cm (31in).
Tip Propagate from cuttings taken in summer.
From www.paddockplants.co.uk; tel: 023 8073 9912.
2 Abutilon ‘Kentish Belle’
Slender, lax-stemmed, semi-evergreen shrub with oval, shield-shaped leaves. Continual succession of apricot-yellow, belllike flowers with a rusty-red calyx from high summer onwards. Full sun. Tender, so winter indoors. H/S: 2.5m (8¼ft).
Tip Pinch back any long sideshoots to keep plant bushy.
From www.burncoose.co.uk; tel: 01209 860316.
3 Fuchsia ‘John Ridding’ (‘Firecracker’)
Eye-catching, variegated sport of ‘Thalia’. Upright habit with arching branches. White marbling to edges of grey-green leaves. New growth and underside veins are pink-tinged. Tubular, coral-red flowers from June-October. Tender, so winter indoors. H: 60cm (2ft), S: 45cm (1½ft). Tip Keep moist if growing in full sun to avoid scorch, otherwise locate in part shade. From www.vanmeuwen.com; tel: 0844 557 1850.
4 Lavatera ‘Barnsley Baby’
Dwarf form of well-known mallow variety. Openly branched stems clothed in soft pink flowers with darker eye over a very long season. Hardy, but mulch in winter. H: 75cm (2½ft), S: 60cm (2ft).
Tip Prune back to ground level in spring to encourage strong new shoots.
From www.yougarden.com; tel: 0844 6569 569. See page 58 for a special anniversay offer.
5 Lycianthes rantonnetii
Vigorous, semi-evergreen, laxbranched shrub, producing purpleblue, lightly fragrant, potato-like flowers throughout summer. Tender, so winter indoors. Sun or semi-shade. H/S: 2.5m (8¼in), but usually much less if clipped.
Tip Can be trained and clipped as a standard specimen.
From www.burncoose.co.uk; tel: 01209 860316.