[spiderlily]

Okay, anybody here a seasonal color expert? I'm not. What would you put in containers on a pale grey patio surrounded by pale grey walls on 3 sides, with full on southern exposure?

I need big and small stuff that will take hard-core sun without frying, baking, or scorching. I am thinking tropical stuff, but don't even know what to look for.

[4seasons]

cannas, solar coleus, lantana, verbena
the brighter the better
that sounds pretty drab!

[familyguy]

1st find a company (online) called kinsman company and order some rain gel and rain rolls. (hold water really well)

2nd farfard 3b mix is what we use

3rd Planting list that can handle that description:

Canna lily in the center, ipomea marguarite on the sides, petunias (easy) wave variety on the sides, verbena vines (aztec variety are best), scaevola, bidens, on the sides, zinnia star or profusion for fillers, marigolds, dusty miller, both as fillers, also use lantana as a filler. mix the colors to what looks best but be really careful not to overplant.

[spiderlily]

Thanks for the replies!

My original post doesn't make this absolutely clear, but there is no dirt here!

The whole thing is pavers, with a fountain in the middle.

Everything will be in containers.

Do all these plants thrive in pots? I don't think Canna does, but I'm not sure about the others. Watering is not a problem (they have a staff to water) and money is not a problem, either, but it has to be bright and colorul all summer in BAKING BRIGHT HEAT.

Is there anything with summer long color and some real (huge, say) size?

[GLAN]

What you ask is exactly what my deck is like.

I am currently doing the annual painting of it.......it is a light gray, some may consider it to be very light gray. Furniture is dark gray

I have darker gray and pinkish plastic pots.

I have plants on the side of the house to do the pots.....

I do what I consider realy nice pots......visitors are awe struck when they see them.

Understand my phylosophy here. I posted pics of my house a while back.......My front is rather bright and colorfull, where as my back is more serene, basicaly I have none of the typical annuals in the back.......all perennials..............Ah well that is another subject....

Back to the topic at hand......

I don't go big for flower.........I do more for foliage........foliage color and texture..........various heights.......with a little flower thrown in.....but the coloring with the grey.........Awesome.

I'll check the plants tomorrow, maybe throw up some picks of them.

[Turtle]

I live in Florida Its hot bright baking all summer

If they have a staff to water then give them something nobody has
SMALL Foxtail PALMS for the summer with crotons underneath

There was restaurant in New Jersey that had queen palms shipped up every year to his place to be put in and then replaced each year.

Anyway my .02 cents from down here

[GLAN]

These are what I have been using for some years now;

Persian Shield
Helichrysum - Variegatta and Limelight
Brachyscome
Heliotrope - A must for the fragrance
Amelloides
Bacopa
(If I wanted a bigger splash of flower color...add in Impatient, such as Lipstick, or some other blue, purple. I have used yellow, just can't remember what plant in particular)

What we added this year to the above list is;

Goldilocks
Melampodium
baby's breath - (rose colored)
Acalypha "Giant Leaf"
Pseuderanthemum "Rubrum"
Perilla "Burgundy Perilla"

[GLAN]

I'll take some pics later today and post them asap.....so you can get an idea of how I throw it all together....

[TrickyDick]

We have a client with a patio just like this and she refuses to have anything but sivler/ grey helichrysum in her grey pots on her grey patio. Kills me.

For BIG season long color you gotta have Cannas- 4-6 feet tall, foliage and flowers of every color. Tropical foliage plants like Croton, Rubber Plant or small palms, etc. Stuff will bake pretty good there so drought tolerant stuff like lantana, verbena, ivy geraniums (my favorite). The king (queen?) of BIG container plants for BIG color has to be wave petunia. Also Bidens, Caibrachoa, Tithonia, Heliotrope (the fragrance does rock), scaevola, salvias, coleus, cleome, ageratum is great but finishes a little earlier than some other stuff. Profusion and Star zinnias. Sweet potato vines are a must for big pots.

I'd stay away from impatiens unless they will be watered every day. And using water retaining polymers and crystals like the Rain Gel will help A LOT with maintenance in summer. We even disassemble diapers if we run out and use the absorbant part. Yeah you feel silly walking out of BJ's with six boxes of Depends adult diapers but it's worth the humilialtion.