Container Plants for Summer Color

Sometimes creating seasonal bursts of color is a great way to add a focal point to a mixed border, or draw attention to entry way, porch or patio. Here are some easy-to-maintain plants that can be mixed and matched to create dramatic containers for the hot summer season when cool weather plants begin to fade.

Upright Form Summer Container Plants

Red Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’) – Full sun. A warm season annual grass that adds a great vertical accent to summer containers. You’ll love the fine textured, colored foliage this plant will add to the group of plants and it is easy to maintain. This ornamental grass prefers full sun and will die back after the first frost but while the sunny summer days are here it performs well giving a warm glow to container plantings that can be hard to find otherwise.

Canna Lilies (Canna) – Another vertical plant that adds a lot of excitement to a large container, canna lilies are tender spring planted bulbs that will flower in the summer. Typically tall plants, most cannas grow from 2-6′ tall or higher so check for specific cultivar information to make sure you will have a balanced summer container planting. Cannas are prized for their bold flower colors and dramatic foliage, often multi-toned. Full sun, cannas will tolerate poor soil conditions. They are half-hardy and should be dug up north of zone 7 for over-wintering.

Rounded Form Summer Container Plants

Petunia (Petunia spp.) – Full sun to part shade. Petunias are one of the most popular annual plants for hanging baskets and containers. Frequent winner of recent All American Selection Awards, they have a rounded, or slightly trailing, growth habit and produce flowers in almost every color imaginable except brown and black. Non-stop blooms make them a dependable addition to any container, whether you grow them singly or mixed with other plants.

Madagascar periwinkle (Cartharanthus roseus) – Sun to part shade. A popular bedding annual commonly called Vinca or Madagascar Periwinkle, the two-toned flowers come in a wide variety of colors and bloom spring through fall. Vince plants are moderately drought tolerant and do well in summer containers where they add color and foliage interest with glossy leaves.

Osteospermum (Osteospermum) – Full sun to part shade. Hybridizers in recent years have developed several new cultivars in a wide variety of colors and African Daisies are a popular summer container choice again. Deer resistant, and long blooming even without deadheading, African daisies have a rounded, compact growth habit. Annual except in zones 9-11.

Trailing Form Summer Container Plants

Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomeoa batatas) – Full sun. Another frost tender annual plant, the sweet potato vine is grown for the beautiful cascading growth habit and colored foliage to accent summer containers. The large, heart-shaped leaves can be found in bright green, dark purple (called black) or dramatic variegated forms. Easy to grow from cuttings, many gardeners will take late summer cuttings to over winter indoors so they don’t have to buy new plants next spring.

Licorice Plant (Helichrysum petiolare) – Full sun to part shade. Annuals outside of zones 9-11. Beautiful trailing growth habit with lovely silver foliage, licorice plants add lots of interest to a mixed planting in your summer container. Licorice plants tolerate drought conditions and poor soil and are also popular in textured gardens with their thick, fuzzy leaves. Plant licorice plants in well draining soil to avoid root rot.