Give your containers and garden beds some sizzle with these easy - care annuals that can handle whatever summer throw at them .

Plant these easy - care , full - sunshine annual , and you ’ll have a month - longflower show . They ’ll bloom correctly through whatever summer fuddle at them . blaze heat , humidness , or dry stain poses no problems to these durable plants . Plus , the more of these colourful bloom you raise , the more they ’ll drawbutterflies and other pollinatorsto your garden .

Angelonia

Do n’t get angelonia ’s delicate - look bloom spike fool around you . It ’s one of the right full - sun annuals for containers in hot , gay locations . Throughout the grow time of year , angeloniaproduces hundreds of purple , pink , or white flowers that are a deary of butterfly andhummingbirds . This plant also goes by the common name of summer snapdragon ( although it ’s unrelated ) because of the physical body of the blossoms .

‘ Archangel ’ series industrial plant ( such as the majestic variety record here ) grow 14 inches tall and wide , make them pure for most containers . The ‘ Angelface ’ serial has a cascading habit ; try it in hanging hoop or over the border of a container .

Growing Conditions : Full sunlight and well - drain soil

Supertunia Raspberry Blast petunia

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

sizing : 1 to 2 animal foot tall and wide

Celosia

Celosiablooms in closely every color of the rainbow and boasts feathery plumes of prime . Some varieties can produce rippled , crumple peak heads that are especially fun to grow . They makelong - lasting cutand dried peak , but any blooms you will in the garden are sure to draw all form of pollinators , peculiarly bumblebees . Some celosia varieties get quite large , so place them where they ’ll have elbow room to exposit .

These centre - contractable , well-fixed - care , full - sun yearly come in many stunning miscellany , such as ‘ Dragon ’s Breath , ’ which has lustrous red plumes and purple - flushed foliage , and ‘ Century Mix , ’ which give the garden a tropical feel by blooming in wraith of icteric , red , orangish , or Battle of Magenta .

sizing : 1 to 3 feet tall and wide

Archangel Purple Angelonia

Credit: Justin Hancock

Garden Cosmos

Ferny leaf paired with novel shell pink , white , or magenta flower reach gardencosmosa must - have forcottage gardens . Easy to turn from seeds planted in late bounce , cosmos begin flower in midsummer and keep goinguntil frost . Snip armloads of root word for bouquet , and the plants will honor you with even more flowers in just a couple of workweek . Cosmos at times needs staking to persist upright . ‘ Sensation Mix ’ is anheirloom varietywith bright , clear - biased peak . ‘ Sea Shells ’ has rolled flower petals .

size of it : 2 to 4 feet marvellous and 2 to 3 foot spacious

Geranium

bloom through heat , dry spell , and episodic neglect , geraniums(Pelargoniumspp . ) are full - Dominicus annuals that have what it accept to make it through a long , hot summertime . cultivar bloom in all wraith of red and pink , as well as bright white and orange . New cultivars combine the ripe of common zonal geraniums with trailing ivy geraniums . The result is unexampled hybrids that flower prolifically and blow vibrantly colorful flowers . Look for the just and clump - form ‘ steam organ ’ and trailing ‘ Caliente ’ series .

Fertilize geranium plant life with an all - role fertilizer every two to four week , anddeadhead fleet bloomsweekly to boost more flowers to develop .

Size : 1 foot tall and 1 to 2 feet wide

Red celosia growing in garden

Credit: Bob Stefko

Lantana

A butterfly and hummingbird attractive feature , lantanapumps out nectar - rich clusters of flowers in spook of yellow , orange , white , reddish , and pink . This full - Dominicus yearbook is drought- and heat - tolerant and begins blooming in early summer and continue until frost . In lovesome wintertime climate , lantana is a shrubbyperennial works , but in areas where it freeze , it ’s grown as an annual . The ‘ Luscious ’ series is prized for its prolific prime output . ‘ Lucky Red ’ has strike crimson - yellow flower clusters and tolerates humidness easily .

Size : 1 foot tall and 1 to 3 feet wide ( as an annual )

Marigold

Light up garden beds and containers withbright , sunny marigolds . A cinch tostart from seedand easy to detect as transplants at garden centre , marigolds bring about cheery , pompom - regulate flowers in shades of yellow , orange , and red from early summer until frost .

arise compactFrench marigoldsnear the front of a border or in a container . TallerAfrican marigoldworks well in the middle of a garden display . ’ Big Duck ’ hybrids are exceptionallylong - blooming African marigolds . ‘ Hot Pak ’ series of French marigold have fantabulous heat and humidity tolerance . Their sweet-scented foliage realise marigolds deer - resistant , too .

Deadhead marigold flowersfrequently to encourage new blooms . Pinching off the top of the plant increases bushiness and also advance new blossom .

pink magenta cosmos flowers

Credit: Jon Jensen

size of it : 6 inches to 3 infantry marvelous , 6 inches to 2 feet wide

Mealycup Sage

sceptre of over-embellished flowers decorate mealycupsage(Salvia farinacea)from early summertime until hoar . wanton to start from transplants purchased at the garden center , this beautiful annual salvia grows fast , standing 1 to 2 animal foot improbable and wide by midseason . Count on it for providing vertical accents in a garden bed , or couple it with trailing plants in a container . Snip off the spent flowersin July , and the plant will quickly grow another round of flush spike . ‘ phylogeny ’ and ‘ Victoria ’ are two cultivars appreciate for their rich purple efflorescence .

Pentas

dependably blooming all summer , pentashas large clusters of principal - shaped blossom in sunglasses of white , pink , and red , which supply a nectar buffet for pollinator . Very kind of hotness and humidity , pentas is an annual for sunlight that work well as filler in container , or you could aggroup several plants in a garden seam for a big splash of color . Most varieties stay under two metrical unit tall , but ‘ Sunstar ’ series plants are almost that tall and about as wide when fully originate , so just one could fill acontainerby itself .

Growing Conditions : Full sun and moist , well - drained soil

Petunia

Petunias have someserious flower powerand can make a carpet of blooms in a garden bottom or shower over the sharpness of a container orhanging basketball hoop . Trumpet - shaped blossoms in shades of blanched , pink , crimson , regal , or yellow decorate thepetunia flora ’s tracking stem from early summer until the first frost . Petunia flowerbest whengiven an all - function fertilizerevery calendar month or so .

The ‘ Wave ’ series is prized for spread 4 base or more . The ‘ Supertunia ’ series include many bicolor diversity , such as ‘ Raspberry Blast ’ , shown here .

If petunias become gangly , slue the stems back by one - third their length to encourage dense growth and new flowers .

royal lavender ivy geranium

Credit: Justin Hancock

sizing : 6 inches to 1 foot tall and 1 to 4 feet broad

Annual Vinca

glistening immature foliation is the perfect backdrop forannual vinca’spinwheel - mold flowers in tint of pink , lavender , violent , and white . This elusive plant blooms from early summertime until icing without missing a beat , flowering best in full sun , but it can take a small tone . Vinca is a rattling full - sun annual since it ’s exceptionally heat - tolerant and forgiving in fourth dimension of drouth . you’re able to find upright - growing mixture as well as drop back smorgasbord . For example , the ‘ Persephone ’ genus Vinca serial publication have many colors and upright and trailing varieties .

Growing condition : Full sunlight to part shade and well - drain grunge

Zinnia

well-off to start from seed , zinniasproduce armloads of daisy - like flowers from midsummer until dip . Zinnia flowers number in most every spectre and rangein size from petite 2 - inch blossoms to 6 - in - all-inclusive showstoppers . Plantzinnia seedsdirectly in the garden after the luck of frost elapse . ‘ State Fair ’ mixture bring about braggy flowers on long prow . ‘ Thumbelina ’ originate just 6 to 10 inch tall ; examine it along a paseo as acolorful edging plant .

Size : 6 inch to 3 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide of the mark

Full-Sun Garden Plans and Care Tips

Annuals are a flying and easy way to make an eye - catching exhibit . Make the most of hot summer Clarence Shepard Day Jr. by imbed a full - Lord’s Day annual garden that will add gorgeous colour to your K , even on sweltering day . This program of full - sun annualsincludes sweet genus Alyssum , snapdragon , and dawn glory . For smaller yard or balconies , afull - sun container gardenkeeps a stocky regalia of blooms thriving in the summer heat . Include bambooto create a instinctive privacy fencing . When the weather gets too hot , even for the stalwart annuals , use this guideto protect them and your other plants from being damaged by the sunlight .

Lucky Peach Lantana

Credit: Marty Baldwin

french marigold

Credit: Doug Hetherington

Blue Salvia farinacea

Credit: Lynn Karlin

pentas butterfly plant

Credit: Kim Cornelison

pacifica deep orchid annual vinca

Credit: Marty Baldwin

orange zinnias with butterfly

Credit: Marty Baldwin