Get it growing
After a few false starts, it seems that reliably cool weather has finally set in across Louisiana. Many of us have even gotten our first frost or freeze of the season under our belts.
That’s a good sign that it’s time to overhaul your garden with colorful flowers that will thrive this fall and winter — if you haven’t already. And there are plenty of options to choose from.
“We’re lucky in Louisiana that we can basically grow color 365 days a year,” said LSU AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagg. “But there is a completely different palette when it comes to cool-season landscaping. This time of year, you’ll find a majority of pinks and purples at the garden center and in landscape beds around town.”
If you’re in the mood for mixing things up in this year’s coolseason garden, Stagg suggests incorporating white-blooming varieties to help break up similar shades and to add brightness to gray winter days. He also offers these recommendations for some less-common plants and new colors of familiar species.
With their incredible flower power, ability to withstand winter temperatures and lowmaintenance nature, petunias are a popular choice. Freezing temperatures may temporarily halt their bloom cycle, but the plants will quickly rebound.
Many gardeners are partial to the Supertunia series of petunia hybrids, and the Ag-Center has bestowed the title of Louisiana Super Plant on two members of this series: Supertunia Vista Bubblegum, with its bright pink flowers, and Supertunia Mini Vista Indigo, which has smaller blooms in a bluish-purple colorway. Stagg is excited about a new color in the series called Supertunia Vista Cool Jazz, a pale, pinkish lavender with hints of blue.
Vigorous petunias can quickly fill in large spaces in beds while working just as well in container plantings, where they tend to trail over the edges. Their longevity is impressive, with plants often continuing to bloom through May.
Violas are another cool-season favorite, and for good reason. They can survive temperatures well below freezing and are heat tolerant enough to last until mid-May. Their low, mounded growth habit looks great at the fronts of beds and in container mixes.
Violas look like smaller versions of pansies. These two flowers are closely related, as both are members of the Viola genus. Violas typically are more profuse bloomers and stronger performers in Louisiana landscapes.
Look for the Sorbet series of violas at your local garden center. A Louisiana Super Plant, this series boasts uniform, compact plants with flowers in a wide range of colors and patterns.
You won’t be restricted to pinks and purples with Sorbet violas. Stagg likes a couple of lesser-known introductions in the series: Tiger Eye, which is perfect for LSU fans with its yellow flowers and deep purple to black stripes, and Black Delight, a unique purplish-black selection.
“Combine both of these in containers for an unexpected, eyecatching contrast,” Stagg said.
Snapdragons are another species with alternatives to the ubiquitous pink-andpurple winter gardening theme. You can find snapdragons of various sizes with yellow and orange flowers. Their tall bloom spikes can offer some height variation for beds and containers.
This flower is a staple in florist shops, but you can plant it in the garden, too. It’s a fantastic cool-season plant that does especially well in containers, Stagg said.
Cyclamen can fulfill an important role in the landscape: bringing a splash of color to shady areas, where it performs best. Blooms come in white, magenta and red hues that complement the sturdy plant’s foliage, which has unique, silvery variegations.
Greens aren’t just for vegetable gardens. Their foliage can add textural contrast to flowerbeds. Plus, intermingling edible and ornamental plants is a smart way to make the most of small gardening spaces.
Consider greens with colorful leaves such as red varieties of mustard greens and cabbage as well as Redbor kale, a Louisiana Super Plant. For a blue-green accent, plant dinosaur kale.
For showier foliage, you can use ornamental kale and cabbage varieties, which are bred for their looks more so than taste.
It never hurts to include some classics to contrast with new and unique flowers.
For a dependable foliage plant, try dusty miller, which has white-to-silver, velvety leaves. It’s one of the newest additions to the Louisiana Super Plant family.
And what’s cool-season gardening without a little pink? You’ll be hard pressed to find anything better than old-fashioned pinks — better known these days as dianthus and one of the most coldhardy bedding plants around. Stagg suggests the Amazon and Jolt dianthus series, both of which are Louisiana Super Plant selections and feature various vivid shades of pink to purple.
