Top Plant Picks for Summer Color: Foliage (Part 2)

Colorful and enticing plants fill every table and rack at garden centers in May.  Even the most experienced gardener may feel a little overwhelmed with so many interesting choices.

Annual or perennial?  How big will this get? Will deer and bunnies eat it?  How long will it last?  Sun or shade?  Will it grow in a pot?  Will it stand the heat?  How much care will it require?  And most importantly, will it go the distance and survive all season?

Gardeners may seek out bright flowers for summer arrangements, first.  But variegated foliage is far more reliable for long-lasting color.  Try including a few stunning foliage plants along with the bloomers for greater impact.

These picks for summer foliage thrive in our climate, provide months of color, and won’t require any specialized care.  Plant them with confidence in your containers or ornamental borders this year.

Long Season Foliage Plants

 

Begonia rex-cultorum:  over 4000 named cultivars  Common name: Rex Begonia

Season of interest: year round indoors, May to frost outdoors   Size: 10″- 18″ tall and wide

Sun:  Full to partial shade   Water: Moderate, Well drained moist to medium soil.  Allow the top half-inch of soil to dry out between watering.

Soil:  Porous, sterile soil with slow-release fertilizer.

Foliage Colors: Green, silver, red, pink, purple, maroon, white, black

Notes:  Easy to grow, no need to deadhead as blooms are insignificant. Pinch back to encourage bushiness.  Fertilize regularly for abundant growth. Use in shallow pots and hanging baskets.

Toxic to animals, but still protect from deer and rabbits

Native to India,  Hardy in Zone 10-12

 

 

Caladium bicolor:  over 1000 named cultivars  Common name: Caladium, Elephant Ears

Season of interest: May to November  Size:  12”-24”

Sun: Full shade to Sun, depending on the cultivar    Water: Well drained moist soil

Soil:  Rich, well drained potting soil or loam with slow-release fertilizer worked in

Colors: Whites, pinks, greens, reds; multi-color

Notes:  Easy to grow tender perennials grown for showy, long-lasting foliage in hanging baskets, containers, and for bedding. Blooms are insignificant and most gardeners remove them when they appear.  Caladiums love heat and humidity. Start rhizomes indoors in March or April and set plants out after the weather settles in late May or early June and night time temperatures remain above 55F.  Overwinter as a houseplant or dry and store rhizomes at room temperature.  All parts of the plant are poisonous to eat and leaves cause irritation to the mouth.

Deer and rabbit resistant

Native in Central and South America,  Hardy in Zone 10

 

 

Coleus scutellarioides, formerly Plectranthus scutellarioides:  many species and cultivars  Common name: Coleus

Season of interest: May to frost  Size: Upright and shrubby, can grows to 2’-3’

Sun:  Full shade to full sun, depending on cultivar   Water: Well drained soil, drought tolerant

Colors: Variegated burgundy, maroon, green, purple, orange, pink, white, cream, yellow.

Notes:  Easy to grow tender perennial for hanging baskets, containers, bedding and borders.  A clumping member of the mint family, Coleus is grown mostly for its foliage, but will produce stalks of tiny flowers all season.   Some gardeners pinch these off as they form, but hummingbirds and pollinating insects love them.  Pinch back new shoots to encourage bushiness. This well behaved plant won’t run, and propagates easily from stem cuttings struck in wet soil.   Hardy in Zone 10-12, and may be overwintered as a house plant.

Wildlife friendly, attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.  May be grazed by Deer

Native in tropical and subtropical Asia and Australia

 

 

 Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’: 75 species in the genus, native from Canada to South America

Common name: Purple Heart, Purple Queen

Season of interest: May to frost  Size: 12”-30,” vining growth

Sun:  Full or part sun, best color in full sun   Water: Moderate, well drained soil, very drought tolerant

Colors: Purple leaves and pink flowers

Notes:  Tradescantia is grown for its bright foliage from April through frost and small purple flowers in summer and fall.  It is a tender perennial; hardy to Zone 10, but its roots are hardy to 10F.  The plant often returns in spring.  Easy to grow, it doesn’t require deadheading.  Pinch back to encourage bushiness and to control size.  Flowers are insignificant but attract pollinators.  The plant is slightly poisonous if eaten and causes irritation in the mouth. Grazers rarely touch it.  Grow in a hanging basket, container, or as ground cover in a bed. Overwinter as a houseplant.

Deer resistant, wildlife friendly, attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees

Native in Northern Mexico Hardy in Zone 10

 

 

Dichondra argentea ‘Silver Falls’:   Common name: Dichondra ‘Silver Falls,’ Silver nickle vine

Season of interest: May to frost  Size:  Vining ground cover or ‘spiller’ in pots and baskets that cascades 3’-6’

Sun:  Full sun to partial sun   Water: Moderate, well drained soil, drought tolerant

Colors: Silver green foliage with insignificant yellow flower in spring

Notes:  Dichondra is very easy to grow in hanging baskets, containers, and as ground cover. Grown mostly for its foliage, it roots easily at each node, and will fill a container as ground cover in a few months.  It may return from its roots in spring in Zone 7. It catches and reflects light from its shiny leaves, lending a polished look to plantings.

Deer and rabbit resistant

North American Native Hardy in Zone 9-11

 

 

Heuchera: 50+ species, hybrids and cultivars  Common name: Coral Bells, Alum root, Heuchera

Season of interest: April to frost  Size:  12″- 36″ depending on type and age

Sun:  Full sun to partial shade   Water: Moderate, well drained soil, drought tolerant

Soil:  Moist, well drained soil rich in organic matter.  Will thrive in a variety of soil types and pH levels

Colors: Silver, green, red, purple, brown, pink, lavender, white, nearly black- many varieties have interesting variegation on the leaves

Notes:  Heuchera thrives in shady gardens, where it is grown mostly for its beautiful, ruffled leaves.  It has a mounding habit and grows larger over the years, but never runs or becomes invasive.  Heuchera blooms in spring and early summer with tiny flowers on long panicles that attract a variety of pollinators.  It prefers consistently moist soil, especially when grown in full sun.  It retains its leaves through winter in a protected location.  Deer may graze Heuchera, but it will generally bounce back.  Grow it near the house or use repellents to protect it.  Heuchera performs equally well in containers and in the ground.

Wildlife friendly, attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees

North American Native Hardy in Zone 4-9

 

 

Ferns provide beautiful texture and a surprisingly wide range of color, particularly in shady areas.  The Japanese painted ferns, Athyrium niponicum hybrids, provide some of the most intense and unusual colors for ferns.  They retain their color throughout the season.  Many Dryopteris species, hybrids and cultivars send out brightly colored new fronds each spring in shades of bronze, gold, red and orange that eventually mature to shades of green.  Find ferns with red, purple or black stipes that contrast with their pinnules, offering color in an otherwise green planting.  Deer and rabbits rarely touch ferns.

To learn more:  Fabulous Ferns for Every Garden

There are many excellent choices for colorful foliage, and this short list is just a start of good choices for gardeners in our area.

 

Read Part I of this Post: Top Plant Picks for Summer Color:  Flowers

Part III: Top Picks for Living Ground Cover

All photos by Elizabeth McCoy.

Elizabeth McCoy is a JCCW Master Gardener Tree Steward and a former Williamsburg Botanical Garden volunteer.