| Last year I set a planter with geraniums and lobelia by our front porch. They looked as if they were too hot (even in our cool climate) and failed to grow, even though I have had great sucess with this combination in other planters elsewhere in the yard. I can only assume that the location (southeast corner of our East facing porch in a corner formed by the deck and the adjoining steps) was too hot. Can you suggest a combination that might work? |
| Usually western or southwestern exposures are the tough ones. Soil temperatures can really heat up in containers. One trick you might try is placing the planted container inside a larger container, filling the space in between with crumpled newspaper or styrofoam peanuts as an insulator. Warm-season annuals that take heat and sun include sunflowers, zinnia, cosmos, gaillardia, petunia, salvia, vinca, tithonia, black-eyed Susan, portulaca, celosia, globe amaranth, verbena, four o?clock, and lisianthus. |
