Hardiness zones
Sunset All zones
USDA All zones
Landscape Use: Edging, bedding plant
Form & Character: Hardy herbaceous perennial, bright, warm and cheery
Growth Habit: Low, mounding to 16"
Foliage/texture: Green to gray-green, linear to lanceolate leaves to 2 to 3", sessile, fine
Flowers & fruits: Terminal clusters of rounded flowers w/ splayed margins, many colors and bicolors, fruit inconspicuous
Seasonal color: Winter, Spring, and early Summer, purple, red, pinks, and white, bi-colors
Temperature: Prefers temperatures between 25oF and 90oF which means in Phoenix that one sets plants out in late September and can rely on them for a good show of color until late April or early May in Phoenix.
Light: Full sun
Soil: Well drained w/ ample organic matter, high fertility and good water holding capacity, in other words....good garden soil!
Watering: Apply regular water at all times even in winter
Pruning: None
Propagation: Seed
Disease and pests: None
Additional comments: One of the most consistent cool season bedding plants for the Phoenix area. Set out transplants in early October at about 6"-8" on center. Works well in a mixed planter bed with Lobelia erinus. Sometimes reseeds and might survive an entire summer if planted in an eastern exposure location. A plethora of cultivars, new ones each year.
Noteworthy cultivars examples:
'Albus' (white)
'Vampire' (deep red)
'Zing rose' (scarlet red)
'Microchip' (multicolored)
