TOP PLANTS FOR YOUR CLIMATE

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Northern US & Canada (Zones 2-4)

We know, we know, your last frost date can be as late as May 15th, but don’t let that keep you from getting started in your garden! Preparing the soil in beds can be done as soon as thaw has occurred and when it stops raining. It’s not good to work in muddy soil—we tend to do more damage than help. The other thing you can do is focus on plants that can take colder weather and still grow or bloom. This might mean covering them on the coldest nights, or moving plants in and out of a garage for the last few spring freezes, but getting an early start can really help when your summers are short. Here are some of our favorite plants for your FAR north containers & gardens.

Plant List

  1. Supertunia® Black Cherry™ Petunia
  2. Superbena® Royale Cherryburst Verbena
  3. Superbells® Cherry Red Calibrachoa
  4. Bright Lights™ Yellow Osteospermum
  5. Lemon Coral™ Sedum
  6. Butterfly Argyranthemum
  7. Laguna® Sky Blue Lobelia
  8. Dahlightful™ Dahlia series
  9. Snowstorm® Giant Snowflake® Sutera
  10. Goldilocks Rocks® Bidens

Click on the plant images below for more plant information.

Northern US & Canada (Zones 5-6)

April 15 is generally the last frost date for your area and it is not too early to get started on planning for your garden. We know your springs can be unpredictable, so start the year looking for the healthiest cool season flowers. Try keeping them in a sun room or garage and moving them out each day to get adapted to your outdoor conditions. An early start means a longer season of color and enjoyment, but be prepared to protect them if cooler weather sets in. Also. if you begin visiting your local garden center as early as possible you’ll find a better selection of plants and avoid that huge rush that begins when the weather finally clears.

Plant List

  1. Superbena® Royale Red Verbena
  2. Superbells® Cherry Star™ Calibrachoa
  3. Snow Princess® Lobularia
  4. Sunsatia® Cranberry Nemesia
  5. Sweet Caroline Ipomoea
  6. Supertunia® Picasso In Purple™ Petunia
  7. Lucia® Dark Blue Lobelia
  8. Señorita Rosalita® Cleome
  9. ColorBlaze® Velveteen™ Solenostemon

Click on the plant images below for more plant information.

Northeastern US (Zones 4-5)

Winter is always slow to let go of you in the northeast, it may even still be snowing in April in your area, but a good start to the gardening season involves getting your flowers early and acclimating them to spring’s uncertain temperatures so they are ready to explode into color as soon as possible. Your last frost date varies from April 15 to May 15, but the number of nights below freezing will become fewer and fewer as April proceeds. Ask your local garden center which plants will tolerate spring’s cold best and still flower all summer! Here’s a short list of some of our favorites for your area.

Plant List

  1. Supertunia® Picasso in Pink® Petunia
  2. Superbena® Sparkling Ruby Verbena
  3. Superbells® Frostfire™ Calibrachoa
  4. Snow Princess® Lobularia
  5. Butterfly and Vanilla Butterfly® Argyranthemum
  6. Surefire® Red & Rose Begonia
  7. Angelface® Perfectly Pink Angelonia
  8. Señorita Blanca® Cleome
  9. Flirtation® Pink Diascia
  10. Illusion® series Ipomoea

Northeastern US (Zones 6-7)

While your gardens are in the middle of the eastern mountains and coastal plains, spring can still be iffy with late frosts and then suddenly shifting to hot and humid summers depending on your location. While your last frost date is April 15th, spring can come and go quickly, so successful planning is the key to have garden color all summer long. Start checking garden centers soon, as this is the time of year when they have the best selection, plus you can beat the crowds! This is a great way to escape the last of winter’s cold fronts, snuggled in a warm greenhouse looking at beautiful flowers. Ask about plants that can take some cold weather and still perform all summer as well. Here are a few we recommend for your area!

Plant List

  1. Snow Princess® Lobularia
  2. Diamond Frost® Euphorbia
  3. Supertunia® Vista Bubblegum® Petunia
  4. Superbena® Large Lilac Blue Verbena
  5. Superbells® Strawberry Punch™ Calibrachoa
  6. Stratosphere™ Gaura
  7. Luscious® Pinkberry Blend™ Lantana
  8. Playin’ The Blues® Salvia
  9. Señorita Mi Amor™ Cleome
  10. ColorBlaze® Keystone Kopper® Solenostemon

Pacific Northwest (Zones 4-6)

Living in the colder or higher regions of the Pacific Northwest means you usually have wonderful cooler summers, but spring can be a problem with late storms and wet weather. Your last frost dates vary from April 15 to May 15, but don’t let that hold you back! There are lots of fantastic spring flowers that can take a few cold nights close to freezing and still provide color that lasts through summer! Most people think you live in the perfect climate for gardening since it appears anything will grow, but the trick is to find those flowers that can really perform under cooler, wet conditions and avoiding those that have a high heat requirement. Here are some suggestions for your garden from Proven Winners®!

Plant List

  1. Supertunia® Vista Silverberry Petunia
  2. Superbena® Royale Peachy Keen Verbena
  3. Superbells® Lemon Slice™ Calibrachoa
  4. Blushing Princess® Lobularia
  5. Sunsatia® Lemon Nemesia
  6. Pure White Butterfly™ Argyranthemum
  7. Diamond Frost® Euphorbia
  8. Bluebird Nemesia
  9. Mystic Illusion Dahlia
  10. Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime Ipomoea

Pacific Northwest (Zones 7-9)

The coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest vary in when spring comes based on both their latitude and their elevation; it makes it hard to account for everything when you are choosing plants for your garden. Only by knowing your exact USDA hardiness zone can you know when it is safe to plant your spring garden, as the last frost dates can be anywhere from February 15 to April 15 depending on your location. So in spring it is good to have a selection of plants that don’t require too much heat and can tolerate your often wet spring and summer weather, however most garden experts agree you are lucky to live in one of the best gardening locations in the world! Look for plants resistant to powdery mildew, which is often a problem in your PNW garden. Here is a short list of some of our favorites for your area!

Plant List

  1. Supertunia® Royal Velvet™ Petunia
  2. Superbena® Burgundy Verbena
  3. Superbells® Garden Rose Calibrachoa
  4. Opal Innocence® Nemesia
  5. Flirtation® series of Diascia
  6. Graceful Grasses® Prince Tut™ Cyperus
  7. Timeless™Fire Pelargonium
  8. Sunsatia® Cranberry Nemesia
  9. Laguna® Sky Blue Lobelia
  10. Illusion® Emerald Lace Ipomoea

The Midwest (Zones 4-5)

Spring is a long time coming in the northern plains of the heartlands. The winds bring cold air and can be a challenge, and your last frost dates can be anywhere from April 15 to May 15. When summer does settle in it can stay hot and dry for extended periods depending on where you live, so your garden plants (like the people who live here) need to be strong and tough! When you start planning and buying plants for your garden it is a great idea to give those plants a bit of time to acclimate before planting them. Even a few days of slow exposure to the winds of spring can help them to adjust and get started. It makes it easier to perform all summer when they have been babied a little bit at the start. Here are some of our top performers and all are tough and ready for your heartland garden!

Plant List

  1. Supertunia® Royal Velvet™ Petunia
  2. Superbena® Royale Red Verbena
  3. Superbells® Cherry Blossom Calibrachoa
  4. Snow Princess® Lobularia
  5. Boldly™ Dark Red Pelargonium
  6. Sunsatia® Blood Orange™ Nemesia
  7. Snowstorm® Snow Globe® Sutera
  8. Beth’s Blue® Isotoma
  9. Señorita Rosalita® Cleome
  10. Superbells® Coralina Calibrachoa

The Midwest (Zones 6-7)

While your last frost date of April 15 may seem a long way away, spring is looming for the southern heartland of the United States. This is an interesting place to garden because you have a little bit of everything, each year from gentle springs, to rip roaring thunderstorms, to heat waves and cold fronts, and it takes a wide variety of plants to cover all the bases. Spring plants need to be able to adapt to the heat of summer and a wide variety of conditions. That is what we at Proven Winners® look for: tough, long season performers. Here’s a quick list of great plants to get you through the entire gardening year!

Plant List

  1. Supertunia® Vista Bubblegum® Petunia
  2. Superbena® Violet Ice Verbena
  3. Superbells® Garden Rose Calibrachoa
  4. Snow Princess® Lobularia
  5. Angelface® Blue Angelonia
  6. Luscious® Citrus Blend™ Lantana
  7. Superbells® Grape Punch™ Calibrachoa
  8. Blue My Mind® Evolvulus
  9. Señorita® series of Cleome
  10. Timeless™ Fire Pelargonium

Southwestern US (Zones 4-7)

The Desert Southwest is a very tricky place to garden, so much depends on elevation. While most of the southwest enjoys milder winters, the last frost dates can be as late as April 15 to May 15 and then look out because summer is on its way! Super high light levels, low humidity, and scorching temperatures mean that you are often better off having a spring garden and then selecting new plants for your summer garden, but nature doesn’t give you a lot of time to make that shift. Getting a late start can make it even harder since your plants may not have had time to adjust before summer begins to sear its way into your garden. Here are some great plants we selected for best performance in the desert southwest, and especially for your hot summers. Remember, a water-saving drip irrigation system can save you not only water and money, but if used regularly will also help extend the performance of your plants through the summer.

Plant List

  1. Supertunia® Vista Bubblegum® Petunia
  2. Snow Princess® Lobularia
  3. Vermillionaire® Cuphea
  4. Luscious® series of Lantana
  5. Diamond Frost® Euphorbia
  6. Blue My Mind® Evolvulus
  7. Mojave® series of Portulaca
  8. Sweet Caroline Bewitched Green with Envy™ Ipomoea
  9. Flambe® Yellow Chrysocephalum
  10. New Wonder® Scaevola

Southeastern US (Zones 7-8)

Spring for most in the Southeastern US has already sprung, and while last frost dates for some are as late as April 15th, it is time to start planting your garden. But gardening in the southeast is a challenge. Spring quickly changes to summer and the heat and humidity grow more and more intense so that by June many gardeners have retreated indoors to watch their garden from the comfort of the air conditioning! Picking plants that will last an entire summer in the southeast can be difficult; a plant that can withstand high day and night temperatures and high humidity can be a challenge, but we’ve narrowed it down for you to some outstanding and very tough flowers to try this year!

Plant List

  1. ColorBlaze® Coleus
  2. Toucan™ Rose Canna
  3. Snow Princess® Lobularia
  4. Vermillionaire® Cuphea
  5. Luscious® Marmalade Lantana
  6. Diamond Frost® Euphorbia
  7. Blue My Mind® Evolvulus
  8. Señorita® series of Cleome
  9. Sweet Caroline Ipomoea
  10. Artful® Fire and Ice™ Caladium

Southwestern US (Zone 10)

When it comes to gardening in the southwest in USDA zone 10, let’s just say life gets ‘complicated’. You would think that since your lowest temperatures are between 30-40 degrees that you live in an eternal spring, but temperature is only part of the story. Much of Southwestern Zone 10 is VERY dry and VERY bright – so you need plants that can take the sun and that are tolerant of lower water use. A great tip is to use larger containers when growing in pots as a larger pot (you guessed it) holds more water. Your soils are usually high pH (which can affect which plants do best) and clay based soils are most common, which is good, since clay is great at holding onto water. So, for water sensitive landscapes with high light levels, and sometimes blazing summer temperatures, you need tough and reliable flowers. Here is our top 10 for your region!

Plant List

  1. Boldly® & Timeless® series of Pelargonium
  2. Luscious® series of Lantana
  3. Surefire® series of Begonia
  4. Quicksilver™ Artemisia
  5. Prairie Winds® ‘Blue Paradise’ Schizachyrium
  6. Superbena® series of Verbena
  7. Supertunia® series of Petunia
  8. New Wonder® Scaevola
  9. Sweet Caroline series of Ipomoea
  10. Mojave® series of Portulaca