Minnehaha Master Gardeners

Sound Gardening Practices for Minnehaha County, SD

Container #25: Vermillionaire Cuphea – A Hummingbird Magnet!

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If you love hummingbirds, then this cuphea plant is just what you need! It is a hummingbird magnet! This plant loves the heat and is covered with orange blooms all summer.

RECIPE:
• (1) Cuphea “Vermillionaire” Firecracker Plant
• (1) Sweet Potato Vine “Sweetheart Jet Black”
• (2) Calibrachoa “Calibri Orange”

TIPS:
• The cuphea plant requires no pruning.
• Do not let this container dry out.
• Trim the calibrachoa occasionally to maintain fullness and continuous blooms.
• Trim back the sweet potato vine at any time it threatens to take over the pot!
• Click here to go to a PDF version of this post. https://sdsu.box.com/s/2gv64s7czn3xmuynt23rjt06uufll4zq

Container #26 (Joyful Succulents #5): Coppertone Plant

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The orange color of this succulent really stands out, and it is enhanced by the matching container and rocks. This plant will be a lime green color under low light conditions. Give it full sun and it turns orange.

RECIPE:
• (1) Sedum nussbaumerianum “Coppertone”

TIPS:
• Pinching off the top of this plant when it is young will encourage branching.
• I like to top dress my succulent containers with pea gravel to give it a finished look.
• I also use unique rocks to add to give the containers a more natural look.
• This plant is easy to propagate by leaf or stem cuttings. Watch for upcoming posts on propagation!
• Click here to go to a PDF version of this post. https://sdsu.box.com/s/x20x2pg36k4754q2kkujiru9wdoplvso

Container #27: Icicles and Silver Falls

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The silvery colors in this container are separated by purple. The Purple Heart plants offer some purple highlights in the background.

RECIPE:
• (1) Licorice Plant “Icicles”
• (2) Littletunia “Blue Vein”
• (2) Dichondra “Silver Falls”
• (2) Trancescantia “Purple Heart”

TIPS:
• Trim the ends of the dichondra when they reach the ground to prevent them from rooting to the ground.
• While they look like calibrachoa, littletunias are actually miniature petunias. They stay dense and have a mounded habit, so they make great filler plants. Littletunias need little if no pruning.
• This container has a large root system so water often.
• Click here to go to a PDF version of this post. https://sdsu.box.com/s/wvg38mxa119c6kdfyxseoocph11k8mld

Container #28 (Joyful Succulents #6): All About the Blues

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This combination is all about the blues, the container and plants all blending with their blue/gray coloring!

RECIPE:
• (1) Senecio “Blue Chalk Fingers”
• (4) Blue Echeveria
• (4) Variegated Sedum

TIPS:
• “Blue Chalk Fingers” will let you know if it needs water as its fingers will droop! This plant has a larger root system than many succulents.
• Trim the sedum as it matures if it tries to overtake the echeveria.
• Click here to go to a PDF version of this post. https://sdsu.box.com/s/v096hed56fpgi00b4rgotw1jdxq0cqxz

Container #29: Pineapple Splash

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This coleus tolerates sun well, and its colors are enhanced in the sun. I grow this plant where it receives sun until about 2:00 in the afternoon.

RECIPE:
• (3) Coleus “Pineapple Splash”
• (3) Lysimachia “Aurora”

TIPS:
• I recommend some protection from the wind as this container grows taller.
• Trim the lysimachia before it reaches the ground to prevent rooting.
• This lysimachia is a hardy perennial. It forms a nice groundcover but spreads readily!
• Click here to go to a PDF version of this post. https://sdsu.box.com/s/3mlqico2ag5ovdl9xux32irul8uifjur

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info@MinnehahaMasterGardeners.org
605-782-3290

The SDSU Extension Master Gardener program provides research‐based knowledge to and develops the leadership abilities of volunteers who, in turn, enable others to improve the quality of their lives by enhancing their home and community environments through horticultural education and activities.