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August Color

Althea, Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus
A hardy, shrub-like hibiscus and an old garden favorite.

Blooms: Blues, purples, and creamy whites are the most common. Many have a deep red 'eye'. Occasional blooms through summer and fall, peaking in August and September.
Leaves:Medium large, dull green and deciduous.
Height : 8 to 15 feet high, 4 to 6 feet spread.
Soils: All most any soil, as long as it is well-drained.
Light: Adaptable, but plants look best in morning sun, afternoon shade.
Uses: As large specimen shrubs or small trees, mixed with more attractive foliage plants. Not especially suitable to planting around house foundations.

Scarlet sage
Salvia coccinea
A showy, dependable half-hardy perennial here on the Gulf Coast.

Blooms: Usually scarlet red, though some modern cultivars have flowers in faded pink and peach tones. Blooms throughout the warm season, peaking in late summer.
Leaves: Simple egg-shaped 1"-2" and healthy looking.
Height:Typically 2 to 2½feet high. After warm winters, some may grow to 3 feet or more.
Soils: Well-drained preferred. Lime may improve appearance of plants.
Light: Full sun or afternoon shade.
Uses: As small tidy perennials for the front of the flower border. Scarlet sage (not to be confused with the annual Salvia splendens commonly sold at garden centers) returns each year from seed or from roots.

Tall gingers
Multiple genera, including Hedychium, Zingiber, Costus and Alpinia
Large, fragrant late-summer flowering "bulbs", valued for outstanding tropical foliage and blooms.

Hedychium

Costus speciocus

Alpinia

Blooms: White through yellow, orange and red, including many pastel shades. Most begin blooming in July or August, and continue through December.
Leaves: Typically large and tropical.
Height: Usually 5 to 7 feet high.
Soils: Moist, but well-drained, and humus-rich soil preferred. Add leaf mold or pine bark mulch. Occasional fertilizer produces better-looking plants.
Light: Most require some afternoon shade to look good, though many will need at least a few hours of direct sun to bloom well.
Uses: Think of them as perennials that should be used as shrubs, in large clumps. Can be very handsome mixed with shrubs such as azaleas and camellias.

Lantana
Lantana camara
This is a tough evergreen shrub from the tropics.

Blooms: Yellow,orange, white, lavender: several named varieties and hybrids of lantana are available. These produce more colorful flowers and have a lesser tendency to naturalize than the species. Flowers from spring to fall. Attracts butterflies.
Leaves: Stems and leaves are covered with hairs and are rough in texture. Unpleasant aroma.
Height: The species will grow to 6' high and may spread to 8'.
Light: Sun, part shade.
Soils: Well drained soil,drought resistant. Too much water and fertilizer will reduce bloom.
Uses: Mixed beds and borders. Tolerates salt spray and can be used in beach plantings. Good container plant. Lantana is killed at 28° F, but quickly grows back.

Firebush
Hamelia patens
A showy, shrub-like perennial in our climate, with reddish foliage and reddish-orange flowers.

Blooms: Reddish-orange, produced throughout the warm months, peaking in August and September here.The striking blossoms attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
Leaves: Medium-large, showy, often streaked with dark red or orange. Good blood red fall color.
Height: In our climate, typically 3 to 5 feet tall.
Soils: Well-drained soils. Very drought-tolerant.
Light: The more sun the better, but is adaptable enough to tolerate partial shade.
Uses: As a shrub-like perennial in flower borders.

Plumbago
Plumbago auriculata

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Veronica "Sunny Border Blue"

Blooms: Violet-blue flower spikes on 18 to 24 inch stems.
Leaves: Luxurious deep green foliage
Height: to 24 inches.
Soils: Well-drained soil is key to successful culture.
Light: Full sun to very light shade.
Uses: Use massed at the front of the border. The look especially pleasing with white, pink or yellow-flowered plants. Division of the crowns can be done in early spring.

Trumpet vine
Campsis species and varieties

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